Toward SuSTainabiliTy: The roleS and limiTaTionS of ... - Resolve

Chapter 2: Actors – Business 42Box 2.4Sustainable Agriculture Commitmentsby the World’s Largest RetailerIn October 2010, Walmart committed to buy a substantialpercentage of its agricultural products from certified sources.Its primary global and regional targets between now and2015 include:• Requiring sustainably sourced palm oil for all Walmart privatebrandproducts globally• Only sourcing beef that does not contribute to thedeforestation of the Amazon rainforest• In India, buying 50 percent of its fresh produce through thecompany’s Direct Farm Program• In China, upgrading 15 percent of Direct Farm products from“Green” to “Organic” certified• In Canada, purchasing 30 percent of the produce assortmentlocally• In the United States, doubling the sale of locally grown foodthrough its internal Heritage Agriculture programAccording to Walmart, these targets form part of a broadercommitment to promote sustainable agriculture that includes thefollowing procurement goals:• Selling $1 billion in food sourced from 1 million small andmedium farmers• Providing training to 1 million farmers and farm workers onsuch topics as crop selection and sustainable farming practices• Increasing the income of the small and medium farmers itsources from by 10 to 15 percent in the United States• Investing more than $1 billion in its global fresh supply chain inthe next five yearsonly source beef that does not contribute to thedeforestation of the Amazon rainforest (see Box 2.4).Certification systems can provide companieswith a credible way to implement, evaluate, andcommunicate their progress against such commitments.In 2011, for example, Walmart andSam’s Club updated their seafood sustainabilitypolicy to require that all of their wild-caught seafoodproducts be certified to MSC or equivalentsustainability standards. Similarly, U.S. grocerygiant Kroger has set a goal for 2015 of sourcingall of its top 20 wild-caught species from sourcesthat are either MSC-certified or involved in a “fisheryimprovement project” with the World WildlifeFund (WWF) (Marine Stewardship Council, 2011b).Unilever, with a supply chain consisting of morethan 200 different agricultural raw materials, optedto develop its own code of guiding principles forall crop types in all geographies. However, thecompany’s brands benchmark this code againstexternal certification standards. Unilever commitsto buy from certified or noncertified suppliersthat can show compliance with its internal codethrough a self-assessment process. 3Sometimes, commitments by individual companieshave a ripple effect across their sector.U.S. retailer Timberland developed an internalGreen Index in 2007 on the grounds that “widelyaccepted environmental standards do not exist.”This then led it to work with the Outdoor IndustryAssociation to develop an industry-wide index formeasuring the impact of outdoor products. 4 Theapparel industry as a whole is now drawing onthis initiative, together with other leading internalstandards such as Nike’s Considered Index, tocreate an industry-wide standard. This effort isbeing driven by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, 5which, in turn, is informing the SustainabilityConsortium’s 6 work on a suite of consistent sustainabilitystandards.• Reducing food waste in its emerging market stores and clubsby 15 percent3 www.unilever.com/aboutus/supplier/sustainablesourcing4 www.ecoindexbeta.org(Walmart, 2010a, 2010b)5 www.apparelcoalition.org6 www.sustainabilityconsortium.orgToward Sustainability: The Roles and Limitations of Certification