Footprint?

What isWal-Mart’s

trueEnvironmEntal

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With these goals, Wal-Mart has been building a greener, more responsible reputation; however, there are fundamental contradictions between Wal-Mart’s business model and environmental sustainability. The world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart’s annual revenues exceed that of the next five largest global retailers combined, including European giants Carrefour, Metro, Tesco, Schwarz Unternehemens Treuhand and the U.S.-based Kroger. The intensity of Wal-Mart’s carbon footprint mirrors these numbers; Wal-Mart’s total greenhouse gas emissions have hovered around 20 million metric tons in the past few years, whereas latest figures from Carrefour and Tesco indicate total emissions of approximately 4.8 million and 4 million metric tons, respectively.1,2 If Wal-Mart were a nation, its carbon footprint would rank as approximately the 80th most polluting country in the world, on par with nations like Yemen, Jordan and the Dominican Republic.3 Even if other retailers grow, Wal-Mart will continue to vastly outsize and out-pollute its global competitors, making the company a critical part of any global conversation about true sustainability and accountability measures.

A broad-scale view of Wal-Mart and its goals reveals problematic environmental and climate change impacts when it comes to transportation, land-use, energy consumption, waste and carbon emissions. The growth of this inefficient model is increasing the environmental footprint of retailing and consumption.

Energy and Greenhouse Gas EmissionsWal-Mart has pledged to:

•   Reduce greenhouse gas emissions at stores, clubs and distribution centers around the world by 20 percent by 2012 (2005 baseline). 4

•   Design and open a viable store prototype that is 25-30 percent more energy efficient and will produce up to 30 percent fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2009 globally (2005 baseline).5

•   Retrofit low- and medium-refrigerated display cases at more than 500 U.S. stores with energy-savings light emitting diode (LED) lighting by 2009 (2005 baseline). 6

•   Double truck fleet efficiency in the U.S. by October 2015 (2005 baseline). 7

What is Wal-Mart’s true Environmental Footprint?In October 2005, Wal-Mart announced that it was taking new environmental measures to increase energy efficiency and to become a “good steward for the environment.” Primary goals include eventually being powered by 100% renewable energy sources, producing zero waste, and selling sustainable products.

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Despite this, Wal-Mart’s underlying business model includes several key unsustainable features including reliance on energy intensive 24-hour operations, location of stores outside of urban cores, sourcing at a distance and expanding retail space. As of 2010, there were more than 8,400 stores and clubs around the world.8 Since 2008, Wal-Mart opened 191 Supercenters in the U.S., and from 2009 to 2010, Wal-Mart added another 52 domestic retail units. 9,10,11 Today, Wal-Mart operates 3,800 stores in the U.S., of which 2,900 are Supercenters.12 The expanding scale of Wal-Mart has important implications for Wal-Mart’s growing environmental footprint, particularly when it comes to energy, transportation and waste reduction.

Lighting and Energy UsageOne of Wal-Mart’s most successful campaigns has been the promotion of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Wal-Mart initially set out to sell 100 million CFLs by 2007 and surpassed that goal, posting sales of more than 460 million CFLs to date.13 Unfortunately, the energy and money saved by customers from the sale of these light bulbs pales in comparison to the energy used by Wal-Mart’s operations. For example, Wal-Mart’s mammoth-sized Supercenters are powered by an enormous amount of energy; one major contributing factor is that Wal-Mart runs a significant amount of 24-hour operations, opposed to typical 12-hour operations. Even with a 15 percent reduction of average energy use, the daily energy consumption of one Wal-Mart Supercenter (approximately 28,274 kWh/day) is equivalent to the daily energy usage of 1,095 U.S. homes.14

shipping and sourcingWal-Mart utilizes a sourcing model that depends on offshoring product manufacturing in countries like China, which have low labor costs and less carbon efficient manufacturing compared to the U.S. As of 2008, Wal-Mart’s yearly procurement of Chinese goods stood at about $9 billion, a major portion of the company’s direct purchases. 15 This consumption model has led to a substantial amount of carbon emissions outsourcing and the continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions in industrial nations. The U.S. is the leading global consumer and importer of carbon emissions, whereas China is the world’s leading carbon exporter.16 U.S. manufacturing processes also tend to be cleaner and less carbon intensive than those where manufacturing is often offshored; for example, U.S. steel manufacturing is amongst the least energy and carbon intensive in the world. On the other hand, Chinese steel manufacturing is the most carbon intensive of all major global steel producers in the world. 17 Reversing these trends by sourcing locally and decreasing shipping mileage would have significant, positive greenhouse impacts on global retail practices and the environment.

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Wal-Mart relies heavily on super-sized container ships to transport goods from manufacturers to consumers. These mammoth vessels, some of which carry Wal-Mart products, are responsible for adding approximately one billion tons of carbon emissions to the atmosphere every year.18 In addition, bunker fuel – the low-grade, high-sulfur fuel that powers these container ships – has been linked to respiration problems, inflammation, cancer and heart disease and approximately 64,000 deaths per year.19 Fifteen of these super-sized container ships are capable of producing as much sulfur pollution as all the cars in the world. 20 Emma Maersk, one of the world’s largest container ships and a carrier of Wal-Mart products, can burn approximately 200 tons of fuel a day, emitting approximately 177,520 mega tons of carbon per year (based on 280 days at sea).21

transportationWal-Mart’s greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact analysis fails to account for one aspect of its business with very significant environmental and carbon emissions impacts: consumer transportation emissions. The expansion of big-box retailers like Wal-Mart has been accompanied by the rise in miles Americans now drive in order to run errands and shop. While the average American household now drives 4.4 percent less than it did in 2001, shopping-related driving has continued to grow, climbing 1.3 percent to 3,102 miles per year for the average household.22 The energy usage and carbon emissions associated with transportation to and from Wal-Mart Supercenter locations negate many of the gains that Wal-Mart claims to be making.

