Walmart Policies and Guidelines (2024)

Updated: Jan. 31, 2024

Walmart Inc. (“Walmart”) aspires to source deforestation-free and conversion-free (“DCF”) products and has developed this policy to articulate our expectations of suppliers in support of that aspiration. The following priority commodities and regions are addressed by this policy:¹

Palm oil, pulp, paper, and timber from any region sold directly to Walmart or used as ingredients or raw materials in Walmart private brand products;
Palm oil from any region used in national brand products sold to Walmart;
Beef from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado or the Gran Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay (“Priority Regions”) sold directly to Walmart as national brand or private brands products;
Soy from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado or the Gran Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay (“Priority Regions”) sold directly to Walmart or indirectly as ingredients in Walmart private brand products.

Collectively, the commodities listed above represent Walmart’s “Priority Commodities.”

In addition to Priority Commodities, Walmart encourages suppliers to adopt DCF sourcing practices in other commodity supply chains including cocoa, coffee, natural rubber, and other forest products.²We also encourage national brand suppliers, marketplace sellers, and others to commit to DCF sourcing, support practices that eliminate deforestation and conversion risks in supply chains, and transparently report their progress.³

Suppliers sourcing Priority Commodities (“Applicable Suppliers”) are expected to abide by the requests of this Forest Policy throughout their business and throughout the process of providing products to Walmart. This includes responsibility for the conduct of any suppliers, subcontractors, and agents they use as part of their Walmart business (including, for example, factories, processing facilities, and raw material, component, and ingredient providers). Any Applicable Supplier that disregards this Forest Policy may be subject to consequences, up to and including termination of business with Walmart. Walmart reserves the right to audit or inspect Applicable Suppliers at any time to determine whether they are abiding by this Forest Policy.

Walmart’s aspiration for DCF supply chains

As part of Walmart’s aspiration to become a regenerative company⁴, we aim to source from and contribute to the development of DCF commodity supply chains related to the products we sell.

As a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer, our purpose is to help people save money and live better. Our customers count on us to deliver affordable products that are more sustainable for people and the planet, through actions that increase transparency and trust. We work with suppliers, NGOs, governments, and others along the value chain to help improve the sustainability of the products we sell.

Many of the products we sell include ingredients that come from forests and related ecosystems such as mixed vegetation grasslands. Such ecosystems provide numerous benefits, including support for people that depend on them for their homes and livelihoods, habitat for a vast number of species, and environmental services including the regulation of water and related climate systems (cleaning the air, storing carbon, and moderating rainfall), which are essential for supporting agricultural yields and mitigating natural disasters. Yet, according to the World Economic Forum and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, agriculture expansion and forestry are the main drivers of deforestation and conversion.⁵

Reversing the continued loss of forests and natural ecosystems while continuing to meet the daily needs of people around the world requires sustained transformation of production and sourcing of forest-risk commodities. Such systemic transformation will depend oninnovative solutions at the producer, supply chain and landscape levels, requiring collaboration⁶ among farmers and other producers, commodity traders, product manufacturers, retailers, suppliers, governments, and NGOs.

General expectations of suppliers

We expect Applicable Suppliers to implement the following DCF practices when sourcing Priority Commodities (whether as finished good, raw materials or ingredients):

Commit to achieving DCF sourcing, with a target date of December 31, 2025, or earlier;⁷
Use a cut-off date of no later than December 31, 2020⁸to measure and report DCF sourcing;
Use the definitions and guidance outlined by the Accountability Framework initiative (“AFi”)⁹to support DCF implementation efforts, as well as:
- Follow all relevant laws and regulations to ensure no illegal harvesting or violations of human rights;¹⁰
- Protect forests and natural ecosystems, especially High Conservation Value (“HCV”) and High Carbon Stock (“HCS”) areas;
- Do not develop on peatlands, regardless of depth;
- Encourage agroforestry and other regenerative practices, wherever possible;
- Respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (“IPLCs”), including Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (“FPIC”), where appropriate.
Certify or verify DCF sourcing. Walmart recognizes the importance of both sustainability certifications and supply chain verification as key tools to credibly and effectively implement DCF sourcing. Certifications can help improve the sustainability of agriculture and forestry production systems, supporting a wide range of social, environmental, and economic benefits, including DCF criteria. Supply chain verification, using credible geo-spatial monitoring, independent validation, and transparent reporting, can also be an effective tool to deliver DCF sourcing and help advance sustainability outcomes.For the purposes of this policy, Walmart asks Applicable Suppliers to follow the certification and verification practices described below in order of priority:
- Prioritize the use of credible certifications with traceability and chain of custody models¹¹that can effectively deliver verified DCF sourcing, when possible;
- When certification is available but cannot yet provide sufficient traceability of DCF sourcing, use a hybrid approach that combines certification and verification;
- When certification is not available, verify DCF sourcing¹², and promote sustainable agriculture and forestry practices within the value chain that complement DCF criteria.
Report progress to Walmart via Project Gigaton or Walmart’s Sustainability Survey to help demonstrate collective progress towards DCF sourcing across Priority Commodities and Priority Regions.

