Regeneration of Natural Resources: Forests, Land, Oceans

We aspire to become a regenerative company, one dedicated to placing nature and humanity at the center of our business practices. In support of this ambition, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have set a goal to help protect, more sustainably manage, or restore at least 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030.

Scientists tell us that the world has pushed its natural resources to the point of crisis, resulting in the degradation and loss of critical landscapes, a loss of biodiversity as species of plants and animals are eradicated, and the acceleration of climate change. Recent research from the Carnegie Endowment shows that half of all tropical forests have been destroyed since 1960, with another 8.3 million acres being lost each year.

Many of the products that Walmart sells—from bananas, cookies, and salmon to cotton sheets and shampoo—come from nature or depend on ingredients derived from nature. World Economic Forum (WEF) research estimates that $44 trillion of economic value generation—more than half of the world’s total GDP—is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services. These include climate regulation, freshwater, storm and flood protection, erosion and soil regulation, materials, pollination, and energy that are essential to life—and business—on this planet. Without action, this degradation of resources could make certain products too expensive to produce or altogether unavailable.

Nature loss affects communities, business, and society as a whole. In the latest WEF Global Risks Report, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse now appear in the top five long-term global risks. The growing crisis prompted governments from around the world to adopt the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which provides guidance for global action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and aims to protect 30% of the Earth’s lands, oceans, coastal areas, and inland waters by 2030. Stakeholders have called for Walmart and others to support these ambitions by operating its business in a regenerative way—one that restores, renews and replenishes nature—to help reverse negative trends and sustain critical resources for the future.

In September 2020, Walmart committed to become a regenerative company, one dedicated to placing nature and humanity at the center of our business practices. To that end, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation set a goal to help protect, more sustainably manage, or restore at least 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030. We work to achieve this goal and our broader ambition to regenerate natural resources through the following strategies:

• Governing our nature strategy through accountable leadership
• Identifying and assessing nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities based on perspectives from leading science-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), suppliers, and other stakeholders
• Fostering more sustainable production of commodities such as beef, soy, row crops, coffee, paper, and tuna to meet consumer demand while promoting forest, field, and ocean health through sourcing requirements, best practice sharing, supplier engagement, and industry consortia
• Transitioning our operations towards more regenerative practices
• Supporting conservation and restoration of critical ecosystems through philanthropy and supplier engagement
• Encouraging the development of place-based (landscape-level) initiatives combining conservation, restoration, and more sustainable commodity production to create positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes through Walmart private brand sourcing, supplier engagement, and philanthropy
• Advocating for and investing in enablers of systemic change, such as public policy, measurement tools, certification programs, and capacity of organizations to accelerate adoption of better practices

Governance and Management | Identifying, Measuring, and Assessing Nature-related Dependencies, Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities | Fostering More Sustainable Production of Commodities | Transitioning to Regenerative Operations| Supporting Conservation & Restoration | Encouraging Place-Based Initiatives | Fostering an Enabling Environment

Governance and Management

Management of Nature Risks and Opportunities

Walmart’s sustainability team, overseen by our Chief Sustainability Officer, leads the development of the company’s nature strategy and works with a cross-functional team including merchandising, operations, finance, real estate, strategy, and public policy to set goals and targets, develop initiatives, track progress against our goals, and execute against our strategy.

Board Oversight

The Nominating and Governance Committee (NGC) of the Board of Directors oversees Walmart's sustainability strategy, which includes nature, nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. In 2022, the NGC discussed Walmart’s shared value approach to ESG and its integration into our business strategies, our ESG goals and strategies, and its progress towards them, including on nature. Highlights of the committee’s discussions with management are shared with the full Board of Directors.

Identifying, Measuring, and Assessing Nature-related Dependencies, Impacts, Risks, and Opportunities

Prioritizing Ecosystems

In collaboration with Conservation International, we have assessed our most important nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities. The assessment considers landscapes and seascapes that have a high value for nature, such as forests, grasslands, and ocean ecosystems; our product sourcing footprint³⁹; and opportunities for Walmart to create positive impact by reducing and reversing nature loss. Based on the assessment, we have prioritized 13 commodities and set a goal to help protect, more sustainably manage, or restore at least 50 million acres of land and 1 million square miles of ocean by 2030, roughly equivalent to the territory required to produce the volumes of priority commodities consumed by Walmart customers each year.

We have developed and continue to refine approaches to achieve this goal, working to move commodity production practices along a basic-better-best practice continuum toward a fully integrated, regenerative approach—one that optimizes outcomes for nature, people, and business. A description of priority landscapes, seascapes, and commodities—along with example dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities to improve practices—is below.

Forests

Forests provide vital benefits to people and the planet: a home for millions of people, habitat for a vast number of species, purification of air and water, carbon storage, and regulation of climate. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), the world has lost over 1 billion acres of tree cover since 2000—an area equivalent to over half the continental United States. Agriculture and forestry production, including commodities like beef, palm oil, soy, and pulp, paper and timber, has been linked to deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems. This land use change is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, contributes to climate change, and can negatively impact biodiversity, ecosystem services, and local communities.

Walmart aims to contribute to more sustainable agriculture management practices as well as the protection and restoration of forests and other important natural ecosystems. Our Forests Policy outlines our goals and the approaches we ask our suppliers to adopt to help ensure we are able to source deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) commodities. Strategies supporting this policy include:

• Setting expectations with suppliers for achieving and reporting on deforestation- and conversion-free commodity supply chains (e.g., conduct risk assessments for higher risk regions, maintain comprehensive records)
• Encouraging more sustainable commodity production practices (e.g., protect high conservation value areas and high carbon stock forests, avoid burning in the preparation of new and re-plantings, avoid new developments on peatlands, avoid illegal commodity harvesting, maintain respect for human rights, encourage agroforestry and forest management best practices)
• Supporting conservation and restoration initiatives
• Advancing holistic landscape-level solutions
• Creating an enabling environment (for example, by participating in coalitions such as the Consumer Goods Forum – Forest Positive Coalition)
  
  

Because of the complexity and lack of transparency of forest-commodity supply chains, preventing deforestation and conversion of remaining critical landscapes will require enhanced commitment and action at all levels. Mindful of this critical moment, we are working in 2023 to update our Forests Policy (last updated 2020) to further clarify our aspirations and actions.

Grasslands

Grasslands ecosystems are important contributors to the food supply, support pollinator health and biodiversity, and provide important ecosystem services such as water management and carbon sequestration. Several commodities important to the Walmart assortment—including beef and row crops⁴⁰ (such as wheat, corn, soy, rice, and cotton)—come from agricultural regions near or within grassland ecosystems. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest inventory of major land uses, roughly 29% of total U.S. land is dedicated to grassland pasture and rangeland, and 17% is used for cropland, much of it on former grassland.⁴¹

Our grasslands and regenerative agriculture initiatives focus on better management of commodity production and avoidance of grasslands conversion, aiming to enhance soil health, water quality and quantity, pollinator health, and biodiversity while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sequestration.

