NEW YORK — Walmart Inc. launched “project gigaton” in 2017 with the goal of removing one billion tonnes of greenhouse gases from its global supply chain by 2030. The company achieved its goal last year, said Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer for Walmart, and now the company is turning its attention to what’s next?

Underpinning project gigaton were the retailer’s efforts to communicate to suppliers how they may reduce emissions in ways that create other forms of value. Success stories focused on improving energy efficiency, converting to sources of renewable energy, packaging optimization and supporting regenerative farming practices.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Sustainability Forum on Sept. 26, McLaughlin said the co-benefits suppliers received for their efforts is one reason the initiative reached its goal early.

“… The reason suppliers have been really excited to engage is generally it’s driving a cost reduction,” she said. “It’s securing some source of supply, making it more resilient for the future, often agricultural commodities. It’s earning license to operate with some of their customer segments, policy makers or helping them comply with certain regulations. In some cases, it’s creating new revenue streams.”

McLaughlin said Walmart’s initial goals for project gigaton were on “target setting” and that the retailer planned on continuing the program even though it has achieved its goals.

“I don’t think we’re going to say, ‘okay,’ two gigatons (is the next goal),” she said. “We’re just going to keep going, and we will report the results as we go.”

Internally, Walmart has set a goal of reducing its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions to zero by 2040. McLaughlin said the company will get there by focusing on energy efficiency, refrigeration conversions and transportation improvements.

“On-site, I think we already have one of the largest installed bases of solar in the country and in other markets,” she said. “And then off-site, we continue to expand that portfolio.”

Older, less efficient, refrigeration systems are being converted as they reach the end of their performance life to more efficient systems. McLaughlin added that a side benefit of the system swap is it is creating new job opportunities.

“… It’s a different type of equipment (and) it requires different maintenance skills,” she said. “So, it actually is an example of (a) job opportunity that gets created through a sustainability related effort because HVAC maintenance is a job that we have been in-sourcing.”

Walmart is making progress improving transportation efficiency by using hydrogen forklifts at sites and electric vehicles (EV) for delivery. A headwind remains heavy, long-haul distribution.

 “… We’re in the middle of piloting and experimenting (with) different approaches,” McLaughlin said. “We’re experimenting in Canada with EV versions. It doesn’t really work if you’ve got super heavy loads going really far. So, there’s other technologies (we) want to experiment with.”