Commodity-specific expectations of suppliers

We expect Applicable Suppliers to adopt the following DCF sourcing practices:

Palm oil

Palm oil is an ingredient in a variety of food and consumer products. It is a highly productive and versatile crop that contributes to smallholder livelihoods and socioeconomic benefits for rural communities. Yet unsustainable palm oil production has been associated with deforestation and peatland conversion, primarily in Southeast Asia.¹³ Experts suggest this can lead to environmental and social impacts, such as habitat loss, biodiversity declines, greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change, and air pollution from burnings.¹⁴

Walmart’s goal for DCF palm oil

By the end of 2025, Walmart Inc. aspires to source only deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) palm oil for our private brand products globally. This includes all forms of palm oil used in Walmart’s private brand products, including crude palm oil, refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, fractions, expellers, and derivatives. It also includes palm oil sourced from any region in the world.

Walmart’s expectation of private brand suppliers for DCF palm oil

Walmart Inc. expects its private brand suppliers globally to:

1. Develop and implement a plan to source DCF palm oil, including by:

Publishing a DCF commitment aligned to the general expectations above with timebound milestones for sourcing DCF palm oil. We encourage suppliers to consult the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) for guidance on how to establish a credible DCF policy and implementation plan;
Registering DCF commitments in Walmart’s Project Gigaton portal under the Nature Pillar; and
Sourcing DCF palm oil following:
- The principles and criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) with a segregated (or higher) chain of custody model for DCF sourcing; or
- The principles and criteria of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) mass balance model with DCF verification.¹⁵

2. Transparently report progress, including by:

Beef

Beef is a nutrient-dense high-protein food that is connected to the culture of communities around the world. It also provides livelihoods for many smallholder producers. Yet unsustainable cattle ranching practices have been associated with deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems, especially in South America.¹⁶Experts suggest this can lead to environmental and social impacts, such as habitat loss, degradation of ecosystem services that regulate temperature and rainfall, greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change¹⁷, conflicts over land and resources, as well as air pollution from burnings¹⁸.

Walmart’s goal for DCF beef

By the end of 2025, Walmart Inc. aspires to source only deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) beef for our private brand and national brand products originating from Priority Regions. This includes fresh, chilled, frozen, and processed corned beef products¹⁹, originating from farms or ranches located in the Brazilian Amazon, Brazilian Cerrado, and Gran Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay.

Walmart’s expectation of national and private brand suppliers for DCF beef

For beef products originating from Priority Regions, Walmart Inc. expects its private brand and national brand suppliers globally to:

1.Develop and implement a plan to source DCF fresh, frozen and processed beef, including by:

Publishing a DCF commitment with timebound milestones for sourcing DCF beef. We encourage suppliers to consult the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) for guidance on how to establish a credible DCF policy and implementation plan. We also encourage suppliers to follow the Beef on Track²⁰protocol for implementing DCF sourcing in the Brazilian Amazon and other priority regions, as appropriate;
Registering DCF commitments in Walmart’s Project Gigaton portal under the Nature Pillar;and
Using credible geospatial traceability, monitoring, and verification to demonstrate DCF sourcing, including both direct and indirect supplying properties.

2.Transparently report progress, including by:

Reporting progress towards sourcing DCF beef during Walmart’s Sustainability reporting season, including:
- Total fresh, chilled, frozen, and processed corned beefvolumes sourced for Walmart private brand and national brand products from specified priority regions; and
- Percentage of volumes that are verified as originating from sources that were not deforested or cleared after December 31, 2020 (or earlier, as specified by established protocols);
Maintaining, and making available upon request, comprehensive records about beef sourcing volumes and origins, including direct and indirect supplying farms²¹, slaughterhouse locations, risk assessments, verification methods for DCF, and other relevant information, as appropriate; and
Complying with requests from Walmart to conduct independent validations of sourcing, reporting, and claims with third parties, as needed.