For purposes of guiding action, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation define regenerative agriculture as an approach to farming and ranching that results in improved economic, social, and/or environmental outcomes for farmers and ranchers, rural communities, and the planet.

Our grasslands and regenerative agriculture initiatives focus on better management of commodity production and avoiding conversion of natural lands. Our desired environmental outcomes include:

• Soil health
• Water quality and quantity
• Biodiversity
• Avoided greenhouse gas emissions and increased carbon sequestration.
  
  

Regenerative agriculture also centers people’s well-being by supporting farmer and rancher livelihoods and promoting the widespread use of responsible labor practices.

We aspire to build a regenerative agriculture system by supporting context-specific practices that restore and replenish the soils that are the foundation of all agricultural production and by protecting and restoring the natural ecosystems in which agricultural production is embedded. While approaches and outcomes will be different from farm to farm and ranch to ranch, our Sustainable Row Crop Position Statement outlines some of the best practices we encourage:

• Soil and nutrient management, such as cover crops, conservation tillage, crop rotation, and “4R” (right type, right rate, right time, right place) nutrient management—practices that build healthy soils that are inherently productive, resilient, and need fewer external inputs.
• Pest management, including Integrated Pest Management and protecting or establishing beneficial insect habitats—to protect biodiversity and support healthy soil ecosystems.
• Water management plans and irrigation efficiency—to more effectively use a limited resource and help farmers and communities adapt to climate change.
• Regenerative land management practices, including hedgerow plantings, management of riparian corridors, grassed waterways and constructed wetlands—creating or restoring habitat and biodiversity and preventing erosion.
• Preventing conversion of priority wetland/peatlands, grasslands, and forest ecosystems.
  
  

Oceans

Oceans cover 70% of our planet and represent over 95% of the biosphere, some 250,000 known species according to the United Nations. Oceans are critical to a healthy planet, supplying half of the oxygen we breathe and absorbing annually about 26% of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Several commodities important to Walmart customers—such as tuna, shrimp, and salmon—rely on healthy ocean ecosystems. Yet, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN estimates that today more than one-third of global fisheries are overfished, in large part due to illegal and destructive fishing. Fisheries and aquaculture production reached an all-time high of 214 million tonnes in 2020; the expected additional increase in seafood consumption (an increase of 80% by 2050, according to a Stanford University-led study) could put even more pressure on ocean health.

We believe that more sustainable sourcing of seafood can support ocean health. Our ocean initiatives include conservation, restoration of coastal landscapes, and more sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture. We focus on the aquatic ecosystems that produce major seafood commodities, such as tuna and shrimp, addressing systemic issues such as overfishing, bycatch, antibiotic misuse, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and sustainable livelihoods.

Principles and Approach to Measurement

To encourage more sustainable practices and the development of jurisdictional initiatives—landscape-scale, on-the-ground efforts involving multiple actors (typically across business, government and civil society) to address system-level challenges at the intersection of commodity production and nature conservation—we categorize relevant practices along a “basic-better-best” continuum with the end goal being to support supplier movement along this continuum. We focus measurement on the key interactions of our business (e.g., commodity sourcing) with high-value landscapes rather than seek to measure every interaction of our business with every land plot. We measure acres engaged in regenerative practices as well as the quality of that engagement along the continuum. Since nature-positive practices necessarily depend on the landscape, we use a range of measures including product certifications and measurement of landscape-level practices and outcomes. For example, in FY2023, suppliers reported their volume of certified seafood to SFP Seafood Metrics that is estimated to cover >1.4 million square miles of ocean using the Project Gigaton accounting methodology. We consider more than half of that spatial area to be at the "basic" level, as defined in the accounting methodology. We continue to support supplier movement from Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs), to MSC certification, to jurisdictional initiatives such as Pacific Island Tuna (see more detail below). As we focus on the work of moving practices along this basic-better-best continuum, we anticipate that the science of natural protection, management and restoration—as well as methodologies for impact measurement and spatial area conversion, and our own approach to calculating and reporting on results—will continue to evolve.

Fostering More Sustainable Production of Commodities

Setting Product Specifications

Our sourcing teams seek to procure products that support our commitment to regenerative supply chains. For commodities that come from (or contain ingredients that come from) nature, Walmart articulates our expectations through nature-related policies and position statements, which include expectations regarding certifications.

Policies and Position Statements

Walmart’s nature-related policies and position statements articulate the importance of forest, grassland and ocean ecosystems for our business; practices that can protect, more sustainably manage, or restore these ecosystems; and any sourcing requirements or goals we have set for our assortment.

Read more: Walmart Policies and Guidelines

Certifications

Credible, science-based certifications and standards encourage and help us validate adoption of more sustainable practices in the production of priority commodities from complex supply chains. See the commodity sourcing overview table below for a list of third-party certifications we ask our suppliers to use.

Tracing and Validation

In the case of beef and finished soy products (e.g., soybean oil) sourced from Brazil, we use Safe Trace, a Brazilian-based company that specializes in traceability of the food production chain, to help validate they do not come from recently deforested or converted land.⁴² As of yet, we are unable to use such tools to trace the origins of soy used in early stages of complex product supply chains (e.g., soy as an ingredient in animal feed that goes to Chilean cattle ranchers who sell to companies that sell to Walmart).

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation also invest in the development of tracing and validation tools and technologies, including:

• Global Fishing Watching (GFW): GFW creates and publicly shares knowledge about human activity at sea using cutting-edge technology to better safeguard and enable fair and sustainable use of the ocean. In FY2023, the Walmart Foundation made a grant to GFW that will support a data-driven and partnership approach with government, industry, and civil society partners in the Pacific region to identify vessels and build common approaches to reduce the risks of forced labor and illegal fishing in the seafood supply chain.
  
• LandScale: In FY2023, Walmart Foundation made a grant to Rainforest Alliance (RA) to support LandScale, a new tool that is designed to drive improvements in landscape-level sustainability performance by enabling credible assessments and validation of impacts. With support from Walmart Foundation, RA is helping improve the functionality of LandScale to improve accessibility for users, streamline assessments, validation, and reporting, and strengthen claim outputs for companies. In addition, support from Walmart Foundation is helping create opportunities for locally led coalitions to utilize LandScale at a highly reduced costs, building greater capacity and enhancing opportunities for these locally led efforts to attract additional support.
  
• The Nature Conservancy (TNC): TNC uses science-based approaches that incorporate multi-stakeholder input into solutions in order to benefit nature and people. A Walmart Foundation grant made in FY2021 funds TNC to help advance transparency tools for vessels at sea through two key workstreams: (1) connecting satellite monitoring to electronic monitoring on vessels to surface overfishing and sustainability threats in partnership with Global Fishing Watch with research support from University of California (Santa Barbara) and (2) aiming to accelerate the scale of electronic monitoring on longline vessels in the Western and Central Pacific. An investment from the Walmart Foundation made in FY2023 will help TNC partner with Conservation International and Global Fishing Watch to prototype and test how electronic monitoring technologies in fisheries may increase the visibility of human rights abuses at sea.
  
