Dive Brief:

• Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will buy more than half (58%) of energy that will be produced in the next ten years by Pattern Energy Group’s 200 megawatt Logan’s Gap Wind facility, now being built outside Dallas.

• Wal-Mart’s goal is to obtain 7 billion kilowatt-hours of renewable energy by 2020, part of an effort by the retailer to ultimately get 100% of its energy from renewable sources. That goal has no timeline, though it’s about a quarter (26%) of the way there.

• Some 1,300 of the retailer’s suppliers also use its Sustainability Index, which has led to 20 million metric tons of emissions cut from its supply chain, according to Fortune magazine.

Dive Insight:

In some quarters, the argument over climate change — the extent of it and its causes — remains a matter of debate. But the world’s largest retailer apparently is dedicated to drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that most scientists say are contributing to global climate change and a host of problems that come with it.

Wal-Mart is making sure that its efforts work for it, too, by keeping its energy costs in line with more traditional sources. That will ultimately have to happen for companies and households of all sizes in order for renewable energy to be a viable choice in the market. And Wal-Mart has little room for added costs as it works to maintain and even grow its margins in a tough retail environment. 

But Wal-Mart’s efforts, thanks to its size and its commitment, will go far in that goal, too. Still, the company is a major user of coal-fired energy—42 million tons annually—with analysis from The Institute of Local Self-Reliance finding that its use of renewable energy has actually declined.