Walmart Project Gigaton is a program that asks the company’s suppliers to cut emissions in the supply chain. Walmart says the goal of one billion metric tons was reached in February 2024, and its latest report shows 1.19 billion tons.
How it works
More than 5,900 suppliers have joined. They pick areas such as energy, packaging, waste, agriculture and product use, then report their progress back to Walmart.
Why supplier programs matter
For a retailer, nearly all emissions sit outside its own stores. Working through suppliers is the only way to touch most of the footprint, and a program this size reaches thousands of businesses at once.
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The caveat
The results are supplier reported. The total also mixes emissions reduced, emissions avoided and carbon sequestered, which are different things. So the headline number is best read as a measure of effort and reach, not a precise cut in the atmosphere.
What it shows
Even with that caveat, setting a big public goal and getting thousands of firms to report is real work. It also gives smaller suppliers a clear way to show buyers they are serious.
Why supplier reporting is hard but useful
Collecting numbers from thousands of businesses is messy. Different suppliers measure in different ways, and small firms often do not have the staff to track it all. Still, a shared program gives them a common starting point, a list of actions that work and a reason to begin. For many of them it is the first time anyone has asked.
If you are a supplier, the lesson is simple. Pick one or two actions from the list, such as lighter packaging or cleaner power, put a number on the result and report it. Progress that is small and honest is worth more than a big claim you cannot back up.
The bottom line
Project Gigaton is best seen as a way to get thousands of businesses moving, with the exact tons less important than the habit of reporting. If more retailers copied the model, the effect on global supply chains could be large.
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Submit your companySources: Walmart Project Gigaton. Figures marked as company reported come from the company itself.
