Walmart Inc. said it’s targeting zero emissions from its global operations by 2040, a small fraction of its total, in the latest climate-focused step amid heightened calls from investors and activists to reduce carbon footprints. The world’s biggest retailer also plans to secure enough wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to power its facilities with 100% green power by 2035, it said in a statement Monday. It had previously said that it aims to secure half of its power from renewable sources by 2025.
Walmart is committing to cutting emissions from it own operations, known as Scope 1 and 2. Though not an easy task, the target will zero out merely 5% of its total emissions. The retailing giant has put in some efforts through the so-called Project Gigaton to address Scope 3 emissions, which are generated by its suppliers and customers, but the company has yet to set a net-zero target across all scopes.
The company also said Monday it aims to electrify and eliminate emissions from all of its vehicles, including long-haul trucks, by 2040. As well, it plans to manage or restore at least 50 million acres of land and one million square miles of ocean by 2030, and transition to low-impact refrigerants for cooling and electrified equipment for heating in its stores, clubs, and data and distribution centers by 2040.
Walmart is a member of the We Mean Business Coalition, a group of companies that’s committed to reducing emissions in line with the goals set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have identified at least 58 companies that have pledged to reach net-zero emissions by various dates through 2040, such as Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Sony Corp., Amazon.com Inc.