Kathleen McLaughlin, directora de Sustentabilidad de Walmart, detalla la meta de cero emisiones para 2040. A pesar de lograr una reducción del 50% en la intensidad de sus emisiones, el principal reto es el contexto externo.
00:00Tiene más de 10 años de experiencia al frente de Fundación Walmart.
00:17Dirige iniciativas de sustentabilidad y responsabilidad social que fortalecen comunidades.
00:23Bajo su liderazgo, Walmart de México, con más de 3.000 tiendas y 200.000 asociados,
00:28genera un impacto positivo y sostenible en la sociedad y el medio ambiente.
00:33La vicepresidenta ejecutiva y directora de sostenibilidad de Walmart Inc., Kathleen McLaughlin, en Milenio Negocios.
00:48Bienvenidos a Milenio Negocios.
00:50El día de hoy me acompaña Kathleen McLaughlin.
00:53Ella es la vicepresidenta y directora de sustentabilidad para Walmart.
00:57Kathleen, thank you so much for being here with me.
01:00And I want to begin with 2030 is just around the corner.
01:04There's like five more years for that.
01:06And the world has set up certain goals to get to that point.
01:11I know that in terms of Walmart, you are targeting to be net zero for 2040.
01:17However, even if that's less of a short-term view, it's a little longer, you have more time.
01:24I want to know what has been the most complicated challenge?
01:28Where are you in that sense to achieve the net zero?
01:33Yeah.
01:33Well, thank you for having me here.
01:35It's a pleasure to be with you here today.
01:37Yes, we do have a goal to get to zero emissions by 2040 in our operations.
01:42So that's what people call scope one and scope two.
01:45And I'm happy to say that as of now, our emissions intensity, so that's emissions per dollar of sales around the world at Walmart.
01:53Emissions intensity?
01:53Emissions intensity, it's down by almost 50%.
01:58So a 47% reduction.
02:01Our absolute emissions reduction is around 18% absolute total footprint versus our starting point.
02:09And that's despite having grown our business significantly in that time frame.
02:12So you asked about challenges.
02:14The biggest challenge, of course, is the broader context that we operate in.
02:19Because for us to make progress on renewable energy, that is location by location.
02:23Site by site, it's working with utilities to build out there.
02:28We have some on-site projects as well.
02:30But the extent to which different countries are going at a different pace around energy certainly affects that.
02:36Refrigeration, it's a matter of converting all of those cooler cases and freezer cases one by one to the new technologies.
02:44So we tend to line that up with the building of new stores or remodeling our stores.
02:49So that takes time to work through.
02:51And then, of course, transportation.
02:52If we're talking about smaller vehicles, maybe a truck that goes around in a distribution center, that's easier to do than the big, heavy tractors that we drive.
03:02So we have worked that into our operating plan.
03:06It's part of our strategy.
03:08It's not a separate project.
03:09And that innovation that we're driving on those things, along with, of course, energy efficiency, those are the things that are getting us progress toward our goal.
03:18You just mentioned something that sort of leads me to my next question, which is one of the key components is the supply chain.
03:27And even if there's a lot of different international standards and environmental laws, and that's what you just mentioned, you have to treat standards in different ways because you're everywhere in the world.
03:39So I know that must be a challenge.
03:43And so I wanted to ask what works for you.
03:45But also, if you have to deal with different laws and regulations, how do you get visibility of what is going on first and then accountability?
03:57The heart of our, I don't know, mission, it's really to help our customers save money, live better by giving them access to affordable, quality food, other products, and so on.
04:10And it's one of the reasons our sustainability strategy includes what are those products that we're providing to our customers?
04:16And what can we do to make the affordable choice the sustainable choice?
04:21And as you say, gosh, how do you, you know, how do you do that?
04:23And so I would say a couple of things.
04:26One, I don't want to lose sight of the main thing, which is access to affordable products.
04:31So we've really been focusing here on Mexico, in Mexico, and making sure that that basic basket of 24 items, we can hold the price on that and have no inflation on those items and be a good partner to our customer and communities and the government on that front.
04:46And then we say, okay, what are those products?
04:48How do we work back across the entire assortment to deliver a sustainable product?
04:53And so for us, we talk about sustainability for people and planet.
04:58And what we mean by that is for the people, it's the nutrition, what goes into the item.
05:03So the banana.
05:04It's the banana, right.
05:05And then how was that item made?
05:08What were the opportunities for the producer?
05:10And then on the planet side, yes, it's emissions in the value chain, it's packaging and other forms of waste.
05:17It's nature.
05:19You know, can we provide products in a way that doesn't drive deforestation of critical ecosystems and that's done in a regenerative way for water and soil health and things like that.
05:28So on the people front, one of the things I'm most excited about, in fact, it's one of the reasons I'm here in Mexico today with you, is working with the small producers.
05:38So we've been at it for over 12 years here in Mexico.
05:42We call it the Pequeño Productor Program.
05:46And our goal is to elevate livelihoods of the smallest of producers.
05:51And so we've been working with almost 40,000 producers to date in that program.
