GE Lighting Helps Walmart with Sustainability Goals

GE Lighting has helped pave the way to shave 1.2 billion kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity use in consumer homes by converting Walmart shoppers from traditional light bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs over the last two years. Not only has this shift supported Walmart’s Project Gigaton, a Walmart supplier initiative aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by one gigaton (GT) by 2030, the shift is also leaving a measured impact on consumer’s energy expenses.

By switching customers from traditional to LED bulbs over the past two years, shoppers will save more than $2 billion collectively over the life of the LED bulbs. LEDs use 70 to 90 percent less energy than traditional lighting options and last 15 to 25 times longer. GE Lighting encourages consumers to use October, Energy Action Month, as motivation to make the switch. To help, GE offers more than 100 energy-saving LED products at Walmart, including 36 ENERGY STAR LEDs, all $2 to $4 bulbs.

“Walmart is expanding its assortment of more-sustainable products from brands our customers love,” said Laura Phillips, Walmart’s senior vice president for global sustainability, in a statement. “GE Lighting is demonstrating that innovative suppliers can deliver high-quality, sustainable products as part of the Walmart everyday low-price promise.”   

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“GE Lighting is proud to support Walmart’s sustainability efforts as we help consumers shift to energy-saving LEDs,” said Daraius Patell, North American consumer leader at GE Lighting, in a statement. “Today, LEDs are available for every socket in every room of the home, and while LEDs now eclipse sales of all other technologies combined, about 70 percent of residential lighting sockets still contain a non-LED bulb. This means consumers are missing out on the energy savings and long life of LEDs, changing bulbs out more than they need to be and missing out on opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

GE’s commercial LEDs from Current, powered by GE, also are being used across Walmart stores and facilities, from refrigerated display cases to parking lot and interior lighting. This LED initiative supports Walmart’s science-based target to reduce emissions in its own operations by 18 percent by 2025, according to the company. As part of an ongoing commitment to energy efficiency, Walmart said it has installed more than 1.5 million LED fixtures across more than 6,000 stores, parking lots, distribution centers and corporate offices in 10 countries.