  

Encouraging Suppliers to Engage and Report Progress

In addition to our product specifications, certifications, and sourcing requirements, Walmart encourages suppliers to pursue ambitious nature-focused initiatives and report on their progress through our Project Gigaton platform and encourage suppliers to engage in jurisdictional and place-based initiatives that protect, more sustainably manage, or restore nature.

Project Gigaton aims to inspire suppliers to reduce and/or avoid one gigaton of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the global value chain by 2030 within six action areas: energy, waste, packaging, transportation, product use and design, and—relevant here—nature. Since launch, more than 5,200 suppliers have signed up for Project Gigaton and, as of FY2023, more than 4,100 of those suppliers have set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-limited) goals. Our Project Gigaton platform offers resources such as calculators to help suppliers set and report on goals, workshops on best practices, and curated links to additional resources provided by Walmart or third parties.

Read more: Project Gigaton in our Climate Change ESG Brief

While we launched Project Gigaton to focus on emissions, initiatives related to nature not only help address GHG emissions, they also enhance overall ecosystem health in terms of enhanced soil health, water quality, and biodiversity. Accordingly, we engage suppliers to set ambitious goals and report on their nature-related actions related to forests, grasslands, and oceans:

• Forests: We encourage suppliers to report on initiatives aligned with our forest goals as well as our Project Gigaton emissions avoidance targets, including the volume of certified palm oil, recycled paper, certified timber, and restoration initiatives. We also encourage suppliers to report to CDP’s Forests Questionnaire.
  
• Grasslands: We engage suppliers to work and report on regenerative agriculture practices, such as soil management (e.g., fertilizer optimization), manure management, and grazing optimization. For example, we are encouraging our Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S. fresh beef suppliers to improve grazing management and grain sourcing practices across a target 12 million acres in their U.S. supply chain. As of FY2023, our fresh beef suppliers report implementing more sustainable grazing management practices on approximately 15 million acres. Additionally, in FY2023, suppliers reported participation in more sustainable management practices for row crops—including soil and nutrient management, pest management, water management, land management, and priority area protection—covering more than 3.4 million acres. For more information, watch how EDF, Smithfield, and Walmart are working together with farmers to optimize fertilizer use.
  
• Oceans: We encourage suppliers to report on initiatives aligned with our sustainable sourcing goals. For example, Walmart buyers and suppliers use the Seafood Metrics System, managed by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), to measure and track supplier performance on more sustainable sourcing.

As of the end of FY2023, more than 800 suppliers are reporting progress through Project Gigaton’s Nature pillar. Looking ahead, we plan to enhance reporting beyond forest and agriculture initiatives to capture additional supplier goals and progress regarding natural ecosystems.

Supporting Suppliers with Resources and Best Practice Sharing

To promote best practices, we provide resources and create forums for suppliers, merchants and subject matter experts to share and learn. Recent examples include:

• Walmart Sustainability Hub: The Hub houses resources such as guidance on target setting, background information on Walmart sustainability strategies for key commodities and issues, our nature portal (which includes information about place-based sourcing opportunities), tools (e.g., Recycling Playbook), links to the Project Gigaton platform, and recordings of topical webinars and summits.
  
• Place-based initiatives connectors: We provide information about landscape-scale, on-the-ground collaborative efforts through the Nature section of the Sustainability Hub to help suppliers discover and join multi-sector stakeholders in collective efforts to address system-level changes in commodity production. Through conservation, restoration, and more sustainable approaches to commodity production, such initiatives aim to sustain the health of nature while helping local communities to thrive.
  
• Project Gigaton “calculators”: These calculators, which include calculators related to nature, are designed to help suppliers identify improvement opportunities and translate actions into impact on emissions or other variables, including nature metrics. For additional information, watch Introduction to the Nature Pillar Calculators.
  
• Commodity summits: We host summits on commodities relevant to nature during which our merchants, suppliers, and stakeholders discuss sourcing strategies, aspirations, achievements, and challenges. These summits offer a chance to discuss necessary behavioral shifts, surface innovative and promising practices, and highlight resources to help drive action. Since 2020, we have held summits for tuna, beef and row crops (e.g., corn, cotton). We also held a Sustainable Packaging Innovation Summit in 2021, which is of relevance to our nature-related ambitions on pulp and paper. In 2023 we are planning additional summits focused on oceans, forests, land, and packaging.
  
• Joint sustainability plans: Walmart invites sustainability and business leaders from strategic suppliers to engage in joint sustainability planning sessions where we share experiences, ambitions and feedback with the goal of advancing sustainability initiatives together (e.g., Project Gigaton, packaging, and place-based initiatives). These connections continue throughout the year.
  
• Philanthropic investments to enhance resources for producers: Walmart and the Walmart Foundation also invest in the development of resources and technology for the benefit of producers in supply chains with high dependencies and impacts on nature. For example, in FY2023, Walmart Foundation made a grant to the Rainforest Alliance to support the Accountability Framework initiative, a collaborative initiative to accelerate progress and improve accountability for ethical supply chains in agriculture and forestry (e.g., DCF commodity production, human rights). In FY2022 the Walmart Foundation helped fund Wolfe’s Neck Farm Foundation to develop OpenTEAM, a suite of agriculture-focused technologies focused on collecting farmer data, expanding collaboration, and providing resources to farmers to drive regenerative practices.
  
  

Supporting Collective Action through Coalitions and Initiatives

Achieving goals to conserve and protect vital ecosystems in a way that sustains food production and the livelihoods of communities requires collective action. We support multi-stakeholder initiatives that help to accelerate progress. Examples of coalitions and initiatives in which we engage include:

Forests and Forest Commodities

• Consumer Goods Forum (CGF): Comprising more than 400 retailers, manufacturers and service providers, CGF addresses key social and environmental challenges facing the industry, including forced labor, deforestation, health and wellness, food safety, food waste, plastic waste, and data transparency. Walmart is a CGF member and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon serves on its Board of Directors. Walmart is a member of CGF’s Forest Positive Coalition (FPC). As a member of the FPC we are building on the CGF’s 2010 resolution to achieve zero net deforestation in our supply chains, and the Coalition’s elevated commitments to a forest positive future, to achieve deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) supply chains. We regularly participate in FPC commodity working groups to engage in stakeholder consultations throughout the year to develop commodity roadmaps and action plans to help deliver a forest positive future for the planet. Walmart provides thought leadership, reports progress, and information around key commodities, and helps to advance landscape-level initiatives.
  
• World Economic Forum (WEF): Walmart is a member of WEF’s Global Future Council on Trade and Investment, where we advise leaders on the role of trade and investment in creating sustainable, resilient and equitable companies, economies and societies. We are also part of WEF’s Tropical Forest Alliance, a multi stakeholder partnership platform initiated to support the implementation of private-sector commitments to remove deforestation from palm oil, beef, soy and pulp/paper supply chains.
  
