Walmart reaches major carbon emissions goal – six years early (chainstoreage.com)

Gap Inc. unveiled a new sustainable manufacturing goal to conserve a total of 10 billion liters of water by the end of 2020; those water savings would be the equivalent volume of the daily drinking water need for 5 billion people. Product innovation and efficiency improvements at fabric mills and laundries will be key to achieving these water savings. Progress towards the goal is already underway: since 2014, Gap Inc.-led projects have saved more than 2.4 billion liters of water. “Water is critical to nearly all aspects of our business, and we recognize the responsibility and the opportunity we have to reduce the amount of water used to create our products. Leveraging the power of product innovation and improved manufacturing practices, we can help ensure that our customers not only look great in their favorite jeans and t-shirts, but also feel good about how their purchases are helping to make a positive impact for communities and helping to tackle global water scarcity,” said Christophe Roussel, Executive Vice President of Global Sourcing at Gap Inc. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Vietnamese government has formulated a Forestry Development Strategy to help achieve this goal. This includes the target to establish, manage, protect and sustainably use 16.2 million hectares of forestland by 2020, and to certify at least 3 million hectares by 2030. “Sustainable forest management is a key focus of the Vietnamese government. We are prioritizing sustainable forest management in accordance with international practices, in order to increase the certified forest area by 2030,” Vice Minister Ha Cong Tuan confirmed. The newly established office will coordinate forest certification activities in Vietnam and manage the national forest certification system, including its application to PEFC for endorsement. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, announced companywide sustainability progress in its 2020 Responsibility Report, which outlines the company's 2019 progress on its corporate responsibility strategic pillars: focus on people, operate sustainably and strengthen communities. The report also introduces several new goals and provides an update on the company's recent response to COVID-19 and social equality issues. New goals include a commitment to produce and procure energy from 335 megawatts of renewable and alternative energy projects by 2025 – equivalent to the amount of energy it takes to power more than 90,000 homes. Additionally, the company pledged to eliminate expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from its private brand packaging by 2023. As part of its existing pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2035, The Home Depot reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent in 2019.