Last week we spoke to Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart Inc.'s chief sustainability officer and executive vice president, about the retailer's efforts to combat climate change and make environmental, social and governance efforts a pillar of its business.
Kathleen McLaughlin, Walmart's chief sustainability officer. Source: Walmart Inc. |
Walmart has set a goal of eliminating 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from its global supply chain by 2030 as part of its Project Gigaton program. In doing so, it has enlisted the help of more than 2,300 suppliers, including Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and Fruit of the Loom. Through these endeavors, the company hopes to not only make itself, as well as the wider consumer landscape, more sustainable.
"When it comes to ESG, a lot of times companies just focus on metrics and issues that affect their current earnings or they might focus on metrics and issues that affect risk and that's it. That's not how we approach it. ... We are trying to change the underlying system," said McLaughlin.
Many corporations have been accused of treating ESG as an exercise in lip service. But increased investor pressure and public awareness mean the message now seems to be hitting home for good. Walmart, for one, is aware that just pledging to reduce future emissions is not enough. "We're at the point now where we have to do more than just limit the footprint. We actually need to go back and restore landscapes that we've degraded," McLaughlin said.
A full interview with McLaughlin can be found on the latest episode of "ESG Insider," an S&P Global podcast, on SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple podcasts.
Consumer Edge is a weekly collection of critical developments across the automotive, retail, and food, beverage and tobacco industries. Click here to subscribe.
Chart of the week
Automotive
Tesla expects deliveries to rise 30% to 40% in 2020
The electric-car company will offer a $25,000 electric car within three years, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla set to overhaul EV battery supply chains, eventually
Tesla's "Battery Day" revealed a set of targets for vehicle and battery expansion as well as an overhaul of the company's battery supply chain. The latter will have a knock-on effect for global cobalt and lithium producers.
Calif. governor bans new gasoline car sales by 2035, orders EV charging build-out
Gov. Gavin Newsom's Sept. 23 executive order effectively bans the sale of new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035 and tasks state agencies to ensure the build-out of sufficient EV-charging infrastructure.
EV industry's demand for nickel in doubt due to oversupply, economic concerns
Wood Mackenzie's nickel specialist said there is increasing trepidation among those watching the sector about rising inventories and economic uncertainty stemming from COVID-19 that bodes ill for demand for EV nickel.
August auto sales drop in US, Japan, Europe; China sales growth slows
Auto sales in China rose during August, but the increase was lower than the growth seen in July.
Midwest utilities envision regional EV charging network
Some utilities that have signed on to the effort already have charging plans underway to help create a regional network meant to help support a growing number of electric vehicles in the U.S.
Fiat Chrysler, Tupy may lose out if France blocks EU-Brazil trade deal
The French government will likely block a trade deal between the EU and Brazil. The event both illustrates the complications in finalizing trade deals and crimps the development opportunity for the auto industry.
Retail
Walmart exec says retailer seeking 'fundamental transformation' of supply chain
The retailer is pressing suppliers to take action in six focus areas: energy, waste, packaging, agriculture, forests and product use.
Nike expects gross margin to be flat in FY'21 – CFO
Nike executives said the company will continue to invest in its digital strategy, including enhancing logistics operations to help cut order cycle times by up to 50%.
Costco optimistic about holiday season as online sales surge amid pandemic
Costco's e-commerce sales have been growing as consumers turned to the warehouse retailer for items in categories such as health and beauty, groceries, appliances, TVs, computers, tablets and housewares.
Contradicting statements, national security concerns cloud TikTok deal forecast
While confusion still surrounds the planned sale of TikTok, security and foreign policy experts said ByteDance's plan to retain a controlling stake in TikTok would leave the national security concerns around the video-sharing app unresolved.
COVID-19 stalls China's economic transition as stimulus bypasses consumers
The recovery of China's economy has exceeded expectations, but the strength in investment and manufacturing is overshadowing the weakness in domestic consumption.
This decade is the one that matters for climate change, say CEOs, academics
"We must dramatically change the future and this is the decade that matters," Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said in announcing a new net-zero emission goal for the company's operations.
Food, beverage and tobacco
Cannabis M&A to accelerate as valuations bounce back from 2019 drop – experts
The cannabis industry experienced a slower pace of deal-making in the first half of 2020 in the wake of 2019, when global cannabis stocks lost 70% of their value.
Bottled-water tycoon briefly overtakes Jack Ma as China's richest person
Shares of Nongfu Spring, China's biggest bottled water company, have surged since its listing in Hong Kong earlier this month, leading to founder Zhong Shanshan becoming the country's richest person, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
S&P 500 Consumer Staples and Discretionary indexes
