Page 26 - IMDR JOURNAL 22-23

IMDR’s Journal of Management Development and Research 2022-23

Analysis and discussion

Global firms

Fortune 500 companies are investing heavily in the sustainable finance initiative, not only out of a
sense of obligation but also to make their businesses more sustainable in the long run. Let us now look
at the steps that some Fortune 500 companies have taken to achieve sustainability finance and
sustainable development goals.

ALPHABET
Alphabet Inc. is a multinational technology conglomerate with headquarters in Mountain View,
California. Alphabet is the world's third-largest technology company in terms of revenue and one of the
most valuable corporations. Along with Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, it is one of the Big Five
American information technology companies. Alphabet’s core value is operating its business in an
environmentally and socially responsible manner. In August 2020, they issued $5.75 billion in
sustainability bonds, the largest issuance of green bonds by any company in history at the time.
Alphabet spent $1.28 billion on expenditures and contractual commitments to purchase electricity from
renewable energy sources, including 42 renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs) across
four continents with a combined capacity of approximately 4.4 GW. Alphabet has pledged to run its
business entirely on renewable energy by 2030. In terms of impact, the company expects its clean
energy investments to save nearly 14.9 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.
Alphabet allocated $1.25 billion to Green Buildings, which includes capital expenditures for the design,
construction, and improvement of seven green building projects totaling nearly 415,000 square meters.
The company also invested $640 million in energy-efficient facilities and infrastructure at two data
center campuses in Belgium and Finland.
On the social front, Alphabet set aside $133 million to finance small business loans, which it estimates
will result in 13,300 loans to historically underserved local businesses, $81 million to initiatives aimed
at advancing economic opportunity for the Black community, and $70 million to affordable housing
initiatives. These were Alphabet's major initiatives toward sustainability.

WALMART
Walmart Inc. helps people all over the world save money and live better lives in retail stores, online,
and on mobile devices. Every week, approximately 220 million customers and members visit
approximately 10,500 stores and clubs operating under 48 banners in 24 countries, as well as
ecommerce websites. Walmart ranked 1st on the Fortune 500 list
Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide and has a revenue of $559 billion in the fiscal year
2021. Walmart remains a pioneer in sustainability, corporate philanthropy, and job creation. Walmart
prioritizes ESG issues with the greatest potential for shared value creation: issues with high relevance
to its business and stakeholders, as well as Walmart's ability to make a difference. It has organized its
ESG priorities into four leadership themes based on its most recent ESG priority assessment:
Opportunity, Sustainability, Community, and Ethics & Integrity.
Walmart raised the bar on climate action by launching a supply chain finance programme that not only
allows for reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but also, for the first time, uses science-based
targets to do so in a way that aims for a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway. Working in collaboration with
HSBC and CDP, the programme will assist Walmart's private brand suppliers, particularly small and
medium-sized businesses, by introducing enhanced standards, tools, and capacity building to assist
them in upskilling and aligning their operations with transparent sustainability objectives. This is the
next critical step in Walmart's journey to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its global
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