Kathleen McLaughlin

Our teams and suppliers continue to work on making the sustainable choice the every day choice – making it easier, affordable and accessible. For example, this #EarthWeek, we're spotlighting products, innovations, and services that help deliver better customer experiences along with savings, such as @tide, which enables customers to wash their clothes in cold water – getting the dirt out without losing quality or texture of their clothes and helping save as much as 90% in energy use and on their bills. Read more here to learn more about Tide’s innovation as well as other improvements we’re driving with our private brands: bit.ly/4b0FSFQ

We are excited to announce our next wave of renewable energy projects, enabling nearly 1 gigawatt (GW) of additional clean energy over the next few years across the U.S. - part of the energy transformation roadmap we unveiled at CES earlier this year, which includes a goal to enable at least 10GW of new clean energy by 2030 once in service. The portfolio includes renewable energy PPAs and community solar initiatives. Once in service, the community solar projects are expected to expand access to clean energy for thousands of households and communities, helping them save money on energy costs. The renewable energy purchase agreements will and hundreds of MWs of clean energy to grids in multiple states, creating 1000 new jobs and contributing $250 million in local tax revenue. Learn more from Vishal Kapadia, our senior vice president of energy transformation: bit.ly/3xbqnMV

In just one year of using Route Optimization, @WalmartInc has helped slash 30 million miles from drivers' routes and avoided 94 million pounds of CO2 emissions. But systems level change requires wider adoption of such technology so we’re extending the award-winning AI-powered logistics technology as a SaaS offering to all businesses. By making this technology accessible, we hope to empower many more organizations to achieve their sustainability goals faster while enhancing operational efficiency.

22 states and territories have signed on to participate in the Skills in the States Community of Practice launched by NGA with support from @Walmartorg. Skills in the States is a group brainstorming best practices for skills-based hiring in the public sector. It will support the steps dozens of governors have been taking to remove barriers to employment in the public sector by eliminating unnecessary bachelor's degree requirements. Throughout 2024 and early 2025, Skills in the States members will convene to identify and share emerging best practices, challenges, successes and lessons learned. The Walmart.org has worked closely with governors on this initiative, and we hope that this focus on skills-based hiring will help open opportunities for millions of Americans.

In 2017, @WalmartInc announced Project Gigaton, a bold ambition to work with our suppliers to reduce, avoid, or sequester one gigaton — that's one billion metric tons — of greenhouse gas emissions in product value chains by 2030. Since then, our merchants and suppliers have gotten to work — project by project, year by year, on practical things like energy efficiency, packaging redesign, food waste reduction and trucking load optimization. Today, I am thrilled that our suppliers have now reported projects that are expected to exceed that one billion metric tons mark to help us reach our goal six years early. To date, Project Gigaton has become one of the largest private sector consortia of its kind with over 5,900 of our suppliers signed up since launching in 2017. And in FY23, reporting suppliers represented approximately 75% of U.S. product net sales dollars. Although we have achieved our one gigaton goal, we intend to continue Project Gigaton — because as a society we have a long way to go. We hope Project Gigaton will continue to set the standard for corporate climate action — because a more sustainable supply chain is a more resilient one. And a more resilient supply chain isn't just better for our business, it's better for people, communities and the planet. Learn more about how we achieved our one gigaton goal and the way forward here: bit.ly/3uGCVe3

We all owe farmers a debt of gratitude not only for putting food on our tables but for looking after our natural resources – including protecting and restoring #soilhealth. The Walmart Foundation is proud to have funded Environmental Initiative to build ReachFarmersFaster.com, an initiative designed by @FarmJournal in collaboration with the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative. This initiative helps conservation professionals reach more farmers more quickly with the latest advice in sustainable agriculture practices – through data, an interactive guide, and other resources to optimize and scale farmer engagement. Research shows that a farmer-centered approach, focusing on understanding individual perspectives and goals, can engage farmers at more than twice the rate of traditional methods. This initiative aligns with Walmart and the Walmart Foundation's broader commitment to protecting, restoring or sustainably managing 50 million acres of land by 2030. Learn more: shorturl.at/eilBX.

Serving our customers and communities is core to our purpose – just like our new collaboration with Reactivate and @usbank to expand access to affordable and reliable clean energy to more communities. These community solar projects will help households, non-profits, businesses, and a public school district across six counties in Illinois and New York reduce their energy costs. With a combined capacity of 14.4 megawatts (AC), these projects are estimated to avert 667,788 metric tons of CO2 emissions and help approximately 5,000 households, with most of them low- and middle-income, save on their electricity bills by at least 20%. In total, the projects are expected to result in a projected $17 million in customer savings over the projects’’ lifespan along with helping contribute toward a cleaner grid, a key example of how @WalmartInc is ramping up its approach to #energytransformation by investing in expanding access to affordable and reliable clean energy for our communities.

