Walmart has announced a plan to eliminate 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by 2015 – one and a half times its estimated carbon footprint growth over the period.
In a huge project involving PricewaterhouseCoopers, the non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, the US consultancy ClearCarbon, the Carbon Disclosure Project and the University of Arkansas, the US-based retail giant has developed an approach that it says will be the equivalent of taking 3.8 million cars off the road for a year.
The three-part programme will focus on the most carbon-intensive products in Walmart’s supply chain, ensure that the company influences and participates in reduction programmes throughout a product’s value chain, and will report ‘transparently and consistently’ on reductions.
The products to be targeted have already been identified by the University of Arkansas. Assessment and measurement, for both Walmart and its suppliers, will be carried out by ClearCarbon and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Walmart says the move goes beyond previous efforts to reduce emissions by designing more energy-efficient stores and truck fleets, because suppliers are now integrated into the process.
