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What is Walmart Project Gigaton?

ESG / CSRNet zero trajectory

Level

Stephanie Safdie

updated 21 Oct 2024

US Copywriter at Greenly

walmart tab opened online with to do list clipboard

Known as one of one of the hallmark discount department stores in the United States, not many of us would think of Walmart as being one of the most sustainable companies to shop at – given their cheap quality products with questionable durability.

However, maybe we should think of Walmart as a leading company in terms of sustainability – seeing as their Walmart Project Gigaton has already been wildly successful.

In this article, we’ll explain what Walmart Project Gigaton is, how it has helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and how other companies could lead by Walmart’s example.

What is Walmart’s Project Gigaton?

Walmart's Project Gigaton is a sustainability initiative aimed at reducing one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain before 2030.

💡 Essentially, the name, “Walmart Project Gigaton” is derived from Walmart’s overall goal to reduce one billion metric tons of GHG emissions, which equates to one gigaton.

“ The main goal of Walmart’s Project Gigaton is to encourage suppliers to adjust their actions to align with the needs of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. ”

Here are the main areas in which suppliers are encouraged to adapt their activities under Walmart’s Project Gigaton:

Energy usage
Waste reduction
Sustainable packaging
Agricultural practices
Developing sustainable products
Transportation emissions
Mitigating deforestation

Having launched back in 2017, Walmart’s Project Gigaton has already been deemed as a success for its effectiveness to reduce carbon emissions across their supply chain across the world.

As a result, many media outlets have praised Walmart’s sustainability efforts and have used Walmart’s Project Gigaton as an example of how other companies in a similar position can aspire to set ambitious sustainability goals and effectively achieve them.

👉 Walmart Project Gigaton is a primary example of how large corporations based in the United States with worldwide operations can make a tangible difference in their carbon footprint.

Why is Walmart’s Project Gigaton important?

Walmart Project Gigaton is important as it demonstrates to other large businesses across the world that it is indeed possible to encourage your suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and make industrial processes more efficient and sustainable.

💡 In fact, as of February 2024 – Walmart hit their emission reduction goal after acquiring nearly 6,000 suppliers to reduce, mitigate, or sequester 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

“ Walmart Project Gigaton isn’t just good for the planet, but for our global economy – as it allows customers to feel good about their discount products they purchase at Walmart in addition to helping suppliers save money in their business as a result of improved energy efficiency. ”

Here are just a few reasons why Walmart Project Gigaton is crucial in the midst of climate change:

Reduce Emissions Worldwide – Walmart’s Project Gigaton has already helped to reduce 1 billion metric tons of GHG emissions, and it can also inspire other suppliers and large organisations to do the same.
Influence Global Supply Chains – Walmart is one of the most well-known retail stores in the United States, meaning that their effort to curate more create sustainable practices across various industries could influence other global business to decarbonise their own supply chains.
Ensure Compliance – International treaties such as the Paris Climate Agreement can be challenging to adhere to, but sustainability initiatives such as Walmart’s Project Gigaton can help suppliers around the world comply with international climate treaties and future environmental regulations.
Reduce Operational Costs – Walmart Project Gigaton promotes energy efficiency, and in turn – can allow suppliers to enjoy cost savings by dipping their toes into the world of sustainable finance while also driving environmental benefits.
Promote Leadership in Corporate Responsibility – Walmart's commitment to Project Gigaton demonstrates unwavering commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and can encourage other large organisations to do the same.

👉 Walmart’s Project Gigaton can inspire other companies to develop globally effective initiatives, as there is now an existing blueprint for large corporations to be equally as successful in engaging their suppliers to be more sustainable.

How does Walmart’s Project Gigaton work?

Walmart Project Gigaton works by engaging suppliers to reduce their emissions across several key areas including energy usage, waste, packaging, agriculture, transportation emissions, and product usage.

💡 As of 2024, over 5,900 suppliers have signed onto Walmart Project Gigaton – it is now considered one of the largest private-sector climate action projects in the world.

In order to attract as many suppliers to Walmart Project Gigaton as possible, the famous discount department store curated the Walmart Sustainability Hub – where they offer designated tool kits for their suppliers to provide them with a step-by-step guide on how to work together to achieve the overarching goal of reducing, avoiding, or sequestering 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Step-by-Step Guide: Walmart Project Gigaton

Here is a breakdown of how Walmart Project Gigaton works:

Supplier Engagement – Across the global supply chain, Walmart encourages suppliers to join Walmart Project gigaton.
Suppliers Choose Key Areas of Focus – Suppliers can choose the most relevant areas to focus on to reduce their environmental impact, such as by reducing energy usage by switching to the use of renewable energy or upgrading to energy efficient technologies, improving agricultural practices such as by implementing climate smart farming tactics, reducing waste such as by mitigating the use of single use plastic or encouraging customers to avoid food waste, improving packing to be more sustainable can help suppliers to further reduce waste, mitigating deforestation by promoting the importance of ethical sourcing and ensuring that the supplier’s business activities do not contribute to wildfires, developing new innovative product designs to use less energy-intensive materials in the production process and reduce the emissions created over the course of its lifecycle.
Track & Share Progress – Walmart provides various tools and resources to help their suppliers committed to Walmart Project Gigaton to effectively and efficiently report their progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Public Reports by Walmart – In order to showcase the success of suppliers committed to Walmart Project Gigaton, the discount department store shares an annual public progress report.

