Walmart’s Latest Efforts to Advance Project Gigaton Center on Packaging Innovation

As part of Walmart’s plan to cut a gigaton of emissions by 2030, the leading retailer is currently targeting reductions through strategic packaging solutions. 

In the global retail sector, most emissions lie in product supply chains rather than retail stores or distribution centers. As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart created Project Gigaton™ as an ambitious effort engaging its suppliers and other key stakeholders in climate action to reduce one billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from its global supply chain by 2030.

How Walmart is Tackling Emissions Reductions through Packaging Changes

One current focus area of the project is packaging reduction in Walmart’s online DtoC business.  The company plans to act in three critical ways:

1. Replacing plastic mailers with recyclable paper bag mailers
2. Creating made-to-fit packaging
3. Providing consumers with an option to consolidate orders and opt out of plastic bags for online orders

These steps alone are expected to eliminate 65 million plastic bag mailers or 2000 tons of plastic from circulation by the end of year.  The made-to-fit packaging is forecasted to reduce waste from oversized shipments by as much as 26 percent.

Walmart, like other large retailers, is taking aggressive action to move forward with their sustainability initiatives with actionable and measurable targets that impact not only their own operations but also those of their supplier base and other partners.  These actions will only have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the retail market.

How We Can Help Your Business Define and Report on Your Sustainability Plans and Results

In June, McMillanDoolittle and bgoodcollective – a team of experienced sustainability specialists – announced a strategic partnership to ensure we bring the best talent to support retail companies and their suppliers to define and report on their sustainability plans and deliver real, measurable results.

Sustainability transformation is a complex process, and our team can help you address the many steps to ensure your sustainability plans have positive impact on both the business and ESG outcomes:

• Developing a sustainability strategy that ties to the overall business strategy
• Re-engineering product process to a more sustainable, circular model
• Reducing overall carbon footprint – emissions and energy use – in business operations
• Measuring internal company environmental and social impacts to set baselines, monitor, and report progress
• Managing sustainability initiatives across the organization with clear visibility on progress and reporting

Bgoodcollective works with clients to develop actionable and measurable sustainability goals and action plans that are aligned with the business. Our team also supports clients as they implement these plans and measure and report performance.

About bgood collective

bgood collective is a female-founded sustainability agency. We are a group of like-minded change agents from retail, consulting and non-profit backgrounds and believe in using our collective expertise and passion as a force for good to drive sustainable solutions. We partner with clients to develop strategies, grow enterprises, manage turnaround or change in the organization. Read more about Founder Rabia Farhang and Co-founder Johanna Masket.