  

Grasslands and Agriculture

• Midwest Row Crop Collaborative (MRCC): In 2016 Walmart helped found the MRCC, which brings together retailers, suppliers, conservation organizations and farmers in the U.S. heartland to adopt more sustainable agriculture practices. In 2021, the MRCC reported members have engaged more than 1,000 farmers, resulting in the adoption of more sustainable agriculture practices on more than 380,000 acres. The MRCC also announced its 2030 goals in 2021 that reflect the collective desired ambition of members for a more regenerative agricultural system, including: achieving 30 million acres in the Midwest with improved outcomes for soil health, greenhouse gases, water quality and use, biodiversity, or farmer livelihoods; reducing net on-farm GHG emissions in the Midwest row crop supply chain by 7 million metric tons by 2030; and supporting at least 30,000 Midwestern farm operations in the transition to regenerative agriculture by 2030.
  
• Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture: Walmart is a member of Field to Market, which brings together diverse organizations working in the agricultural value chain to define, measure, and advance the sustainability of food, feed, fiber, and fuel production in the United States. Field to Market’s member organizations include farmers, agribusiness companies, brands, retailers, civil society, academia and public sector partners. Walmart provides an opportunity for suppliers to export data from the Field to Market Fieldprint Platform directly into Project Gigaton, helping to streamline supplier reporting.
  
• Better Cotton: Walmart is a member of Better Cotton, the largest cotton sustainability program in the world. Together with its partners, Better Cotton provides training on more sustainable farming practices reaching more than 2 million cotton farmers across 23 countries in the 2019-2020 cotton season. In 2022, an estimated 28 billion gallons of water were saved, an estimated 150,000 pounds of pesticides were avoided and Better Cotton Farmers benefited from an estimated $52 million in additional profit thanks to our sourcing of Better Cotton for Walmart Inc. (including Walmart U.S., Walmart Canada and Sam’s Club).⁴³
  
• Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC): In 2009 Walmart helped found the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. Today, the SAC brings together more than 280 global brands, retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academics and industry associations along the whole supply chain, representing about half of the apparel and footwear industry. Among SAC’s focus areas is scaling use of the Higg Index suite of tools, which generally relate to efforts to conserve and protect natural resources. For example, the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) provides facility-level benchmarking across seven key environmental performance indicators, including water usage, waste water, air pollution, and chemicals management. As of FY2023, the percentage of net product sales in apparel and soft home categories for Walmart U.S. sourced from suppliers reporting that at least one facility has completed the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg FEM assessment has grown to over 96 percent.
  
  

Oceans and Seafood

• The Nature Conservancy (TNC): Walmart partnered with TNC, a globally-focused organization dedicated to ocean, land and freshwater protection efforts, and the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) on our Pacific Island Tuna place-based initiative (described in greater detail below).
  
• Seafood Task Force (STF): Since 2015, Walmart has been a member of STF, an international, multi-stakeholder initiative to address forced labor and illegal fishing in the Thai seafood industry. We have been a Board member since 2016 and participate in several working subgroups. STF aims to help stop overfishing in fishmeal and tuna supply chains; help remove natural habitat conversion/deforestation from shrimp supply chains; and help reduce land use, water use, energy use and wild fish use in shrimp supply chains through a wide range of tools and resources.
  
• Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI): Launched in 2015 by the Ocean Conservancy, GGGI is the world’s largest cross sectoral alliance committed to driving solutions to the problem of lost, abandoned and otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG, otherwise known as “ghost gear”) worldwide. The GGGI has three key aims: to improve the health of aquatic ecosystems, to safeguard human health and livelihoods, and too protect aquatic life from harm. Walmart joined GGGI in 2022.
  
• Ocean Disclosure Project (ODP): Launched in 2015 by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, ODP is a reporting framework for seafood companies including retailers, suppliers, fish feed manufacturers and more, to voluntarily disclose their wild-caught seafood sourcing alongside information on the environmental performance of each source with an aim to drive more transparency in the seafood industry. Walmart joined ODP in 2017 and continue to provide information about our seafood sourcing via the project’s website.
  
  

We also engage with Business for Nature (BFN), a global organization that brings together business and conservation organizations to call for governments to adopt policies to reverse nature loss in this decade. We are a participant of BFN’s Strategic Advisory Group (SAG) which provides input on direction and focus areas and helps BFN aggregate action across nature, climate, development, and food system agendas.

Nature-Focused Commodity Sourcing Summary

Transitioning to Regenerative Operations

Walmart is working to minimize and offset the nature impact of our own operations. We empower our associates to pilot innovative regenerative strategies across our business. Example strategies and initiatives include:

Stormwater, wastewater, rainwater harvesting

• Our real estate operations and environmental services teams design, maintain and repair stormwater systems to convey and/or treat stormwater prior to leaving our properties, where required. At some locations we maintain specialty systems that include irrigation control monitoring, ground water recharge systems, or other natural or constructed systems to improve water quality.
• In 2019 we collaborated with the U.S. EPA, Maryland Department of the Environment, and Maryland Department of Transportation on high-performance ponds to help protect the Chesapeake Bay.
• We have constructed cisterns in Puerto Rico to support water conservation practices and provide a source of water during outages, and in South Africa, where water scarcity is a major issue, we run a rainwater harvesting program.
  
  

Wetlands: Our teams monitor and maintain wetlands that are part of over 330 Walmart properties in the U.S. Maintenance includes general trash and debris removal, invasive vegetation management, and installing signage to discourage disturbance of protected areas. Additionally, between FY2020 and FY2023, Walmart invested in more than 160 wetland improvement projects on these sites.

Landscaping: Our facilities services team identifies instances where previously developed landscaping plans do not align with existing water supplies to ensure that our facilities are not stressing already fragile water systems. As of March 2023, 80 Sam’s Club sites have transitioned water-intensive landscaping to alternatives (e.g., AstroTurf, hardscaping) to reduce water usage.

Pollinator program: Honeybees are America's primary commercial pollinator, and they play a pivotal role in our supply chain. Where bees have made their homes near our Walmart U.S. stores, we ask our associates to flag the colony, and whenever possible, work with an accredited wildlife vendor to humanely remove and relocate the bees. In 2021 we also launched a new US Pollinator Health Position which sets out pollinator-friendly certifications, our approach to chemicals and pesticides harmful to pollinators, education initiatives and more. Read more: A Brighter Future In Store for Pollinators

We have also committed to preserve natural habitats across the country via our Acres for America program (discussed below), and we continue to empower our local store associates to identify innovative ways to make our operations more regenerative.

Read more: Operational excellence towards zero waste; Working towards zero emissions in our operations

Supporting Conservation & Restoration

Acres for America (AFA): AFA was launched in 2005 as a groundbreaking way for the corporate world to work with the conservation community to conserve vital wildlife habitat for future generations. Walmart’s original ten-year commitment was to make grants to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to preserve at least one acre of natural habitat for every acre of land developed for Walmart stores in the U.S. In 2015, Walmart renewed its commitment for another 10 years.

Over the past 18 years, Acres for America has helped to permanently protect more than 2 million acres and connect millions of acres of protected lands across 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico—an area about twice the size of Rhode Island. The program has funded 112 projects and has leveraged Walmart’s $57 million investment with matching contributions that have generated a total conservation impact of more than $1 billion. The grants awarded in 2022 leveraged an additional $133.4 million in matching contributions from grantees and their project partners for a total conservation impact of $136.5 million to help protect essential fish and wildlife habitat, safeguard vital migration routes, support local economies, and provide increased public access to outdoor recreation.

