Walmart Inc. / Walmart Foundation

The interconnected crises of rapid climate change and biodiversity loss pose threats to our food systems, our communities and our way of life. But in those threats also lie opportunities to change the status quo and develop more sustainable, regenerative and resilient ways of managing our natural resources.

With support from Walmart and Walmart Foundation, TNC is leveraging its global reach and local connections to help enable sustainable solutions in fragile ecosystems, transform critical food systems and empower the communities that steward our lands and waters. 

With Walmart Inc., TNC is helping drive change—from the products on the shelves to the land the stores sit on.

For tuna, TNC worked with the Republic of the Marshall Islands to create Pacific Island Tuna, a joint venture, vertically integrated, end-to-end tuna supply chain company that is focused on sustainability. Walmart Inc. sources Pacific Island Tuna’s Marine Stewardship Council-certified, fish aggregating device-free, canned skipjack tuna for its in-house brand, helping make a responsibly produced protein source widely accessible within the U.S. and supporting the communities of the Marshall Islands.

Additionally, TNC and Walmart have collaborated to reduce emissions along the shrimp supply chain. TNC worked with industry partners in Ecuador to improve feed sourcing, increase on-farm efficiency, transition to clean energy, and restore mangrove forests. This lower-impact product is now available at Walmart stores across the U.S. and is raising the bar for shrimp production worldwide.

TNC worked with Walmart to identify opportunities and actions to improve sustainability in Walmart’s beef supply. From those learnings, TNC developed a “Roadmap for Sustainable Beef” that Walmart and other companies can use to enhance the sustainability of their beef supply chains.

In Maryland, Brightstorm (a TNC program), Walmart Inc. and state agencies collaborated on the retrofit of three stormwater retention ponds on Walmart Inc. properties with new technology to improve Chesapeake Bay water quality. Combined, these three ponds will treat runoff from more than 90 acres of impervious surface, including nearby parking lots. In the face of climate change and increased flooding, these ponds can help protect and provide cleaner water to nearby communities. 

In addition to working with Walmart Inc., TNC is receiving support from Walmart Foundation to drive more sustainable practices on land and at sea while developing the capacity and enabling conditions to do our conservation work more effectively. Walmart Foundation is providing support to TNC’s efforts around the world to:

• Create regenerative food systems—on land and at sea—that feed families and support local communities.
• Protect, restore, and more meaningfully conserve threatened ecosystems like grasslands and tropical forests.
• Provide farmers, ranchers and fishers the resources, tools and technical assistance needed to continue stewarding our lands sustainably and safely.
• Improve access to nature-based solutions to help communities threatened by the impacts of climate change adapt and become more resilient.

With support from Walmart Inc. and Walmart Foundation, TNC is using place-based projects to drive systems change and support communities around the world in creating a more sustainable future.