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Walmart Sustainability
Developing a sustainable standard for products
The Sustainability Index is central to our ability to deliver sustainable products for our customers. Launched in 2009 in collaboration with The Sustainability Consortium (TSC), the Index helps retailers and their suppliers:
- Improve the sustainability of the products customers love
- Integrate sustainability into the business of buying and selling merchandise
- Reduce cost, improve product quality and create a more resilient supply chain
- Strengthen customers’ trust in retailers and the brands we carry
Over the past two years, TSC significantly expanded the categories covered by the Index, enabling Walmart to deliver powerful tools to more buyers and suppliers in more markets. We’re using these tools to collaborate up and down the supply chain on projects that improve Index scores by addressing key hot spots, driving efficiency and reducing waste.
Delivering impact
One great example of how we are delivering impact is through the progress we’ve made on our goal to eliminate 20 million metric tons (MMT) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the supply chain. Through our partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund and by leveraging the Index as a tool to gain buy-in and create accountability, we’ve:
- Eliminated 7.575 MMT of GHG by the end of 2013
- Implemented projects that are estimated to eliminate 18MMT of GHG emissions by the end of 2015
Index progress
- More than 700 Walmart categories covered by the Index
- Rolled out or piloted in the U.S. and six international markets
- Index score improvements (year over year) in all major business units
Sustainability Hub for Suppliers
If you’re a Walmart or Sam’s Club supplier, visit our Sustainability Hub for valuable resources and tools to improve the sustainability of the products you supply. Learn how to get started with the Sustainability Index, ask a question, share your success story or an innovative idea.