More information about specific places conserved through the Acres for America program—including several projects protecting forests, grasslands, and wetlands—is available on the NFWF website.

LEAF Coalition: In November 2021, Walmart.org joined the LEAF Coalition, a new public-private initiative designed to accelerate climate action by providing results-based finance to national and sub-national jurisdictions committed to protecting and restoring their tropical forests. At COP27 in November 2022, the LEAF Coalition announced it had increased financial commitments for the purchase of high-integrity credits to over $1.5 billion. The Coalition continues to mobilize additional finance to support substantial reductions in emissions from deforestation while seeking to foster tangible benefits for local communities and nature.

Encouraging Place-Based Initiatives

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation support the development of place-based and jurisdictional initiatives—landscape-scale, on-the-ground efforts that involve multiple actors (typically across business, government and civil society) to address system-level challenges at the intersection of commodity production and nature conservation. Such initiatives aim to sustain the health of nature while helping farmers, fisheries and local communities thrive. Place-based initiatives work by:

• Creating more regenerative commodity production across a landscape or seascape through conservation, restoration, and more sustainable approaches
• Utilizing a variety of approaches such as public policy and stronger sourcing standards to foster adoption of regenerative practices
• Engaging a landscape or seascape’s stakeholders to define problems, implement solutions, and measure impact
  
  

Walmart supports such initiatives through our sourcing and supplier engagement as well as through philanthropy. Current place-based and jurisdictional initiatives from which Walmart sources include:

• Darr Feedlot Pilot (Beef): In 2022 we collaborated with Prime Pursuits, Darr Feedlot, Practical Farmers of Iowa, and EarthOptics to launch a five-year pilot project covering over 8,000 acres of row crop production. The project provides technical assistance to corn farmers in our supply chain to promote continuous improvement around reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved water quality, improved soil health, decreased net costs of production over time, increased farmer resilience, and improved management practices. For more, watch the video.
  
• Grazing Pilot (Beef): In 2022 we collaborated with Prime Pursuits, AgSpire, and nine ranches in Nebraska, Oregon, Idaho, and Texas to launch a pilot project covering over 748,000 acres of ranch land. The project provides technical assistance to ranchers in our supply chain to promote regenerative grazing practices with positive outcomes including improved soil health, carbon sequestration, increased wildlife and pollinator habitats, improved water quality, and improved ranch productivity and resilience. For more, watch the video.
  
• Ecuadorian Shrimp: Building on industry-leading practices in Ecuador, in 2022 we began collaborating with Beaver Street Fisheries, Omarsa, The Nature Conservancy, Nutreco, and Global Seafood Alliance on a project that aspires to produce net-zero carbon shrimp using regenerative agriculture practices. The project focuses on more sustainable low-carbon feed ingredients, on-farm management, and off-farm mangrove restoration and conservation.
  
• Pacific Island Tuna (PIT): In FY2022, Walmart partnered with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to source tuna certified to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards for our private brand and support communities throughout RMI. The initiative aspires to distribute at least 40% of PIT’s net income to directly support community-based conservation and climate resilience projects including the development and management of Marine Protected Areas and coral reef restoration. PIT is designed to deliver industry-leading environmental, labor, and traceability standards; set a benchmark for industry action; and showcase how innovative sourcing practices can be used to benefit local communities. For more information, watch PIT video. We are also developing additional place-based aquaculture programs focused primarily on improving the social and environmental impact of feed production, including efforts to avoid carbon emissions, deforestation, and land conversion.
  
• Arkansas Rice: Since 2021, Walmart has invested in a place-based initiative in collaboration with Indigo Ag to source our Great Value brand rice from Arkansas. The project focuses on incentivizing landscape-level changes by working with multiple partners in the value chain. Rice farmers enrolled in the project implement on-farm practices that demonstrate water and land stewardship, including crop rotation from legumes (such as soybeans), fertilizer management, zero-grade rice production, multiple-inlet irrigation with computerized hole-selection, and furrow irrigation. Additionally, some farmers implement highly impactful alternate wetting and drying irrigation methods that significantly reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water usage footprint. In 2022, the program expanded to encompass more than 9,500 acres of Arkansas farmland. Anticipated outcomes of the initiative include a reduction in GHG emissions of more than 2,000MT, and reduction of 1.5 billion gallons of water usage relative to regionally standard practices, according to our project partners. We have committed to further expand this initiative in 2023 to encompass an estimated 13,100 acres of farmland.
  
• Nebraska Popcorn: In 2023 we partnered with our supply chain partners to launch our Great Value brand popcorn sourced from a Nebraska farm focused on using innovative and responsible practices. The farming practices used by the Carlson’s on their family run farm aim to ensure healthier soils, cleaner water & improved ecosystem health. These products are currently on our shelves. For more, please watch more sustainable popcorn.
  
• Red River Valley Sugar Beets: In 2023 we joined a pilot program coordinated by the Soil and Water Outcomes Fund and United Sugars Corporation, to better understand the potential benefits, costs and risks associated with adoption of new conservation practices on 4,000 acres of sugar beet fields and associated rotational crops. Growers are encouraged to implement practices including cover crops, reduced tillage, fertilizer management, and extended crop rotation. The project aims to avoid 1,000 MT CO2e.
  
  

Beyond sourcing from place-based and jurisdictional initiatives, the Walmart Foundation provides capacity-building support to develop strategies, technical capacity, and organizational structures of place-based and jurisdictional initiatives that are maturing. Recent examples include:

• ISEAL Alliance: In January 2022, Walmart Foundation made a grant to ISEAL Alliance to support the development of best practice guidance on how to effectively engage in place-based and jurisdictional initiatives and how to credibly measure and communicate the results of that engagement. As part of this work, ISEAL is bringing together NGO experts to build consensus and provide joint position papers that clearly outline guidance and tools for companies and other stakeholders. ISEAL, with support from 18 NGOs, published the first position paper in December 2022 and the second position paper in March 2023.
  
• Cattle Ranching in the United States: In FY2022, the Walmart Foundation provided a grant to The Nature Conservancy to establish a place-based initiative in the Southern High Plains, one of North America’s largest prairie landscapes, encompassing 71 million acres that are under threat. Through this place-based initiative, The Nature Conservancy will help cattle ranchers identify and implement regenerative ranching practices and work with local stakeholders, government, and the beef supply chain to develop and begin implementation of a 3-year sustainable management strategy and action plan for the landscape.
  
• Tuna Fisheries in the Pacific: In FY2022, the Walmart Foundation supported Conservation International (CI) to help develop a jurisdictional approach in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean focused on tuna fisheries management and conservation, starting with country-wide approaches, and developing roadmaps to scale regionally. CI is in the process of scoping and co-designing jurisdictional initiatives in Fiji and New Caledonia with key government and industry stakeholders. Regionally, CI is also working with the Pacific Community (PC) and with other partners to strengthen the climate resilience of tuna fisheries in the Pacific Island region.
  
