Well-known retailers such as Target and Walmart are adopting renewable energy initiatives like solar at an unprecedented rate. In June, Target announced it would commit to sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The company expects this domestic operations goal to help them power stores, distribution centers, and offices more sustainably. But according to a recent New York Times article, by the end of this year, the company will have achieved 25% of its mission to attain 100% renewable electricity in its stores — showing the big box retailer is ahead of schedule.
Not to be outdone, Walmart has also embraced renewable energy within its business model. In May, the company announced that 28% of its electricity needs are supplied by renewable energy. Its goal is to reach 50% by 2025.
According to the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACRE), solar power is almost 90% cheaper than it was 10 years ago, while wind power is approximately 70% cheaper. This has helped with the mission of many businesses to have sustainability as a part of their new, more modernized business plan.
Renewable energy has become so approachable that Walmart and Target are now competing “over who can be greener,” according to Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the ACRE, as quoted in the New York Times piece. He said companies purchased three times as much renewable power last year than they did the year before, for a total of 8.6. gigawatts of solar and wind power in 2018.
But it's not just Walmart and Target. In April it was announced that several of the world’s biggest retailers and food companies backed a new initiative from the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) to improve global supply chains, boosting sustainable sourcing and streamlining benchmarking.
Kellogg Company and Nestlé are among the companies supporting the forum’s Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI), Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Kieran Guilbert reported.
