Walmart Latest Retailer to Affirm ESG Commitments

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, rising income inequality and “intensifying climate and ecosystem decline,” Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer and Walmart Foundation president, said in her blog that the company hopes to “create value for business” by helping to transform societal systems for “more equitable and sustainable outcomes.”

Sustainability and societal issues are growing forces behind consumers’ decisions about where to shop. Nearly 90% of respondents in a May UPS shopping survey said sustainability is an important consideration for purchasing decisions (see 2107080034). National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay said on a June retail forecast call (see 2106090064) that for many consumers today, aligning with a retailer for its “mission and the purpose” is as important as products and price.

Walmart updated its list of priority issues based on recent stakeholder engagement, business relevance and its ability to “make a difference” in opportunity, sustainability, community and ethics and integrity, said McLaughlin Thursday. The retailer’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues reporting is now in a “living” digital format that will be refreshed online in periodic briefs, she said.

Among recent highlights, she noted altered operating practices during the pandemic, including expanding pickup services from 1,500 to 3,500 sites and administering of COVID-19 tests and vaccines. The Walmart Foundation donated over $43 million in cash and “in-kind” for COVID-19 response, she said. Some 46% of Walmart’s 300,000 promotions went to people of color, and the company committed $100 million over five years to the Center for Racial Equality, she said.

In sustainability, Walmart sourced 36% of electricity needs from renewable energy and set 2040 as its target date to achieve zero emissions. In governance, Walmart updated its code of conduct, encouraging a culture of “accountability, transparency and trust,” she said.

Target doubled down on its corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts, it said last month. The strategy includes creating and curating “inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences” by 2030, being a net zero enterprise by 2040 and setting additional goals in its team, brand and product assortment, global supply chain and social justice, said the company. Target is working toward buying nearly half of its electricity from renewable sources, with a goal of 100% by 2030. It committed to joining Business Ambition for 1.5°C, saying its emissions will contribute to no more than 1.5 degrees of global warming.

The retailer committed to growing Black team member representation across the company by 20% by 2023, after establishing a racial equity action committee last year. By 2040, Target plans for 100% of its branded products to be designed for a “circular future,” using materials that are regenerative, recycled or sourced sustainably to create products that are “more durable, easily repaired or recyclable,” it said.

Best Buy last month released its latest ESG report, saying this year it reached a goal set in 2017 to reduce carbon emissions in its operations by 60%, over a 2009 baseline, on its way to 75% by 2030. It joined the Climate Pledge and committed to being totally carbon neutral by 2040.

Also in June, Best Buy committed to spending at least $1.2 billion with Black, Indigenous and other people of color and diverse businesses by 2025. After Floyd’s murder in 2020, the retailer announced that 30% of 1,000 new technology hires would be diverse, “specifically Black, Latinx, Indigenous and women”; in December, it committed $44 million to diversity, inclusion and community efforts, it said.