• Beef in Brazil: In FY2023, Walmart Foundation made a grant to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to support local implementation of a state-level jurisdictional initiative in Mato Grosso, Brazil, known as PCI (Produce, Conserve, Include). To do this, TNC is supporting the localization of PCI in the municipality of Barra do Garcas. This includes development of a governance structure, strategic roadmap for implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation processes, and nested methodologies for tracking progress at state and municipal levels. In addition, TNC is supporting local farmers within Barra do Garcas to adopt more sustainable practices by providing farm-level assistance and by building scalable models to bring more technical assistance to rural areas.
  
• Cocoa in Ghana: In FY2023, Walmart Foundation made a grant to Proforest Initiative Africa (Proforest) to support the development and implementation of a place-based initiative focused on cocoa in the Asunafo-Asutifi region of Ghana. To do this, Proforest is working closely with World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) to increase support from major cocoa buyers in the region. Proforest is also supporting the development of the local governance structure, construction of a new rural service center, establishment of a revolving fund for smallholders, and the formalization of the place-based initiative by registering it as a Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) with the government of Ghana.
  
• Coffee in Colombia: In FY2023, Walmart Foundation made a grant to Conservation International (CI) to support the development and implementation of a place-based initiative focused on coffee in the Huila region of Colombia. To do this, CI is supporting the development of a governance structure, implementation roadmap, and communications plan to highlight opportunities for members of the Sustainable Coffee Challenge as well as testing the application of two new landscape-level monitoring tools (SourceUp and LandScale). In addition, CI is supporting conservation and restoration of high-value areas within the landscape to enhance resilience.
  
• Palm oil in Indonesia: In FY2023, Walmart Foundation made a grant to Earthworm Foundation (EF) to support the development and implementation of a place-based initiative focused on palm oil in the Riau region of Indonesia. To do this, EF is supporting local stakeholder engagement, participatory land-use planning with villages, uptake of reforestation and agroforestry practices, deforestation monitoring using the Starling system, sustainable replanting of old palm-oil trees, and other activities that help diversify smallholder incomes and improve overall social and environmental resilience across the landscape.
  
  

Read more: Map of Place-based Initiatives; Jurisdictional approaches resources hub

Fostering an Enabling Environment

Through advocacy and philanthropic investments to enhance standards and measurement tools, we seek to foster an enabling environment for the protection, management, and restoration of natural ecosystems. Walmart supports public policies that promote regenerative approaches both directly and through engagement with trade associations and key reporting frameworks. Recent examples include:

• Supporting the development of the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative’s policy priorities report: Working Lands Lead the Way: Policy Priorities for Regenerative Agriculture, which highlights opportunities for public-private collaboration
  
• Collaborated with the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative in 2020 to support the Growing Climate Solutions Act and, following the bill’s passage in 2022, to provide comments to the USDA on the Department’s proposed Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership Program. Following the launch of the USDA’s Partnership for Climate Smart Commodities grant program, Walmart supported Ducks Unlimited’s successful application to secure $80 million in funding for the Rice Stewardship Partnership to support more sustainable rice production and waterfowl habitat
  
• Engaging the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture,  and Coordinating Ministry of Economic Affairs on Walmart's sustainability expectations, and assessing and advancing palm oil certification schemes that address sustainable practices and people in supply chains
  
• Engaging the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in support of place-based initiatives that advance more sustainable seafood practices
  
• Working with the Seafood Task Force to engage the Thai government on creating an enabling environment for supply chain sustainability
  
• Engaging with the U.S. Department of State in the lead-up to the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) to understand the U.S. government’s planned activity and engagement, as well as convey Walmart’s position that a global biodiversity agreement is important to both strengthen global coordination as well as elevate biodiversity as an international political priority
  
• Engaging Business for Nature to support the expectation of business to engage in activities that support a nature-positive future
  
• Engaging with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) on their draft framework.
  
  

Read more: Engagement in Public Policy; Key Trade Associations & Member Organizations

• Environmental challenges in supply chains are complex and are often the result of systemic issues including deeply entrenched economic practices and inconsistent government regulation and enforcement across countries in which products are made. These factors make it challenging for any single organization to have an impact.
• Science can be unsettled and scientists may disagree about the causes or optimal solutions for nature-related problems. Issues intersect, trade-offs may be required, and competing considerations balanced.
• As we work toward the achievement of our goals and commitments, the science, available data, methodologies for assessing risk and measuring impact, and reporting standards continue to evolve. National policy approaches continue to shift as well, sometimes in unpredictable ways. As we continue to align to the latest science, reporting standards, and available data, our methodologies may evolve as well, which may necessitate revising or restating previously reported metrics.
• Sustainable product aspirations are dependent on the maturity, rigor, and efficacy of third-party standards and initiatives, and there are limits to the efficacy of tools used to monitor compliance with expectations.
• The success of our sustainable product programs is dependent on our manufacturers’ (and their ingredient suppliers’) willingness and ability to meet increasingly higher standards (e.g., transitioning from deforestation-free to DCF, along with DCF cutoff dates), as well as their capacity and willingness to scale practices across their supply chains. Innovation in manufacturing, agriculture and other product production technologies is also necessary.
• Nature-related issues in supply chains are often upstream and beyond the reach of traditional retailer oversight and monitoring tools. Lack of reliable data on source/origin of certain commodities and product ingredients and the way they are produced—as well as the blending and commoditization of product inputs and ingredients—complicates matters. The use of technology improving transparency and traceability (e.g., blockchain, vessel monitoring) can help, but adoption takes time and further innovation is necessary to meet these challenges.
• The breadth of Walmart's global product offerings and dispersed geographical reach of supply chains can present challenges for supplier engagement and nature-related risk identification and mitigation. Moreover, certain products can only be obtained from specific regions of the world, limiting options for alternative sources.
• Walmart’s ability to scale more sustainable options is dependent on customer preferences and demand (which can depend on the cost and convenience of such options) and the availability and cost of preferred products, ingredients, commodities, and inputs. Growth in and/or changes in our business can challenge our ability to meet customer demands consistent with our aspirations.
• The public policy environment in certain countries/regions does not support (and may undermine) more sustainable production at scale and at reasonable cost.
• Weather-related events, economic recessions, geopolitical and social unrest, and health-related events (e.g., pandemics) can create supply/demand volatility and interrupt supply chains, potentially creating shortages of products, which may impact our ability to source those products using the certifications and sustainability-focused sourcing requirements noted above.
  
  

About Our Reporting

• Product Supply Chain Sustainability
• Environmental Sustainability Statement
• Forests Policy
• Seafood Policy
• Walmart US. Pollinator Health Position
• Walmart Sustainability Hub
• Project Gigaton Accounting Methodology
• Walmart.org
• 2021 Sustainability Milestone Summit (video)
• 2022 Sustainability Milestone Meeting (video)

1. Supplier reporting to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership on the certification status of seafood shipped to Walmart indicates that seafood covering >1.2 million square miles of ocean in FY2022 and >1.4 million square miles of ocean in FY2023 met at least our “Basic” level of sustainable management. However, as described below under Principles and Approach to Measurement, our ultimate aspiration is to achieve a higher level of engagement across this spatial area.

