Walmart Aims for Future of 'Trust and Transparency'

During the Net Impact Conference, taking place Nov. 3-5 in Philadelphia, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. President and CEO Doug McMillon revealed what the company calls a “road map” guiding the mega-retailer’s societal role regarding key issues over the next several years, which Walmart characterizes as a “new era of trust and transparency.” The outline added new details to Walmart’s sustainability plans and contained new commitments that reflect a broader recognition of the company’s effect on communities and the planet.

Among other initiatives, Walmart will double sales of locally grown produce in the United States; expand and enhance sustainable sourcing to encompass 20 major commodities, including bananas, coffee and tea; and implement a plan to achieve science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The first retailer with an emissions-reduction plan approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative, in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement in December 2015, Walmart will use a combination of energy-efficiency measures, together with a commitment to source half of the company’s energy needs from renewable sources, to reduce emissions by 18 percent in its own operations by 2025. Further, the company will work with suppliers to reduce emissions by 1 gigaton by 2030, the equivalent of taking more than 211 million passenger vehicles off U.S. roads and highways for a year.

McMillon also discussed company programs to train hundreds of thousands of U.S. associates by the end of next year, enabling them to progress from entry-level positions to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay, as well as a new pledge to promote the ethical recruitment and treatment of workers in the global retail supply chain.

“We want to make sure Walmart is a company that our associates and customers are proud of – and that we are always doing right by them and by the communities they live in,” McMillon noted. “That’s really what these commitments are about. And that’s why we’re so passionate about them.”

The road map builds upon the three environmental sustainability goals Walmart set in 2005: to create zero waste in company operations, to operate with 100 percent renewable energy, and to sell products that sustain natural resources and the environment.

In short, the sustainability company’s commitments are:

• Power half of its energy from renewable sources.
• Achieve zero waste to landfill in key markets by 2025.
• Sell more sustainably produced products while maintaining low prices. Goals include working with suppliers to make Walmart’s private-brand packaging 100 percent recyclable by 2025; removing certified synthetic colors and artificial flavors in its products, along with reducing sodium, added sugars and saturated fat where possible; and expanding the sourcing of commodities produced with zero net deforestation.

People Power

McMillon also called for a broader industry effort to ensure that retailers are viewed as employers of choice. “Today, we are asking other retailers to join us in helping people live better,” he said. “Let’s use our collective power to create good jobs with good training that become good careers for all our associates.”

On this issue, in addition to its training initiatives, Walmart is joining the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, a collaboration of businesses and NGO partners working for the ethical recruitment and treatment of workers globally; improving its workplaces through such measures as mobility, providing work schedules more than two weeks in advance, and implementing a strong leave policy; sourcing more products locally around the world to support local economies, U.S. jobs and women-owned businesses; donating 4 billion meals to fight hunger by 2020; and, over five years, contributing $25 million toward global disaster relief and resiliency.

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart operates 11,539 stores under 63 banners in 28 countries, and e-commerce websites in 11 countries.