Walmart scores 4 out of 16 at Rank a Brand: Compare how transparent, green and fair your favorite brands are

Walmart Info

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4 out of 16
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Brand Owner: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Head Office: Bentonville, AR, USA
Sector: Fashion, Clothing & Shoes
Categories: Retailer
Free Tags: Discount Store, Jeans, Footwear, Casual, Sportswear, Underwear

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Last Updated: 25 November 2011
Last Verified: 25 November 2011

Walmart Score Report

Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions

2 out of 4


1. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions?	Walmart has several policy measures to reduce carbon emissions, such as creating a new energy efficient store prototype, reducing emssions by 20% by 2012, and doubling its truck fleet efficiency by October 2015 (See e.g., page 94 of the Global Responsibility Report 2011).	SOURCE
2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual carbon footprint of its 'own operations' and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years?	Although its footprint related to net sales has decreased, its absolute footprint only decreased by 1% in 2009 since 2008. Moreover, it is unclear what scopes are included in the footprint (see page 10 of Global Responsibility Report).	SOURCE
3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce the carbon footprint of its 'own operations' by at least 20% within the next 5 years?	Walmart has set the target to reduce GHG emission at its worldwide existing store, club and distribution center base by 20 percent by 2012 (2005 Baseline). Moreover, Walmart has an ambitious long term goal to 100% supplied by renewable energy, no timeframe is included however in this goal.	SOURCE
4. Does the brand (company) also have a policy to reduce/compensate carbon emissions generated from the product supply chain that is beyond own operations?	Walmart announced a goal to eliminate 20 million metric tons of Greenhouse Gases from its global supply chain by 2015 (see page 26 of the report).	SOURCE

Questions about Environmental Policy

0 out of 4


1. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 5% of its volume?	Walmart states that it is the world's largest buyer of organic cotton. Its aim is to increase the amount of its products that contain organic cotton, recycled polyester and other sustainable fibers. However, it's not clear what percentage of the total this currently represents.	SOURCE
2. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 10% of its volume?	See remark for environmental policy question 1.	SOURCE
3. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 25% of its volume?	See remark for environmental policy question 1.	SOURCE
4. Does the brand (company) have an environmental policy related to the ‘wet processes’ within the production cycle, like bleaching and dying of fabrics?	Walmart states that it is currently in the initial stages of developing a list of questions to ask suppliers about the sustainability of, among other things, some of their wet processes, but we could not find a defined policy, as such.	SOURCE

Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade

2 out of 8


1. Does the brand (company) have a supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labour, no child labour, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace?	All standards are mentioned in Standards for Suppliers Manual.	SOURCE
2. Does this CoC include at least two of the following workers rights: 1. to have a formally registered employment relationship 2. to have a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. to have a sufficient living wage?	In the Standards for Suppliers manual: 1. No, this is not mentioned; 2, Yes, see page 9; 3, No, suppliers are only "encouraged" to provide wages and benefits that are sufficient to meet workers’ basic needs (page 11).	SOURCE
3. Does this Code of Conduct include the right for workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, the right to facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining?	This right is mentioned in the Standards for Suppliers Manual, with reference to parallel means for the situation of law restrictions (see page 12).	SOURCE
4. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers, that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume?	Although Walmart mentions disclosure of 100% of their direct suppliers, such a list can not be found (see Global Responsibility Report 2011, page73).	SOURCE
5. Is the brand (company) a member of a collective initiative that aims to improve labour conditions, or does the brand (company) purchase its supplies from accredited factories with improved labour conditions?	Walmart does not communicate whether it is a member of an MSI.	SOURCE
6. Do independent civil society organizations like NGO's and labour unions have a decisive voice in this collective initiative or in these certification schemes?	See remark for labour conditions question 5.	SOURCE
7. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labour conditions policy?	Pages 101-102 of the Global Responsibility Report provide a brief overview of the factories that were audited. However, no additional information is provided about what % of the total this represents, how the audits were conducted, etc.	SOURCE
8. Has the brand's labour conditions policy resulted in a 'compliance level' of at least 30% of the purchase volume, or a 'monitored level' of at least 80%?	See remark for labour conditions question 7.	SOURCE