.@WalmartInc recently took a next step in investing in our associates by raising store manager wages to an average yearly salary of $128,000 and redesigning our bonus program. This is part of our continued journey of investing in our associates – from offering education and training opportunities, to benefits that support associates’ health and well-being in all aspects of life. Given more than 75% of our Walmart U.S. managers started their careers as hourly associates, an investment in our associates is an investment in our culture, our core values, and our future. Read more about our updates here: bit.ly/3vYx3gE

This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, @WalmartInc unveiled how some of the hottest technologies of today will enable us to deliver a new type of commerce – one that is customer-centric, interconnected, frictionless, and consistently exceeds expectations. Additionally, we shared our plan for how the technology we build will benefit customers and members, the workforce, as well as society. My colleague Vishal Kapadia shared our plans for accelerating our path toward decarbonizing our operations as well as making clean energy accessible, affordable and reliable for our customers, members and communities. Learn more here: bit.ly/3SdzzqX

This year, during @COP28_UAE, the #LEAFCoalition announced that Costa Rica and Ghana will be the first forest governments to agree to deals with @EmergentClimate to supply high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ credits to buyers. These agreements will bring vital finance to forest countries and communities to tackle deforestation. As a coalition member, @WalmartInc looks forward to future #LEAFCoalition agreements with more governments in 2024 and beyond. Read more: bit.ly/3t9ruel

.@WalmartInc and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (@NFWFnews) announced an investment of $5.6 million through 10 grants as part of Walmart’s Acres for America program. The grants will help to permanently protect more than 148,000 acres of wildlife habitat across nine states. Of note, several of this year's projects involve Indigenous people and native nations in the stewardship of their ancestral homeland. Since 2005, our Acres for America program has helped conserve more than 2 million acres of land, surpassing its original goal to permanently conserve one acre of wildlife habitat for every acre of land developed by Walmart in the U.S. Learn more about this year’s grants here: bit.ly/41oPxmc

On #VeteransDay and every day, we are grateful to our nation’s veterans and military. Since 2011, @WalmartOrg has invested more than $44 million to help those in the military community and their loved ones. This year, from Oct. 23 – Nov. 30, Walmart will match donations 2:1 when customers round up  at checkout on Walmart.com or in the app to donate to any participating veteran service charitable organization, including up to $2M for Operation Homefront. Learn more about this year's #SparkGood Veterans Round Up campaign and how Walmart is supporting the military community here: bit.ly/494JR48

.@WalmartInc and @YouCamApps are working together to make shopping for beauty products more #sustainable. Using artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology, customers will soon be able to use the Walmart app to virtually try on blush, lip color, eyeshadow and bronzer products—helping you find your shade while eliminating unnecessary product samples. Learn more about the new collaboration here: bit.ly/3Q1KWRB

Today, @WalmartInc, @SamsClub and @GeneralMills announced a shared initiative to support the adoption of regenerative agriculture on 600,000 acres in the U.S. by 2030. Read our release here: corporate.walmart.com/news/2023/10/1…

.@WalmartOrg and @WalmartInc believe in advancing skills-based, career-driven training and development. We're working together to build a hiring system that values all life experiences, not just a formal college education. Read about more our initiatives: walmrt.us/46jDwjl

Today is #ENERGYSTAR Day, celebrating their work to help consumers save energy, lower their bills, and reduce climate impacts through income-eligible funding programs, utility rebates, and tax credits. walmrt.us/3F8nwVp

The most detailed interactive map yet of the US’ vulnerability to dangers such as fire, flooding, and pollution was released on Monday by @EnvDefenseFund and @TAMU grist.org/extreme-weathe…

Fortune named @Walmart to its annual #ChangeTheWorld list for the ninth year in a row. This year, @Fortune recognized our efforts to make retail an inclusive place of economic opportunity through education and training programs. fortune.com/company/walmar…

Now through Oct 13, Walmart will provide a 2:1 match, up to $1M, for customer donations through our Spark Good Round Up program to @NFWFnews on Walmart.com. It’s easy – just round up your purchases to the next dollar when shopping, and we will do the rest!

Today, @Walmart launched Great Value Compostable Cutlery, our 100% commercially compostable private brand cutlery, in 1,400 U.S. stores & online. This innovation is helping create American jobs, while offering customers more sustainable choices. bit.ly/3Llsh1m