Commercial, Distributed Energy Resources, GHG Emissions  -  April 11, 2019

Walmart reports Project Gigaton progress, offers emissions calculator

Walmart announced that in the first two years of Project Gigaton, the company’s suppliers have combined to avoid more than 93 million metric tons of emissions as they head toward the goal of one gigaton (1 billion metric tons) by 2030.

The announcement came at the Walmart 2019 Sustainability Milestone Summit on April 10.  As part of the summit, Walmart Canada announced it is joining Project Gigaton, making it Walmart Inc.’s third international market to work with suppliers towards emissions reductions.

In an effort to make it easier to enlist more suppliers to the growing total of over 1,000 suppliers participating in the platform, Walmart also announced that it would publish its Project Gigaton Calculators, which are designed by Walmart and NGOs for suppliers to use in reporting progress toward the Project Gigaton goal.

“We are encouraged by the engagement of our suppliers in Project Gigaton,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, senior vice president and chief sustainability officer for Walmart Inc. “To achieve our ambitious climate goals, we aim to expand and deepen that engagement. The progress to date shows how companies can contribute to climate action through practical actions all along the product supply chain. Ultimately, building sustainable supply chains requires collective action from everyone – not only our associates and suppliers, but customers, business in general, and civil society. We are excited to be part of the solution.”

Progress also continues in Walmart's efforts to increase the availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its stores and clubs across the U.S. As of 2018, Walmart has EV chargers available at retail locations across 29 states.

Walmart also outlined its progress towards its aspirational goal of being powered by 100% renewable energy – and to power 50% of its operations with renewable energy by the end of 2025. Over the past year, Walmart completed contracts for 136 new solar and wind projects, which will supply the company an additional estimated 2.14 billion kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually – the equivalent electricity usage of over 260,000 homes in a year.

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