2. Our Project Gigaton Nature pillar was launched in FY2022. For FY2021, we calculated this metric based on the suppliers who reported through the Forests and/or Agriculture pillars. For FY2022 and FY2023, this metric was based on suppliers who reported through our Nature pillar.

3. Tracked on the FishChoice platform, FisheryProgress.org. Publicly registered FIPs include FIPs and Pre-FIPs, both of which are registered with Fishsource.

4. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed, seafood shipped in FY2021 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP or AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., 96% of Canada, and 61% of Mexico national volume of fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed, seafood shipped in FY2021 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed seafood in CY2020.

5. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed, seafood shipped in FY2022 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP or AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart U.S., 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 45% of Mexico volume of fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed, seafood shipped in FY2022 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed seafood in CY2021. Walmart Mexico's FY2022 reporting may not be comparable to prior years' reporting due to a change in methodology to include national and import suppliers in FY2022, with resulting impacts to both the scope of the calculation and supplier response rate.

6. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed, seafood shipped in FY2023 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP or AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart U.S., 98% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 100% of Canada volume of fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed, seafood shipped in FY2023 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Mexico and Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing approximately 35% of Walmart Mexico and 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, wild-caught and farmed seafood in CY2022.

7. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, wild-caught, seafood shipped in FY2021 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., 96% of Canada, and 61% of Mexico national volume of fresh and frozen, wild-caught, seafood shipped in FY2021 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, wild-caught seafood in CY2020.

8. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, wild-caught, seafood shipped in FY2022 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP or AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., 98% of Canada, and 45% of Mexico volume of fresh and frozen, wild-caught, seafood shipped in FY2022 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, wild-caught seafood in CY2021. Walmart Mexico's FY2022 reporting may not be comparable to prior years' reporting due to a change in methodology to include national and import suppliers in FY2022, with resulting impacts to both the scope of the calculation and supplier response rate.

9. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, wild-caught, seafood shipped in FY2023 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP or AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 98% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 100% of Canada volume of fresh and frozen, wild-caught, seafood shipped in FY2023 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Mexico and Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing approximately 35% of Walmart Mexico and 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, wild-caught seafood in CY2022. Central America’s percent certified fresh and frozen wild-caught seafood decreased in FY2023 due to lower availability of certified fresh and frozen wild-caught seafood and a strategic shift toward fresh and frozen farmed seafood.

10. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, farmed, seafood shipped in FY2021 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., 96% of Canada, and 61% of Mexico national volume of fresh and frozen, farmed, seafood shipped in FY2021 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, farmed seafood in CY2020.

11. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, farmed, seafood shipped in FY2022 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in an AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., 98% of Canada, and 45% of Mexico volume of fresh and frozen, farmed, seafood shipped in FY2022 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, farmed seafood in CY2021. Walmart Mexico's FY2022 reporting may not be comparable to prior years' reporting due to a change in methodology to include national and import suppliers in FY2022, with resulting impacts to both the scope of the calculation and supplier response rate.

12. Suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of the fresh and frozen, farmed, seafood shipped in FY2023 and the volume of that seafood that met Walmart’s requirements (certified by a designated program or in an AIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart US, 98% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 100% of Canada volume of fresh and frozen, farmed, seafood shipped in FY2023 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Mexico and Central America reporting is based on reports from suppliers representing approximately 35% of Walmart Mexico and 100% of Walmart Central America fresh and frozen, farmed seafood in CY2022.

13. Based on price, availability, quality, customer demand, and unique regulatory environments across our global retail markets. Read the full policy. As tracked on the FishChoice platform, FisheryProgress.org. Publicly registered FIPs include FIPs and Pre-FIPs, both of which are registered with Fishsource.

14. More sustainably sourced: Certified by a designated program or in a FIP.

15. Tuna suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of tuna shipped to Walmart in FY2021 and the volume of that product that met Walmart’s seafood policy requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP). Suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart U.S., 100% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 98% of Canada volume in FY2021 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Walmart U.S. figures are for private brand and national brand tuna. Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S. figures are for all shelf-stable tuna (includes canned and pouched).

16. Tuna suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of tuna shipped to Walmart in FY2022 and the volume of that product that met Walmart’s seafood policy requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP). Suppliers representing approximately 95% of Walmart U.S. and 97% of Sam’s Club U.S. volume in FY2022 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Walmart U.S. figures are for private brand and national brand tuna. Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S. figures are for all shelf-stable tuna (includes canned and pouched).

17. Tuna suppliers were asked to report through the Seafood Metrics System the total volume of tuna shipped to Walmart in FY2023 and the volume of that product that met Walmart’s seafood policy requirements (certified by a designated program or in a FIP). Suppliers representing approximately 99% of Walmart U.S., 100% of Sam’s Club U.S. volume in FY2023 responded, and suppliers representing approximately 100% of Walmart Canada volume of canned tuna shipped to Walmart Canada in FY2023 responded. Reported volumes were validated against Sustainable Fisheries Partnership records and Walmart business data showing supplier shipments. Walmart U.S. figures are for private brand and national brand tuna. Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S. figures are for all shelf-stable tuna (includes canned and pouched).

18. Walmart defines “more sustainable” coffee as coffee sourced as certified by Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance Certified or UTZ.

19. Total Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club U.S. certified more sustainable coffee was previously reported as 99%, and Sam’s Club U.S. certified more sustainable coffee was reported as 97%. During our FY2023 quality assurance review for our FY2022 comparative period, we identified a calculation error in our Sam's Club U.S. data and have restated our reporting to correct this error.

20. Walmart defines “more sustainable” tea as tea sourced as certified by Rainforest Alliance.

21. Covers tea sourced from July 1, 2021 through January 31, 2022.

22. Certifications include Rainforest Alliance, Sustainably Grown and Fair Trade USA. Goal originally included Asda, Walmart’s U.K. business. Walmart divested its retail operations in the U.K. in February 2021. Going forward, we will no longer disclose progress for our divested operations.

23. Results do not include volume from spot buys. Spot buy pineapples and bananas may not qualify as certified “more sustainable.” Walmart defines “more sustainable” pineapples/bananas as pineapples/bananas that are certified by Rainforest Alliance, Sustainably Grown, or Fair Trade.

24. In accordance with the principles and criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) segregated supply chain systems, or equivalent standards. Prior years’ reporting on certified palm oil included both mass balance and segregated. Walmart reset its palm oil goal in 2021 to focus on segregated palm oil or equivalent.

