Walmart

At a Glance

Industry

Retail and Apparel

Project Types

Food and Agriculture, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy

Year

2024

Location

Beijing

Summary

Lei Wang analyzed the feasibility of food waste conversion and reuse in the Chinese market at Walmart China.

Goals

Walmart China is committed to improving diversion rate of food waste, thereby reducing resource waste and carbon emissions. Though Walmart China has invested in surplus food donations and nationwide food banking network development in the past three years, conversion into animal feed, industrial utilization and composting are not yet practiced in commercial operations. In order to further explore their feasibility in the Chinese market, EDF enlisted Lei Wang to conduct relevant analysis and research for Walmart China.

Solutions

Lei Wang conducted the feasibility study mainly from the following aspects: - Analyze policy environment: She analyzed the policies and regulations related to the project, such as management of near-expired food and food waste disposal, and summarized them at both national and city levels. - Assess technology maturity: She assessed the extent of development and operational requirements of food waste to animal feed, industrial utilization, and composting technologies in the Chinese market. - Investigate commercial viability: Through case studies and literature review, she compiled a food waste management decision tree and gave a general business operation model with recommendations for key problem-solving. In addition, she evaluated the market feasibility in different cities by analyzing the store waste disposal data.

Potential Impact

If the food waste from Walmart China's hypermarkets and Sam's clubs can be converted in the ideal way, it will reduce a considerable amount of carbon emissions annually, and meanwhile, the converted products can create a certain amount of economic value. The implementation of the project will not only make an important contribution to Walmart's sustainable development, but will also serve as a good model for other companies and have a positive impact on the fight against food waste in China.

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