Walmart
At a Glance
Industry
Retail and Apparel
Project Types
Industrial Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2023
Location
Shenzhen, Guangdong
Summary
Jia Guo conducted a research of commodity packaging sorting and packaging optimization solutions at Walmart China.
Goals
As a leader in environmental sustainability practices, Walmart promoted the Project Gigaton to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the company’s supply chain, and took actions to reduce plastics. This fellowship serves to assist these projects by conducting a comprehensive survey of the packaging of Sam's PB goods by materials and provide optimization suggestions for suitable circular economy projects for Walmart China.
Solutions
Jia first conducted a comprehensive summary of Sam’s Club’s products packaging. She evaluated existing product packaging in terms of carbon footprint and recyclability, based on references such as the Walmart Recycling Playbook. In order to assist suppliers in assessing the sustainability of packaging, she spotted problems and suggestions for improvement and best practices for different materials and types of packaging. Jia also worked on the survey on the sustainability training for Walmart's suppliers.
Potential Impact
By examining China's present condition and policies regarding the circular economy and reducing plastic packaging, it assists Walmart China and its suppliers to identify future policy trends to minimize environmental risks and spot opportunities for sustainable development. Changing the materials and designs used for product packaging enables Walmart to save resources and enhance recycling efficiency, which will help customers understand the company's ambition in sustainability.