Walmart – Jia Tian – 2025
Summary
Jia Tian supported Walmart China in exploring food waste reduction pathways with both economic and environmental benefits.
Goals
Walmart China is committed to reducing operational food loss and waste intensity by 50% by 2030 (vs. 2016 baseline). In addition to expanding surplus food donation, Walmart China is also exploring food waste prevention and diversion strategies. EDF has assigned Jia Tian to support this effort through research and analysis to identify pathways with economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Solutions
Jia Tian’s work consisted of three parts:
- Regulatory landscape analysis: Following the principles of the Food Disposition Pyramid, she reviewed policies and regulations related to various food waste prevention and diversion pathways and assessed policy opportunities.
- Case studies on food waste prevention: She compiled domestic and international retail cases and best practices to highlight effective approaches to preventing food waste.
- Pilot projects of food waste diversion: To support Walmart China in piloting food waste diversion through animal feed conversion, composting, and anaerobic digestion, she investigated and identified potential partners, compared technical approaches and economic outcomes across pathways, analyzed food waste tonnage generated at pilot distribution centers, and developed cost-benefit models to assist in decision-making.
Potential Impact
If food waste prevention and diversion projects are successfully implemented, Walmart China can reduce a considerable amount of the food waste bill and carbon emissions. In the future, scaling these initiatives across more stores, clubs, and distribution centers will accelerate Walmart’s transition towards a regenerative company and strengthen its social license to operate within the market. Furthermore, such pioneer actions will set a benchmark for managing food waste in the retail industry, delivering significant environmental, social, and economic benefits.
