Climate alliance names Walmart, Home Depot and Target as top 'ocean import polluters' in the US
A study by US-based Ship It Zero has found that 18 retail majors worldwide were responsible for a total of 3.5 million mt of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2021, through importing their goods into the US on fossil-fuelled cargo ships.
PHOTO: Cranes ready to unload a container ship in Port of Long Beach. Getty Images
“These retail, furniture, technology and fashion companies pummelled US port communities with smog-forming, nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of seven coal-fired power plants,” the report said.
Ship It Zero is a climate campaign founded by environmental advocates and shipping experts in the US. Its goal is to push the world's largest retail companies to cut emissions, and for shipowners to deploy at least 200 zero-emission cargo vessels into operation by 2030.
Of the top three US “ocean import polluters”, Walmart was responsible for 788,000 mt of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and 14.9 mt of the “climate superpollutant” methane in 2021, according to the report. Home Depot was responsible for 544,000 mt of CO2 and 10.4 mt of methane, while Target emitted around 420,000 mt of CO2 and 8 mt of methane into the atmosphere from their US imports.
Other companies on the polluter list were retail giant Amazon, sports retailers Nike and Adidas, tech majors Samsung, Dell and HP, fashion retailer H&M and furniture major IKEA from Sweden.
By Konica Bhatt
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