how much progress is Wal-Mart really making? Wal-Mart’s greenhouse gas emissions profile showed a slight decline in 2009; however the company itself cites external factors such as mild weather patterns as a contributing factor.23 The recent, approximate 1 percent reduction in total global greenhouse gas emissions must also be considered within the context of a severe economic recession. As of 2009, Wal-Mart was only approximately halfway (10.61 percent) to reaching its goal of reducing 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 (based on a 2005 baseline).24 Big picture-wise, the company’s emissions have largely remained stable, particularly in the U.S. market, where they have hovered around 15 million metric tons of CO2 for the past several years.25 Had the company aimed to steadily reduce U.S. emissions over the period of 2005-2012, it would have attained nearly 2.9 percent reductions each year since 2005.

Wal-Mart also provides data on their carbon impact per unit of sales (metric tonnes/$1M USD), a figure which has been declining over time. In

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order to grasp the true impacts of these figures, we must better understand trends in the type and volume of goods being sold by Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s U.S. sales of groceries at Wal-Mart stores are growing steadily, from 49 percent in 2009 to 54 percent in 2011.26 In the U.S., consumption of food products account for 8 percent of the carbon footprint, whereas

manufactured products account for 12 percent.27 This raises the question of whether Wal-Mart’s decreasing carbon impact per sales are simply reflective of shifts to sales of less carbon-intensive areas of the economy, e.g. food products as opposed to manufactured goods, rather than concrete energy efficiency measures.

The company also estimates its projected emissions reductions will more than offset carbon emissions from growth over the five year duration of 2010-2015.28 Yet, as a whole, Wal-Mart’s emissions have been relatively stable. In order for Wal-Mart to truly meet their emissions reductions goals and offset emissions from growth, total carbon emissions and intensity must drop aggressively, not merely level off.

true sustainabilityAt best, Wal-Mart’s environmental initiatives have taken a limited approach to reducing environmental impacts and costs. As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart’s public commitments have not translated into drastic greenhouse gas emissions cuts and sweeping environmental change. The sustainability measures Wal-Mart has taken within its business model fail to compensate for the environmental harm inflicted by the business model as a whole. Even as greenhouse gas emissions stabilize, a look into Wal-Mart sales and emissions raises questions over the factors propelling any possible gains, whether it be a shift in the types of products sold, or the influence of external factors. Most of all, the question remains -- is Wal-Mart taking the meaningful, responsible actions necessary to meet their targets?

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1 Ecodesk Beta. Carrefour. 2010. http://www.ecodesk.com/sustainability/carrefour-group/

2 Tesco. Measuring Our Carbon Footprint. http://www.tesco.com/climatechange/carbonFootprint.asp

3 International Energy Agency. 2010. CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combusion, Highlights. http://www.iea.org/co2highlights/CO2highlights.pdf

4 Wal-Mart Global Sustainability Report 2010 Progress Update. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2010/commitments_energy.aspx

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 Ibid.

8 Wal-Mart Global Sustainability Report: 2010. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2010/

9 Wal-Mart Global Sustainability Report: 2007-2008. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2007

10 Wal-Mart Global Sustainability Report: 2009. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2009/

11 Wal-Mart Global Sustainability Report: 2010. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2010/

12 Wal-Mart 2011 Global Responsibility Report. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/default.aspx

13 Wal-Mart 2011 Global Responsibility Report. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/default.aspx

14 Courtemanch, Aly and Lani Bensheimer. 2005. Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Wal-mart Supercenter in Potsdam. Conservation Biology, April 29. p21. http://it.stlawu.edu/~bart/Barthelmess/CB2005_final_papers/pdfs/potsdam_Wal-Mart.pdf

15 AFX news Limited. 2008. Wal-Mart sees China procurement steady this year at 9bln usd. Thomson Reuters. February 25. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2008/02/25/afx4690144.html

16 Davis, Steven J. and Ken Caldeira. 2010. Consumption-based accounting of CO2 emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Early Edition. January 29. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/02/23/0906974107.full.pdf

17 International Energy Agency, CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2009 Edition (Paris, France: International Energy Agency, 2009).

18 Pearce, Fred. 2009. How 16 ships create as much pollution as all the cars in the world. Daily Mail Online. November 21. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1229857/How-16-ships-create-pollution-cars-world.html

19 Ibid.

20  Vidal, John. 2009. Health risks of shipping pollution have been ‘underestimated.’ Guardian, April 9. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/09/shipping-pollution

21 Maersk Line. 2008. Maersk CO2 output ‘equal to Denmark.’ http://www.emma-maersk.com/news/3885/Maersk_CO2_output_equal.html

22 U.S. Department of Transportation. 2009 National Household Travel Survey. http://nhts.ornl.gov/

23 Wal-Mart 2011 Global Responsibility Report. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/default.aspx

24 Wal-Mart 2011 Global Responsibility Report. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/default.aspx

25 Wal-Mart 2011 Global Responsibility Report. http://Wal-Martstores.com/sites/ResponsibilityReport/2011/default.aspx

26 RetailSails. Wal-Mart. http://retailsails.com/monthly-sales-summary/wmt/

27 Hertwich, Edgar G and Glen P. Peters. 2009. Carbon Footprint of Nations: A Global, Trade-Linked Analysis. Environmental Science & Technology. May 12. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/es803496a

28 Mui, Ylan Q. 2010. Wal-Mart promises to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2015. The Washington Post. February 26. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505453.html

Endnotes