Soy

Soy is a high-protein crop that is prevalent in many food and consumer products. It is also a key feed input for aquaculture, poultry, and livestock. Soy is also a highly productive and versatile crop that contributes to livelihoods and socioeconomic benefits for rural communities. Yet unsustainable soy production practices have been associated with deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems, especially in South America.²²Experts suggest this can lead to environmental and social impacts, such as habitat loss, degradation of ecosystem services that regulate temperature and rainfall, greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change, conflicts over land and resources, as well as air pollution from burnings.²³

Walmart’s goal for DCF soy

By the end of 2025, Walmart Inc. aspires to source only deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) soy for our private brand products originating from Priority Regions. This includes all types of soy used for food and consumer products as well as soy used in feed for fish, aquaculture, poultry, and livestock associated with our value chain, originating from farms located in the Brazilian Amazon, Brazilian Cerrado, and Gran Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay.

Walmart’s expectation of private brand suppliers for DCF soy

Walmart Inc. expects its private brand suppliers globally to:

1.Develop and implement a plan to source DCF Soy, including by:

Publishing a DCF commitment with timebound milestones for sourcing DCF soy. We encourage suppliers to consult the Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) for guidance on how to establish a credible DCF policy and implementation plan;
Registering DCF commitments in Walmart’s Project Gigaton portal under the Nature Pillar; and
Sourcing DCF soy following:
- The principles and criteria of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS), ProTerra Standard, or Cefetra Certified Responsible Soya Standard, with a segregated (or higher) chain of custody model for DCF sourcing; or
- The principles and criteria of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS), ProTerra Standard, or Cefetra Certified Responsible Soya Standard mass balance model with DCF verification.
- DCF supply chain verification with independent validation.

2.Transparently report progress, including by:

Reporting on progress towards sourcing DCF soy during Walmart’s Sustainability reporting season, including:
- Total volume of soy sourced for Walmart private brand products from Priority Regions;
- Percentage of certified volume from certifications that utilize chain of custody models that can credibly deliver DCF soy;and
- Percentage of volumes that are verified as originating from sources that were not deforested or cleared after December 31, 2020 (or earlier, as specified by established protocols);
Maintaining, and making available upon request, comprehensive records of soy sourcing volumes and origins, including locations of direct farms as well as cooperatives and intermediaries, silo and aggregation sites, risk assessments, certification documentation, verification methods for DCF, and other relevant information, as appropriate; and
Complying with requests from Walmart to conduct independent validations of sourcing, reporting, and claims with third parties, as needed.

Pulp, Paper, and Timber

Pulp, paper, and timber are important forestry products for a variety of household and consumer items. Forestry is also an important economic resource for many rural communities around the world. Yet unsustainable forestry practices have been associated with deforestation and conversion.²⁴Experts suggest this can lead to environmental and social impacts, such as the loss of rare, endangered, and ancient trees as well as the loss of habitat, soil erosion and sedimentation of waterways, degradation of ecosystem services, greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change, as well as social conflicts over land and resources.²⁵

Walmart’s goal for DCF pulp, paper, and timber

By the end of 2025, Walmart Inc. aspires to source only deforestation-free and conversion-free (DCF) pulp, paper, and timber for our private brand products. This includes hardwood and softwood logs, sawn timber, furniture, pulp and paper, plywood, particle board, as well as Oriented Strand Board (OSB), Medium and High-Density Fiberboard (MDF and HDF) and other engineered wood products. It applies to all pulp, paper, and timber sourced from any region in the world.

