A Walmart store. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Walmart said Monday that it's aiming to have zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global operations by 2040.
Why it matters: It is the latest corporate giant to make an aggressive long-term pledge, and Walmart says it'll do it without offsets — that is, paying for climate-friendly projects elsewhere while continuing its own emissions.
How it works: The plans include having renewables supply all their global facilities by 2035 and "electrifying and zeroing out emissions from all of its vehicles, including long-haul trucks, by 2040."
- Another part involves using "low-impact refrigerants" and electric heating for all its "stores, clubs, and data and distribution centers" within 20 years.
- Separately, Walmart says it will help to "protect, manage or restore " 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030.
Yes, but: Bloomberg provides some important context...
- "Walmart is committing to cutting emissions from its own operations, known as Scope 1 and 2. Though not an easy task, the target will zero out merely 5% of its total emissions."
- "The retailing giant has put in some efforts through so-called Project Gigaton to address Scope 3 emissions, which are generated by its suppliers and customers, but the company has yet to set a net-zero target across all scopes."