Wal-Mart to slash greenhouse gas emissions
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to cut 20 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle of its products by the end of 2015, the retail behemoth said Thursday.
The number represents 1 1/2 times the company’s estimated carbon growth over the next five years, or the equivalent of the emissions from nearly 4 million cars over one year, Chief Executive Mike Duke said in a webcast from the company’s Bentonville, Ark., headquarters.
Wal-Mart previously announced an ultimate goal of relying solely on renewable energy to run all its operations while producing no waste. The retailer completed three solar installations in Southern California last month.
“We have the capacity to do more,” Duke said. “It’s a very sizable goal, as we often do at Wal-Mart.”
The emissions reduction will occur as raw materials are sourced and as goods are manufactured and transported, the company said. Wal-Mart will focus first on products most associated with carbon.
The goal could even spark a “race, a treasure hunt” among suppliers to find competitive ways to cut emissions, said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, which is partnering with Wal-Mart to reach the sustainability goal.
“Wal-Mart is looking at the big picture,” Krupp said during the webcast.
ClearCarbon Inc. will check that Wal-Mart and its suppliers use proper methodology to calculate reduced emissions completely and accurately, and PricewaterhouseCoopers will confirm the procedures, the retailer said in its webcast.
