Walmart recently issued the largest green bond in the United States – worth $2 billion.
The world’s largest retailer has released its first debt with sustainability credentials. This is amid a period of stepped-up efforts to curb carbon emissions, promote recycling, and clean up its supply chain.
One of the projects funded by bonds might be a wide range of environmentally friendly projects, including wind turbines, solar power, energy-efficient refrigerators, electric vehicles, and trash reduction.
It’s part of a $7 billion investment that funds a $2 billion 10-year green bond to support a tender offer.
Walmart has set a goal of achieving zero emissions by the year 2040, and it also plans to lower emissions from its supply chain by a billion metric tons by the year 2030.
James Rich, Senior Portfolio Manager with Aegon Asset Management, stated “It certainly seems like they’re serious about taking a sustainability leadership role within the retail space,”. He went on to further state “I don’t know how other retailers will be able to avoid making similar commitments and changes.”
The gauntlet has been thrown down as Amazon issued a $150M ESG bond earlier in May and Alibaba also raised its first sustainability debt in Feb.
According to Bloomberg, the issuance of “Green” Bonds by firms and governments throughout the world reached $691 billion so far in 2021.
According to banking experts, the $1 Trillion dollar sales mark is set to be broken before the end of the year.