Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
At the NADBank Summit 2024, held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 29-30, thought leaders, policymakers, and business executives from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border convened to discuss environmental challenges and sustainable development. Among the distinguished speakers was Javier Treviño Cantú, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Walmart Mexico and Central America. His keynote addresses highlighted Walmart’s transformative vision for sustainability and its ambitious goal to become a regenerative company.
Javier Treviño Cantú began his presentation by “reintroducing Walmart” to the audience, emphasizing the company’s expansive footprint and role as a significant regional employer. “Walmart is one of the largest companies in the world,” he stated, “with 10,500 stores worldwide, about 2 million associates, and nearly 650 billion in revenue.” He emphasized that Mexico represents Walmart’s largest market outside the United States, with nearly 4,000 stores and almost 240,000 associates across Mexico and Central America.
This extensive presence underlines Walmart’s confidence in the Mexican market and its commitment to continued growth. “This year, we will add 200 more stores, and we plan to build 1,000 new stores in Mexico in the next five years,” Treviño Cantú announced, highlighting the company’s robust expansion plans and its role as a key economic player in the region.
Treviño Cantú underscored Walmart’s unique position as a truly North American company. “In the border region, including the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas, we have nearly 700 stores and more than 36,000 associates,” he noted. He further explained that Walmart operates more than 1,000 stores in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California border states. “With 1,800 stores along this region, Walmart is committed to supporting regional trade and economic integration.”
This integration extends to Walmart’s supply chain practices. “We have more than 33,000 suppliers in Mexico, and around 85% of them are small and medium-sized companies,” Treviño Cantú highlighted, pointing to the company’s role in bolstering local economies. He added that “10% of Walmart’s U.S. imports come from Mexico, amounting to $13 billion, mainly in produce, electronics, toys, packaged food, apparel, automotive accessories, and many other goods.”
Most of Treviño Cantú’s presentation focused on Walmart’s shift from traditional sustainability practices to a regenerative business model. “We prefer to speak about regeneration,” he explained, citing a quote from Doug McMillon, Walmart’s President and CEO, about the company’s commitment to becoming a regenerative company. “It is no longer enough to mitigate our negative impact; what is important is to make our business sustainable over time,” he emphasized.
Treviño Cantú outlined Walmart’s regeneration strategy, which revolves around four key themes:
- Creating Opportunity: Walmart aims to provide opportunities for its associates and suppliers. “We promoted nearly 30,000 job promotions last year in Mexico alone,” he noted, emphasizing that “56% of our associates in Mexico are women, and the promotion rate for women in our company is 62%.” Walmart’s supplier base also reflects this commitment to opportunity, with 85% of its 33,000 suppliers in Mexico being Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). The Walmart Foundation supports small agricultural farmers, helping them become suppliers and increasing their incomes by 35%.
- Strengthening Community Resilience: Treviño Cantú described Walmart’s deep engagement with the communities it serves. “We aim not only to be a good neighbor but also to engage actively with the different communities where we operate,” he said. Walmart is the largest food donor in Mexico, contributing over 40,000 tons to nearly 100 food banks last year. The company also plays a critical role in disaster response, as demonstrated during Hurricane Otis in Acapulco.
- Enhancing Sustainability: Walmart’s sustainability efforts are guided by three main lines of action—promoting a circular economy, addressing climate change, and protecting natural capital. “We want to break the link between consumption and waste,” Treviño Cantú stated. Walmart has set ambitious goals, including becoming a zero-waste company and achieving zero emissions by 2040. “Today, more than 51% of our electric energy in Mexico comes from renewable sources,” he added, highlighting the challenges and progress in meeting these sustainability goals.
- Upholding High Ethical Standards: Ethics and integrity are central to Walmart’s regeneration strategy. “This is not only the last but the most important element of our strategy,” Treviño Cantú asserted. “Our scale implies a big responsibility as one of the largest companies in Mexico,” he continued, emphasizing its commitment to placing nature and humanity at the center of its business practices.
Treviño Cantú highlighted Walmart’s transformation from a traditional retail company to an ecosystem that provides a wide range of services to underserved communities. “We are a very important internet and cell phone provider in Mexico, with 14 million subscribers,” he stated, referring to Walmart’s Bodega Aurrera Internet y Telefonia (BAIT) service. Additionally, Walmart offers affordable healthcare services through its pharmacies and doctor’s offices and supports financial inclusion by providing remittance services and financial products to low-income families.
“We are also entering a new vertical: distance education,” Treviño Cantú revealed, noting that Walmart’s stores serve as a hub for various services, from internet access to healthcare, financial services, and education. “Every day, 6 million Mexicans go and buy in our stores,” he noted, illustrating the company’s extensive reach and impact on the communities it serves.
As Walmart continues evolving its business model and expanding its footprint, Treviño Cantú emphasized its commitment to a regenerative future. “We need to place nature and humanity at the center of our business practices,” he concluded. “We must take care of the planet and do more than expected.”
The NADBank Summit 2024 provided a platform for Walmart to showcase its grandioso plans and reaffirm its commitment to sustainability and community engagement. As the company embarks on its regenerative journey, it sets a new standard for corporate responsibility and sustainability in the U.S.-Mexico border region and beyond.
Written by Roberto Hugo González, the 2009 SBA Journalist of the Year Award Winner and The 2009 and 2012 Paul Harris Award recipient.
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