Our Approach

We firmly believe that a business thrives when it creates value for society. As a business, Walmart is committed to delivering shared value. Employing over 2 million people and doing business with thousands of suppliers, while operating in 20 countries with one of the largest global supply chains, Walmart’s greatest strength is the ability to make change through our business model. We see opportunity to use every dimension of our business to make a positive impact. That means leveraging our size, scale and core strengths to create value for our associates, customers, investors and communities.

To create large-scale systems change that has lasting impact, our philanthropy complements Walmart’s business initiatives. Walmart.org aspires to build healthier, resilient systems that are good for society. And that requires business and philanthropy working together to achieve greater reach and impact.

Take the food system for example. For millions of people, Walmart provides access to affordable healthy food, particularly in underserved communities. In addition, the business donated 760 million pounds of good globally to local food banks. At the same time Walmart.org directs philanthropic investments to strengthen the charitable meal system; through grants directed towards things like refrigerated trucks for food banks to transport donations, breakfast in the classroom program and nutritional education.

Our philanthropic efforts seek to unlock or create a solution that can’t be accomplished by the market and help transform systems for better outcomes. Together, business and philanthropy, through the collaborative efforts of many, can help transform systems for better outcomes.

Read more about our approach from Kathleen McLaughlin, President, Walmart Foundation, here.