We Analyzed Walmart's 100+ Page Sustainability Report: Here Are the 4 Most Surprising Takeaways

Introduction: Beyond the Headlines

Massive corporations like Walmart release extensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reports every year. These documents are dense, often running over 100 pages, and packed with data tables, footnotes, and technical jargon that make them nearly impossible for the average person to decipher. They are critical tools for accountability, yet their complexity means the full story often remains hidden from public view.

We combed through Walmart's latest FY2025 ESG report to uncover the stories hidden within the data. What we found is that the reality of the retail giant's progress is far more complex and surprising than the headlines might suggest. It's a mix of stunning successes and persistent, difficult challenges. Here are the four most impactful and counter-intuitive findings from our analysis.

1. Their Use of New Plastic Is Actually Increasing

One of Walmart's most prominent environmental goals is to reduce the use of virgin (new) plastic in its private brand packaging by 15% by 2025, using 2020 as a baseline. The data, however, reveals a paradoxical trend: their use of virgin plastic has not gone down, but has instead risen consistently.

According to the report, virgin plastic packaging usage has increased every year relative to the 2020 baseline:

• CY2022: 5.9% increase

• CY2023: 8.1% increase

• CY2024: 5.4% increase

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This finding is significant because it highlights the immense challenge large retailers face in re-engineering vast and complex packaging supply chains. This challenge is not isolated to virgin plastic. The report also shows that progress on making packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable has stalled, slipping from 68.2% to 66.1% this year, further highlighting the systemic difficulty of overhauling packaging at scale.

2. They Smashed a Gigantic Climate Goal 6 Years Ahead of Schedule

In 2017, Walmart launched "Project Gigaton," an ambitious initiative with a clear goal: to partner with its suppliers to reduce or avoid one billion metric tons (a gigaton) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions in the global value chain by 2030.

They have already blown past that target. As of their FY2025 report, Walmart and its suppliers have cumulatively reduced or avoided 1.19 billion metric tons of CO2e—surpassing their 2030 goal six years ahead of schedule, a figure equivalent to taking over 260 million gasoline-powered cars off the road for an entire year.

This achievement is powered by the more than 3,700 suppliers who are now reporting their progress through the program. The success of Project Gigaton demonstrates the powerful multiplier effect of mobilizing suppliers toward a common goal, making a significant impact on "Scope 3" emissions, which occur in a company's value chain and are notoriously difficult to control.

3. Their Direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions Have Ticked Up for Three Straight Years

While the progress in its supply chain is impressive, the story of Walmart's direct emissions is more nuanced. First, the long-term context is important: the company's absolute Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (indirect from electricity) greenhouse gas emissions are down a combined 18.1% compared to their 2015 baseline.

However, a closer look at the data reveals a counter-intuitive recent trend. Their combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions have actually increased slightly year-over-year for the last three reported calendar years:

• CY2022 vs. CY2021: +0.7%

• CY2023 vs. CY2022: +1.7%

• CY2024 vs. CY2023: +1.1%

  
  

This finding highlights a classic decarbonization dilemma. The report shows Walmart is becoming more efficient—its carbon intensity per million dollars of revenue has fallen by 3.7% this year. However, its overall business growth is still outpacing these efficiency gains, leading to a net rise in absolute emissions. This reveals just how difficult the "last mile" of decarbonization is, where growth itself can cancel out hard-won progress.

4. The Average Worker Isn't Who You Might Think

There is a common stereotype of a retail worker: a teenager or a college student working a temporary, entry-level job. Walmart's workforce data paints a very different and surprising picture.

According to the report, the average age of an hourly worker in the U.S. is 39 years old. The average for all of Walmart's U.S. workers, including management, is also 39.

A deeper dive into the age breakdown reinforces this point:

• Workers aged 40 and over make up a combined 42.7% of the workforce.

• By contrast, workers aged 16-19 make up only 10.2%.

  
  

This data strongly suggests that for a significant portion of Walmart's employees, retail is not just a starter job or a temporary stop. It is a long-term career, challenging the conventional wisdom about the nature of the modern retail workforce.

Conclusion: A Complex Picture of Progress

Digging into the details of Walmart's ESG report reveals that corporate sustainability is not a simple, linear story of success. It's a complex picture filled with significant progress in some areas, like mobilizing its supply chain on climate, and stubborn challenges in others, such as reducing virgin plastic and curbing direct operational emissions. These contradictory data points show that real-world change is messy, difficult, and rarely moves in a straight line.

This leaves us with a critical question to consider. When a company's progress is this uneven, what metrics should we value most when deciding if they are truly making a difference?