05:563,000 of them are current suppliers to Walmart, where we're able to provide them access to good markets, fair pricing, take out the many different middlemen along the way,
06:07so they get more share of the margin, and then also help them with value addition, so to have even better products that they can turn into true businesses that help them grow.
06:20One of the studies that we did recently showed a 40% reduction in migration because the young people feel, I am not just a farmer for my family, but I'm an entrepreneur.
06:29And we are seeing across those agribusinesses, 150% growth increase just in a couple years' time of their businesses, supplying to us and other people too.
06:40So I give those examples because when we talk about sustainability, we don't just mean emissions and soil health and things like that, water, those are very important topics.
06:49But really, it's about the people.
06:51So building that local supply base all across the country, it's in every state, and really creating jobs locally there, in addition to our own jobs.
07:02We employ 200,000 people now in Mexico.
07:05So that is another way that running a good business that is a growing, thriving business of Walmart or in Womax can also then create value for communities.
07:14You just mentioned people, and I have several questions on that.
07:19Let's hope I have time.
07:20But you mentioned Pequeño Produtor.
07:23In this particular experience, has there, I mean, because I know you do this all over the world, not only in Mexico.
07:29Has there been a learning that inspired from Mexico another program somewhere else?
07:36Yes, very much so.
07:38So Mexico is the country where Walmart's been at the small producer program the longest.
07:45And one of the key insights has been the role of women in farms and in farming cooperatives.
07:52And, you know, it makes sense that women are half the population, tapping into that talent base and bringing those talented people into the production and into running the cooperative enhances the value for everybody.
08:04And so that's something that we've really brought into our work in other countries, too.
08:09India, for example.
08:11And really it was Mexico where a lot of those insights first started to come out.
08:15That's great.
08:17The other thing is alliances, because I think that alliances are key to sustainability.
08:22We cannot do it alone.
08:23We have to do it together.
08:24And you've been an ally with the Mexican government in what you just mentioned about the prices and the shared value for the customers at the end, which is 5 million people every day, right?
08:35And just in Mexico.
08:37What was it that you were able to achieve thanks to this alliance with the Mexican government?
08:42There we go.
08:44Partnerships are so important.
08:45And, you know, our business is about serving customers.
08:49And we can only do that if we have good relationships with the community, with policymakers and government, with suppliers, you know, with leaders.
08:58And so it's essential at every step of the way.
09:01And I would say a few things that have been so important in Mexico in the relationship with the government and the broader set of leaders and communities.
09:11Number one, this focus on affordability and fighting inflation.
09:17It's really helpful to have that kind of frame in any country for us to operate our business in.
09:23And it's worked so beautifully with what we try to do, which is every day low price, every day low cost.
09:29And then third, beyond that, in the broader community, so many ways.
09:33One of them that we haven't talked about yet is disaster relief.
09:37So really at Walmart, ever since Hurricane Katrina in the United States back in 2005, Walmart has tapped into our own resources around trucks, supplies, distribution capabilities, our own people locally and the difference we can make as volunteers for disaster preparation and relief.
09:58And that's been an important partnership with government.
10:01That's been a really important relationship as well.
10:04I know that, and this is more of like an experience question, because you've been working in sustainability for a long time, not only at Walmart.
10:16But what are the tough conversations that need to happen in Brazil this year that will allow us to not only achieve the goals for 2030, but ahead?
10:26Yeah. So I think what's wonderful about COP is it really is an opportunity for everyone to come together and check in with each other in person around the broader goals that we're all undertaking.
10:39Despite all the tremendous efforts around the world to decarbonize, global emissions are still rising.
10:46And part of the reason is just, you know, it's the good news of increased development for people and increased access to energy, which is great.
10:55But how can we provide that energy in a way that's lower carbon?
10:59And what can we do to accelerate progress on clean forms of energy?
11:03There's a lot of innovation out there.
11:05How do we go faster?
11:07You know, that's that's one.
11:08Second is another important factor in emissions, which is land use and nature.
11:15So you talked earlier about 2030 goals.
11:18You know, one of the goals is 30 percent conservation of the Earth's surface by 2030.
11:22How are we doing on that?
11:24I think there's been great progress in recognizing that conservation can go hand in hand with people living in community and coexisting in critical lands.
11:35But how are we doing on that?
11:36And to what extent can nature and conservation and even things like regenerative agriculture, which helps people, but also can sequester carbon?
11:46How can those kinds of things be a climate solution?
11:49And I think the third thing underlying all of this is financing.
11:52So to the extent that markets are not well functioning in all of these areas, how do we accelerate the transition?
12:01What other forms of capital can we bring to bear to achieve those goals?
12:07Those are fairly tough conversations to have.
12:10Thank you so much for being here with us.
12:12There are many topics that we ended up not being able to talk about, like waste and others.
12:16But I would love to see if, for your next trip, you can come again.
12:20Absolutely.
12:21Anytime.
12:21Thank you so much.
12:22Thank you.
12:23Muchas gracias a ustedes también por habernos acompañado.
12:26Y nos vemos la siguiente semana en Milenio Negocios.
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