Commercial, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial, Commercial, Industrial, Sourcing Renewables  -  November 4, 2016

Wal-Mart narrows renewable energy goals for 2025

Ten years after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rolled out three broad environmental sustainability goals — the most famous of which was a commitment to powering its operations with 100% renewable energy — the company included some specific timetables for and targets in a Nov. 4 announcement. 

Hoping to usher in a "new era of trust and transparency," Wal-Mart President and CEO Doug McMillon outlined a what the company is calling a "roadmap" that will guide the company’s role in society on critical issues over the next several years. Within it, the Wal-Mart said it aims to reach 50% renewable energy by 2025 as part of a new plan designed to achieve science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions 18% by the same timeframe.

In a Nov. 4 statement, Wal-Mart said it is 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. The company wrote: 

Under the approved plan, 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 achieve an 18 percent emissions reduction in its own operations by 2025. Additionally, Walmart will work with suppliers to reduce emissions by 1 Gigaton by 2030, equivalent to taking more than 211 million passenger vehicles off of U.S. roads and highways for a year.In 2015, 25% of Wal-Mart's operations were powered by renewable energy, according to its most recent sustainability report. The company remains an RE100 participant, committed to 100% renewables, though it has not given a target date for getting there. 

"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 said in a statement. "That's really what these commitments are about. And that’s why we’re so passionate about them."

The CEO discussed the broader roadmap Nov. 4 at the Net Impact Conference. 

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