25. Suppliers supplying Walmart private brand products in departments most likely to contain palm oil were identified and encouraged to participate in Walmart’s palm oil survey. Excluding suppliers who responded to the survey and stated that they do not supply Walmart with products containing palm oil, suppliers representing 92% of Private Brand sales from the relevant business responded. The percentage of supplier reported palm oil volumes in Walmart private brand products certified as more sustainable is the quotient of the volume of each certified palm oil type divided by total volume of palm oil, per the supplier survey responses. Metrics include data from suppliers reporting palm oil from sources that are certified according to RSPO Mass Balance or equivalent plus RSPO Segregated Supply Chain Standard and RSPO Identity Preserved Supply Chain Standard.

26. During our FY2023 quality assurance review for our FY2022 comparative period, we identified a calculation error in our supplier-reported data. We have restated our reporting to correct this error. Percentages were previously reported as 10% certified segregated/equivalent palm oil and 80% certified mass balance/equivalent palm oil.

27. We updated our goal in 2020 to “By 2025, source private brand products made of pulp, paper, and timber deforestation and conversion-free. Implement more sustainable pulp, paper, and timber procurement practices that promote more sustainable management, conservation, protection and restoration of the world’s forests.”

28. Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). Suppliers supplying Walmart private brand products in departments most likely to contain pulp and paper were identified and encouraged to participate in Walmart’s pulp and paper survey. Excluding suppliers who responded to the survey and stated that they do not supply Walmart with products containing pulp and paper, suppliers representing 74% of the relevant business responded in FY2021, 89% responded in FY2022, and 92% responded in FY2023. The percentage of supplier-reported pulp and paper volumes in Walmart private brand products certified as more sustainable or containing recycled content is the quotient of the volume of certified or recycled pulp and paper divided by total volume of pulp and paper, per the supplier survey responses.

29. Man-made cellulosic fibers include rayon/viscose, modal, lyocell, acetate and trademarked versions. Forest information is per non-profit organization Canopy.

30. Fiber sourced from producers that receive a “green shirt” designation in the Canopy Hot Button Report is considered low risk of sourcing from ancient and endangered forests.

31. FY2023 results are calculated as a percentage of supplier-reported data. FY2023 results do not include estimated results of non-reporting suppliers. Reporting for years prior to FY2023 included the estimated results of non-reporting suppliers. In FY2023, suppliers representing 90.2% of Walmart U.S. and 93.9% of Sam’s Club U.S. private brand apparel category net sales and 95.5% of Walmart U.S. and 98.1% of Sam’s Club U.S. private brand home category net sales reported data for this metric. Walmart Canada did not collect data from its suppliers relating to certified MMCFs and, as such, we do not have a percentage to report.

32. Walmart and Sam’s Club define “more sustainable” cotton as cotton sourced from Cotton USA, produced under the Better Cotton Standard, certified under a recognized certification program like Organic (i.e. Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) or Organic Cotton Standard (OCS)) or Fair Trade, or recycled. Supplier-reported data for total cotton volume sourced through one of the following: Cotton USA, Organic, Fair Trade USA, or Recycled Cotton. Results are based on supplier survey responses. FY2021 results are based on reports from suppliers that represented 91.2% of Walmart U.S. private brand apparel net sales and 85.7% of Walmart U.S. home textiles net sales. FY2022 results are based on reports from suppliers that represented 97.7% of Walmart US private brand apparel net sales and 94.4% of Walmart US private brand home textiles net sales. FY2023 results are based on results from suppliers that represent 90.2% of Walmart U.S., 93.9% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 88.6% of Walmart Canada private brand apparel net sales and 95.5% of Walmart U.S., 98.1% of Sam’s Club U.S., and 93.7% of Walmart Canada private brand home textile net sales. Better Cotton Initiative data was derived from BCI’s Better Cotton Platform data.

33. FY2023 results are calculated as a percentage of supplier reported data. FY2023 results do not include estimated results of non-reporting suppliers. Reporting in years prior to FY2023 included the estimated results of non-reporting suppliers.

34. We do not have data sufficient to report on our progress against this goal as of the date of this report. With regard to soy products, the vast majority of soy we sell originates from North America and poses very little deforestation risk. Regarding soy with an origin in vulnerable regions like the Amazon, Cerrado, and Gran Chaco regions, as discussed in Fostering More Sustainable Production of Commodities below, we have engaged our suppliers to convey our expectation that soy be sourced deforestation- and conversion-free and be traceable as such. Certain of those suppliers have been able to do so, but others have not. We are working closely with these suppliers to align on approaches to transparency and traceability so that we can report on our progress. With regard to soy as an ingredient, conditions do not currently exist in the industry to allow for tracing and verification as deforestation- and conversion-free. We are working to solve for this gap as an industry, working alongside our suppliers and others to advocate for governmental policies similar to the Soy Moratorium and investing in traceability solutions that will cover critical landscapes. We expect to provide additional reporting on our progress in the future.

35. Suppliers sourcing beef for Walmart supply chains from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado and Gran Chaco biomes are requested to submit farm-level data to SafeTrace, a third-party geo-monitoring and verification company, to assess deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) production. Currently, suppliers have only submitted information for their direct supplying farms as reliable traceability information for indirect supplying farms is not yet available at scale across these priority geographies.

36. Results only apply to farms that directly supply Walmart’s Chilean beef suppliers sourcing from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado, and the Gran Chaco in Argentina and Paraguay. Suppliers sourcing from these regions are requested to submit farm-level data to SafeTrace, a third-party geo-monitoring and verification company, to assess deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) production. Currently, suppliers have only submitted information for their direct supplying farms as reliable traceability information for indirect supplying farms is not yet available at scale across these priority geographies.

37. FY2021 and FY2022 reported totals only include number of acres involved in fertilizer optimization or soil health practice programs, based on supplier reports. FY2023 reported total includes number of acres involved in more sustainable management practices (inclusive of fertilizer optimization and/or soil health practices) for row crops to more closely align with our Sustainable Row Crops Position Statement.

38. Since FY2021, the Walmart Foundation has funded philanthropic grants to help protect, restore, and/or more sustainably manage nature, totaling approximately $43 million. Of these grants, approximately $23 million will primarily support place-based initiatives in critical land and seascapes, and approximately $20 million will support systemic enablers that will unlock new capabilities and accelerate progress.

39. Through our work with Conservation International, we identified beef production as using the largest amount of land—primarily for grazing—followed by the commodity row crops of wheat, corn/maize, soybeans, rice, and cotton, forest products like cocoa, coffee, pulp/paper/timber, and palm oil, as well as seafood commodities like tuna, shrimp, and salmon.

40. Regeneration of row crops is assessed both as products that we sell as well as ingredients in products that we sell.

41. The USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) has published a Major Land Uses study every five years since 1945. The data we include in our report is pulled from the latest USDA ERS study, dated August 2012, but published in August 2017. A new report is expected in 2023.

42. Walmart uses a reference date of December 31, 2020 to measure and validate deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) sourcing, unless an earlier reference date has already been established via a credible multi-stakeholder process (e.g. Amazon Soy Moratorium, which uses July 22, 2008; and the Beef on Track Initiative, which uses October 5, 2009).

43. Better Cotton Farmers experience profit increases for a variety of reasons, most commonly due to increased yields and/or optimized use of inputs (such as irrigation water, pesticides or synthetic fertilizer).