Walmart – Yining Huang – 2023

Goals

Walmart has developed the 2025 Sustainable Sourcing Program, which is dedicated to improving sustainability in the sourcing of its 20 most popular products. To better accomplish this goal, Yining was invited to Walmart with the goal of combining environmental expertise with the specific needs of Walmart’s sourcing process.

Solutions

Yining used the following model:

First, Yining conducted industry research on the sustainability of the food industry, exploring which aspects of sustainability and which specific products were of most interest to the industry, and researching the best practices of major companies.

After that, based on the results of the industry research, Yining did specific research on the topics of soybeans and recycled plastics. She combined the economic-environmental-governance model in her research, starting with economic factors, looking for information on prices, supply and demand, supplier distribution, transportation, etc. She then researched the possible environmental impacts of the subject matter of her research, and then looked for standards or certificates for each environmental impact.

Potential Impact

• Provided Walmart with systematic background information on soybean and rPET purchasing, regulations and certifications, relevant economic and environmental data, and general information on suppliers, etc., which provided information to support subsequent sustainable sourcing.
• Based on the results of the best practice study, we made recommendations for Walmart to improve the sustainability of its purchasing choices for the two target products and to carry out public welfare activities.