💡 In addition to guiding suppliers to rectify their current business models to become more sustainable and avoid excess greenhouse gas emissions, Walmart Project Gigaton has teamed up with various organisations to flesh out their sustainability initiatives.

Walmart has teamed up with the following organisations to develop Walmart Project Gigaton:

What is Giga Guru Status?

Giga Guru status is an effort on behalf of Walmart to showcase suppliers with exceptional dedication to reducing their environmental impact.

💡 Think of Giga Guru status in a similar light to being valedictorian of your graduating class – it is a status reserved for people who not only achieved their requirements, but went above and beyond.

Suppliers can qualify for Giga Guru status by:

Setting environmental targets that are measurable and manageable in-line with the SBTi
Reporting their progress in at least three of the six main areas affiliated with the Walmart Gigaton Project
Revealing progress on scope 1 and scope 2 emissions which are 95% complete for each scope & details on how they achieved these emission reduction targets
Sharing their efforts towards renewable electricity consumption
Detailing which areas of scope 3 emissions are most relevant to their business activities

Overall, Giga Guru status can help suppliers to further reduce their environmental footprint and demonstrate leadership in sustainability.

👉 Ultimately, Walmart Project Gigaton reveals how a collaborative effort can prove effective in reducing our environmental impact in addition to cutting back on costly operational costs caused by high energy usage, waste, and more.

The table below will further depict the requirements to comply with Walmart's Project Gigaton:

Requirement	Description
Supplier Registration	Suppliers must register through Walmart's Sustainability Hub to participate in Project Gigaton.
Emission Reduction Target	Suppliers need to set a goal for reducing their greenhouse gas emissions within one of six focus areas: energy, nature, waste, packaging, transportation, or product use.
Action Plan	Suppliers are required to develop and submit a clear action plan that outlines how they will meet their emission reduction targets.
Reporting Progress	Suppliers must regularly report on their progress through Walmart’s platform, including tracking metrics and emission reductions.
Collaboration with Walmart	Suppliers will work in collaboration with Walmart to access resources, tools, and guidance to help them achieve their sustainability goals.
Recognition and Incentives	Suppliers who achieve significant progress can receive recognition through Walmart’s public sustainability reports or awards.

How can suppliers get involved with Walmart Project Gigaton?

Companies that are considered as suppliers can easily get involved with Walmart Project Gigaton by using their three-step program to get started.

💡 As a part of their efforts to streamline the importance of sustainability, Walmart has made signing up for Walmart Project Gigaton extremely user-friendly.

“ If your company is to sign up to report its environmental impact under Walmart Project Gigaton, it can only reap positive benefits such as increased clientele and business transparency – as you will then be able to associate your business with a climate action program with a household name. ”

Here are the three steps necessary to get your company started with Walmart Project Gigaton:

Sign Up – First, suppliers should visit the Walmart Sustainability Hub to create a Walmart Project Gigaton account.
Set Your Emission Reduction Target – Once your account is set up, companies should work internally to develop an appropriate emissions reduction goal. These goals should be “SMART”, meaning they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant,and timely. This step can often prove most challenging, but working with a carbon accounting company like Greenly can make determining these goals easier.
Share & Report Your Progress – Suppliers joining Walmart Project Gigaton will be subject to report their progress annually via their official Walmart Project Gigaton account. In addition to this, Walmart helps to make reporting easier by emailing suppliers affiliated with Walmart Project Gigaton specific information on what will be required on pre-mandated reporting dates. This allows suppliers to prepare well in advance for compliance and boost the chances of Walmart Project Gigaton’s continued success.

👉 Remember, in order to join Walmart Project Gigaton – companies will need a Retail Link account, which will serve as their all-in-one stop to manage, update, and view their sustainability goals.

How can your company develop something like Walmart Project Gigaton?

Your company can also develop a supplier emission reduction program like Walmart Project Gigaton by:

Creating a Sustainability Platform & Toolkit – If your company develops a platform similar to Walmart’s Sustainability Platform, it can help encourage suppliers to join your movement towards net-zero emissions with less hesitation.
Partnering with Accredited Organisations – Walmart’s Project Gigaton is effective in part due to collaborating with the SBTi, WWF, and EDF. In order to develop an effective guide for suppliers to follow and reduce their emissions effectively, expanding your network could prove useful.
Incentivise Participation – Offering your suppliers recognition for their emission reduction efforts could encourage them to participate in your new sustainability initiative, as it’s likely that your company has a larger audience to promote their products or services than the suppliers themselves.

Overall, Walmart Project Gigaton has proven to be a successful sustainability initiative which has already achieved its main goal six years in advance – demonstrating that setting ambitious emission reduction goals isn’t too tall of an order, and that we could all implement similar mechanisms to mitigate our environmental impact worldwide.

What About Greenly?

If reading this article about Walmart Project Gigaton has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!

Aligning your business to comply with sustainability initiatives such as Walmart Project Gigaton can be challenging, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help. Click here to schedule a demo to see how Greenly can help you find ways to improve energy efficiency and decrease the dependency on fossil fuels in your own company.

Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.

Click here to learn more about Greenly and how we can help you reduce your carbon footprint.

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