Walmart’s expectation of private brand suppliers for DCF pulp, paper, and timber

Walmart Inc. expects its private brand suppliers globally to:

1.Develop and implement a plan to source DCF pulp, paper, and timber, including by:

Publishing a DCF commitment with timebound milestones for sourcing DCF pulp, paper, and timber products. We encourage suppliers to consult the Accountability Framework initiative (“AFi”) for guidance on how to establish a credible DCF policy and implementation plan;
Registering DCF commitments in Walmart’s Project Gigaton portal under the Nature Pillar; and
Sourcing pulp, paper, and timber as follows and as specified in order of preference below:
- Use recycled content whenever possible;
- Source Forest Stewardship Council (“FSC”) certified commodities whenever possible;
- Where FSC certified commodities are not available at the price, quantity, or specifications needed,²⁶sourcecommodities certified by Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Programme for the Endorsem*nt of Forest Certification (PEFC). For SFI, Walmart prefers suppliers source material under SFI’s Forest Management Standard but will accept other forms of SFI certification. For all SFI and PEFC sourcing, we ask suppliers for additional due diligence to verify DCF sourcing;²⁷
- Where PEFC or SFI certified commodities are not available at the price, quantity, or specifications needed,²⁸source commodities using DCF verification methods to ensure products do not originate from areas cleared after December 31, 2020.²⁹

2.Transparently report progress, including by:

Reporting on progress towards sourcing DCF pulp, paper, and timber during Walmart’s Sustainability reporting season, including:
- Total volumes of pulp, paper, and timber sourced for Walmart private brand products.
- Percentage of recycled material;
- Percentage of material certified by FSC (specify FSC standard);
- Percentage of material certified by SFI and/or PEFC (specify SFI and/or PEFC standard); and
- Percentage of material verified as DCF.
Maintaining, and making available upon request, comprehensive records about pulp, paper and timber sourcing volumes and origins, including locations of concessions and mills, risk assessments, certification documentation, verification methods for DCF, and other relevant information, as appropriate.
Complying with requests from Walmart to conduct independent validations of sourcing, reporting, and claims with third parties, as needed.

Restoring Critical Forests

Restoring degraded or converted forests can generate numerous benefits for people and nature, including re-establishing ecosystem connectivity, increasing wildlife habitat, enhancing biodiversity, improving ecosystem services, increasing carbon sequestration, and strengthening landscape and community resilience.

Supporting Landscape and Place-Based Initiatives

In addition to the supply chain actions outlined above, Walmart encourages suppliers to engage in place-based initiatives at the landscape and jurisdictional level to help advance regenerative outcomes and build resilience at scale. Place-based initiatives bring together diverse stakeholders to help advance shared sustainability goals. They seek to integrate protection, restoration, and more sustainable management by optimizing across social, economic, and environmental objectives. These approaches offer opportunities to effectively address the underlining drivers of deforestation and the conversion of natural ecosystems and are complementary to the DCF supply chain actions outlined in this policy.

Effective engagement in place-based initiatives will vary by landscape, but may include:

Joining a landscape or jurisdictional initiative and participating in multistakeholder dialogues, steering committees, working groups, or other forums.
Committing to source from jurisdictions and landscapes that are pursuing goals that align with business priorities.
Investing in actions that align with the priorities identified by local stakeholders representing the jurisdiction or landscape initiative.
Supporting credible and transparent reporting and claims of activities and outcomes at the landscape and jurisdictional level.

For more information, please visit the Walmart Sustainability Hub.

¹Walmart’s Forest Policy is focused on the following priority commodities and regions: palm oil and pulp, paper and timber globally; as well as beef and soy from the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado and the Gran Chaco of Argentina and Paraguay. Walmart has prioritized these commodities and regions because of their relative levels of deforestation and conversion risks, our ability to potentially influence DCF production and sourcing practices via our private brand suppliers and in some instances national brand suppliers, as well as the potential to help advance broader collective action via our participation in coalitions like the Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition and the Tropical Forest Alliance, which have prioritized the same set of commodities.

²https://www.walmartsustainabilityhub.com/sustainable-products

³National brand suppliers and marketplace sellers are encouraged to use Project Gigaton to set SMART goals, take action, and report progress.

⁴https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/09/21/walmart-sets-goal-to-become-a-regenerative-company

⁵World Economic Forum and Food Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

⁶Examples of Walmart’s collaborative efforts include: member of the Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition (CGF-FPC), member of the Tropical Forest Alliance (TFA), and as an endorser to the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF) and the Statement of Support (SoS) for the Cerrado Manifesto.

⁷Walmart expects suppliers to be able to demonstrate significant progress towards achieving full DCF sourcing for Priority Commodities and Priority Regions by the end of 2025 (or sooner). We also expect ongoing implementation and reporting beyond 2025 to ensure continued alignment with the goals and approaches outlined in this Forest Policy.

