It almost went unnoticed last week that Walmart, the largest company in the world, joined other giants like Coca Cola, Pepsico, Cargill, Bank of America, Apple, Google, Microsoft, UPS, Berkshire Hathaway, and others in pledging to take actions that will reduce greenhouse gases and will invest in clean energy technologies. One might think that for such a highly politicized subject, the story would draw some big headlines, but it struggled to make headway against more sensational stories that pushed their way to the front pages. Nonetheless, because of the growing attention various world leaders are giving to the challenge of climate change, the pledge is important because it gives the Obama Administration something to work with at the United Nations “COP21 ” climate change talks in Paris this December.

The companies in total have pledged $140B with the goal of producing 1.6 gigawatts of energy from clean energy investments. But Walmart (as well as the other companies participating) didn’t just wake up to concerns about the environment – in fact, the Arkansas retailer has been focused on it for years, although it doesn’t make a lot of noise about it. On the company’s website (http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/environmental-sustainability), three sustainability goals are outlined:

 Energy — Be supplied 100% by renewable energy

 Waste — Create zero waste

 Products — Sell products that sustain people and the environment

Clicking on the “energy ” button, the website takes the reader to a video that declares, “At Walmart, we know that renewable energy’s time is now. People shouldn’t have to choose between energy they can afford, and energy that is good for their childrens’ future. ” The website goes on to proclaim that, “By Dec. 31, 2020, we have committed to reducing the energy per square foot intensity required to power our buildings around the world by 20% “.

When the acknowledged industry leader takes such a stand, it should be expected that others will follow. So with that in mind, I decided to look at the next five of the top 6 retailers (according to the National Retail Federation’s annual list): Kroger, Costco, Home Depot, Walgreen, and Target. My investigations were limited to the companies’ websites; while those companies’ statements might be harder to find than Walmart’s (which highlighted its sustainability goals in the corporate section of its website), that doesn’t necessarily mean the companies don’t have a “sustainability ” policy.

With that caveat, here’s what I found:  

Kroger The company’s homepage lists a hotlink for sustainability, which in turn takes the reader to its 2015 Sustainability Report. Although the company didn’t highlight longterm sustainability objectives, its list of recent accomplishments is impressive. For example, last year the company reduced overall store energy consumption by 35%. Kroger calculates that the savings is equal to “enough electricity to power every single-family home in Charlotte, North Carolina, for one year. This is the carbon equivalent of taking 334,000 cars off the road for one year! ” The website also touts investments in renewable energy, water use reduction, a “zero waste ” program, and a logistics program focused on more efficient fuel utilization by the company’s rolling fleet.  

Costco Costco’s website has the typical corporate links at the bottom of its homepage, and although one can find a code of conduct section for suppliers, there is nothing on the website regarding sustainability or the company’s stance on environmental policies. The website does take the reader to a digital edition of its magazine, The Costco Connection, and if you search long enough, you’ll find an occasional link to a sustainability story in a vendor profile, for example Enterprise Car Rental in the August 2015 issue.

Home Depot Like Walmart, THD has been at work on sustainability for a long time. But it’s hard to tell from looking at the website. Clicking on the “Our Company ” link at the bottom of the homepage, the reader then gets to “corporate responsibility ” and finally to “THD and the environment “. When I clicked on “milestones “, I was taken to a nice report touting the company’s accomplishments… in 2013. Oops!

Walgreens Similar to the Home Depot site, the Walgreens homepage has a “Company info ” link, which in turn has a “Community affairs ” link. That will take the reader to a page that has a link to the company’s “social responsibility website “. Clicking on it, I got the message, “We’re Sorry, We Cannot Find the Page You Requested “. Oops! So I retraced my steps and got to the “company info ” page, which also had a link to “social responsibility “. That in turn took me to a page that included a “learn more ” link for “environmental sustainability “. There, the company lists efforts it is undertakings with green projects, energy savings, and recycling.  

Target As most industry watchers know, Target and Walmart go toe-to-toe with their brand messaging constantly, and at RSR we’ve opined that shoppers who claim that they’d never set foot in a Walmart frequently shop the Minneapolis retailer instead, often buying the same or similar products at the same or similar prices. So one would expect Target to try to out-Walmart Walmart on sustainability. Target features a “Corporate responsibility ” link on its homepage. Once there, you can click on a “sustainability ” link, which in turn will take you to a page that lists the company’s four sustainability goals: “sustainable living, sustainable products, smart development, efficient operations “. The company’s positioning is interesting; unlike Walmart’s objectives, which focus on “things ” (for example, energy and products), Target’s focuses through the lens of “people ” to discuss its sustainability objectives. But as with Walmart, it ends up being about running more efficiently in an age of constrained resources. So following the link for “efficient operations “, I came to the company’s energy goals: “Our goal is to support renewable energy by increasing the number of buildings with rooftop solar panels to 500 by 2020…. ” To get more specifics, I had to go to the annual report, which focuses on 2015 accomplishments in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, increasing Energy Star certifications, reduced water use, and inbound and outbound transportation efficiencies. However, unlike their arch-rival Walmart, Target doesn’t offer any “big vision ” goals for sustainability.  

So What?

Of the retailer sites that I looked at, only Walmart sticks its neck out to proclaim long-term targets for reducing greenhouse gases and investing in clean energy technologies. That doesn’t mean the other companies mentioned don’t have targets, but I have to ask, “why don’t you publish them? ” While companies don’t necessarily need to participate in grand jestures such as a White House pledge, joining in a chorus to raise public consciousness can’t hurt, and it might just move the needle of public awareness of both the threats associated with climate change and over-utilization of natural resources, as well as potential countermeasures.

I suspect that what’s really going on is that retailers are doing what they always do when it comes to expense reductions and operational efficiencies of any kind: they are just chipping away at them. The July 27 Fortune article mentions that Walmart can save money by aggressively pursuing its sustainability goals, and the video on the retailer’s website mentions savings that get passed on to consumers in the form of lower prices. At the risk of sounding a bit hyperbolic, let’s say that Walmart in its own way wants to help ensure that there are customers to sell to in the future.

For all those other retailers, publish not just your progress, but also your objectives. Retailers that don’t have sustainability objectives should develop them. As Walmart demonstrates, it’s not just environmentalism, it’s also about gaining efficiencies that deliver better value to consumers and better results to investors. Good for them; good for us; good for Mother Earth.