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[Editor's Note: Environmental Defense Fund's Elizabeth Sturcken provides this post on Walmart's announcement to slash 20 million metric tons of CO2 from its products' lifecycle and supply chain by 2015. EDF worked closely with Walmart to develop the goal. For more coverage, see GreenBiz.com Senior Contributor Marc Gunther's post and GreenBiz.com]
Archimedes said "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the earth," when explaining the principle of levers.
Leverage is the big news about Walmart's announcement today. The company has committed to reducing 20 million metric tons of carbon pollution from its products' lifecycle and supply chain over the next five years. That's equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 3.8 million cars.
So is Walmart moving the earth? No, not yet. But this is precisely the kind of innovative approach to reducing carbon pollution that we need right now. Environmental Defense Fund worked closely with Walmart to craft this goal and project that makes the most of what Walmart can uniquely do to cut carbon pollution across the globe.
This commitment is bold because:
- Walmart's supply chain is where the action is. It's the biggest possible lever that Walmart could bring to the table. Walmart will work with suppliers to reduce their emissions - which they otherwise might not do -- resulting in positive ripple effects around the globe.
- It prioritizes the biggest opportunities. Walmart is looking at the products that create the most carbon emissions across their lifecycles -- as well as products that are top sellers - and focusing on those first.
- It gets carbon pollution reductions now. There's no waiting for the United States or the world to act.
- It will likely reach ten of thousands of companies around the globe -- companies that would not be required to reduce emissions by national or international regulatory proposals but will greatly benefit from energy efficiency efforts.
- It adds to a drumbeat of clear messaging to suppliers from Walmart that they need to reduce carbon pollution. This commitment follows the Sustainability Index, Product Innovation work with Private Brands and other initiatives.
- It's good for business and good for customers. This project is about Walmart and its suppliers working hand-in-hand to find ways to drive carbon and energy - and cost - out of the supply chain. Walmart customers care about America's energy future. They see tangible value from carbon reductions every time a lower carbon product costs less or uses dramatically less energy once they get it home.
Two Kinds of Change: Simple But Big and Transformational
In this project we will look at two different kinds of opportunities. The first opportunities are simple and relatively small changes that, when coupled with Walmart's scale, become big reductions. The other opportunities are more transformational, where we dive deep and engage an industry or consumers to fundamentally change products or their uses.
DVD packaging is an example of a simple change that adds up because of Walmart's scale.
Walmart's Sustainable Changes
It’s nice to see Walmart embrace a new role as an environmental role model. These corporate policy changes show the power of simple changes: Walmart isn’t drastically overhauling how it does business, but by adjusting its supply chain practices, it is making huge environmental waves. If Walmart can make these changes, the company can set the tone for its competitors to adopt similar green business strategies in the future.
Calling All Environmental Leaders
I really agree with @groundsearow's post and I loved Marc Gunther's blog post, as always. Marc is consistently thoughful and pushes us all to a higher plane of thought on the issues. I also liked this author's quotation that, "The profit motive is currently the best way to lead business to a more responsible and ethical future."
Business is a big and powerful lever to create positive change. It should not be ignored or shunned, but should be used for maximum environmental benefit. That is something that Environmental Defense Fund has been working to do for the past 20 years since our early work with McDonald's.
Frankly, I thought EDF's work with business was going to be much less urgently needed with a change in administrations in Washington. I thought our government would finally be the leaders that we should be on the critical issue of global warming pollution. But the reality is that it's even more important that business steps up to lead when we can't find United States or global leadership on the issue of climate change. Perhaps when the largest corporation in the world shows that they believe that action to reduce global warming pollution is the right thing to do AND is good for business, the rest of the world will listen and respond.
- Elizabeth Sturcken, Environmental Defense Fund
Walmart
I struggle with Walmart on many many levels and Marc Gunther's "2 Cheers For Walmart" piece in the excellent www.greenbiz.com is a more rational evaluation of who is doing the saving, but whilst the free market is still in play, it's moves that leverage the biggest impacts on emissions that are the most significant. I don't believe that because they aren't making the major saving themselves makes their decision less valuable, just a bit less worthy. The decision should be heralded. Only by seeing sentiment around their business moving positively due to moves like this, will they understand clearly that there is profit in doing good. It may be too idealogical to believe that such a change means they will automatically make other positive change (embracing Fairtrade etc) but seeing a "do good" dividend is hardly going to make other positive action from them less likely. The profit motive is currently the best way to lead business to a more responsible and ethical future. With governments still encumbered by the "interests" (sic) of corporates less engaged in the environmental debate it's enterprising business that will make the biggest change. I for one will certainly be more likely to drop in at Asda from today - and when I do I will make sure I tell then exactly why I did. @groundsearow