⁸Walmart recognizes earlier cut-off dates that have been established through credible multi-stakeholder processes and/or certification systems. We encourage our suppliers to adopt these earlier dates as part of their implementation of DCF sourcing practices. Where earlier dates do not exist, we expect suppliers to use a DCF cut-off date of December 31, 2020. The Accountability Framework initiative (AFi) has compiled a list of common cut off dates for different commodities and regions that suppliers can reference: https://accountability-framework.org/fileadmin/uploads/afi/Documents/Common_Cutoff_Dates_Sept_2023.pdf

⁹Applicable suppliers should use the Accountability Framework initiative, within the limits of applicable labor law, to help support their DCF implementation efforts https://accountability-framework.org

¹⁰This includes following the requirements of Walmart's Human Rights program, including Walmart's Human Rights Statement and Standards for Suppliers.

¹¹Certification chain of custody models that follow a book and claim or mass balance approach are typically unable to provide credible DCF sourcing without additional verification mechanisms. Mass balance certification models that include DCF controls for mixed products can provide credible DCF sourcing. Certification chain of custody models that follow a segregated and identity preserved approach are typically able to provide credible DCF sourcing without additional verification mechanisms.

¹²For DCF verification, suppliers should have a public DCF policy and a way to monitor and verify DCF sourcing that enables credible reporting. This may include developing and implementing risk assessments, supplier engagement and site visits, geo-monitoring, traceability, and/or purchase control systems to verify that commodities have not originated from areas that were deforested or cleared after 12/31/20 (or earlier). Monitoring and traceability systems should cover direct and indirect supplies and include ongoing checks to ensure the supplying areas are not associated with forced labor, environmental embargoes, or encroachments on indigenous territories or conservation units, as appropriate by commodity. This may also include transparent methodologies that outline risk levels, spatial mapping resolution, minimum mapping units to assess deforestation and conversion, temporal data layers, and other relevant information used for measurement and validation.

¹³Izaya Numataet al2022Environ. Res. Lett.17094024. DOI10.1088/1748-9326/ac8a61

¹⁴Meijaard, E., Brooks, T.M., Carlson, K.M.et al.The environmental impacts of palm oil in context.Nat. Plants6, 1418–1426 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-00813-w

¹⁵Palm oil volumes in the NDPE Implementation Reporting Framework “delivering” category can be used to complement RSPO mass balance sourcing to demonstrate DCF volumes if the supplier and/or trader has independently verified implementation of the NDPE IRF framework.

¹⁶https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/summer-2018/articles/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-tropical-deforestation

¹⁷https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2023787118

¹⁸https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305750X21003375

¹⁹Fresh, frozen, and processed beef products include the following 4-digit International Harmonized System code headings: heading 0201 and all subheadings (meat of bovine animals – fresh or chilled), 0202 and all subheadings (meat of bovine animals – frozen), and heading/subheading 1602.50.07 (corned beef in airtight containers).

²⁰https://www.beefontrack.org

²¹Direct supplying farms are properties that sell cattle directly to a slaughterhouse. Indirect supplying farms are properties that sell cattle to other producers or intermediaries, but not directly to slaughterhouses. Cattle ranching can generally be categorized across three distinct phases of production: breeding, rearing and fattening. Direct farms tend to cover the fattening phase, while indirect farms tend to cover the breeding and/or rearing, but some farms cover multiple or all phases of production. Walmart aims to apply DCF sourcing across all phases of production to include both direct and indirect supplying properties from priority regions.

²²https://www.worldwildlife.org/magazine/issues/summer-2018/articles/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-tropical-deforestation

²³https://chainreactionresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Cerrado-Deforestation-Disrupts-Water-Systems-and-Poses-Business-Risks-for-Soy-Producers-3.pdf

²⁴https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/forestry/pulp_and_paper

²⁵https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/pulp-and-paper

²⁶If suppliers are unable to viably source material via FSC certification, suppliers should provide a written explanation detailing the reasons why.

²⁷As a member of the Consumer Goods Forum Forest Positive Coalition (CGF-FPC), Walmart seeks to align with the DCF methodologies developed by CGF-FPC, which indicate that SFI and PEFC certifications may not necessarily provide verified DCF sourcing: https://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CGF-FPC-PPP-Roadmap-Guidance.pdf

²⁸If suppliers are unable to viably source material via SFI or PEFC certification, suppliers should provide a written explanation detailing the reasons why.

²⁹See footnote 12 for guidance on DCF verification.