Message from the CEO

September is a good time to look ahead at what is coming and make sure your team is prepared.

Two issues we are watching closely this month are Walmart’s upcoming Project Gigaton reporting and the continued development of Extended Producer Responsibility requirements across the country.

They are very different requirements, but the message is similar: preparation matters. Whether you are responding to a retailer request or a regulatory requirement, waiting until a deadline is approaching makes the process much harder.

For Walmart suppliers, the 2026 survey opens October 1, so now is the time to confirm your data, identify gaps, and make sure responsibilities are clear.

We are also closely following EPR developments, including the recent federal court decision upholding Oregon’s law. While EPR requirements continue to evolve, companies can take steps now to better understand their packaging and prepare for what is ahead.

At MTI, our goal is to help companies understand what is being asked, get organized, and build practical processes that make these requirements more manageable.

Warm regards,

Nikki Cossio
Founder & CEO, Measure to Improve, LLC

This Month’s Insights

The Clock Is Running for Walmart Reporting

If you expect to need outside support, September 11 is the working deadline. Contacting MTI by then gives us time to understand your needs and begin addressing gaps before Walmart’s portal opens.

But there are things you can be doing now, even without MTI’s support. Before the portal opens, confirm:

Ownership: Who owns the data needed for submission, who needs to prepare and contribute, and who approves the final responses?

Source material: Which previous responses and supporting documents can be referenced?

Changes and gaps: What has changed since last year, and what information still needs to be collected or updated?

Solution Spotlight: Sustainability Compliance Solution

With our Sustainability Compliance Solution, MTI works as an extension of your team to help make retailer reporting more manageable.

Our support can be tailored to where your team is in the process and may include:

Portal and survey guidance: Navigate the portal, prioritize questions, and interpret unclear requirements.

Data and response support: Help identify internal owners and use the information you already have to complete the survey.

Hands-on reporting assistance: Work through questions and portal entry with support from MTI’s sustainability team.

Learn more about MTI’s Sustainability Reporting & Compliance Readiness Solution

Need Support This Year?

If you anticipate needing help with the 2026 Walmart reporting, contact MTI by September 11. An introductory call will help us understand where your team stands and whether MTI is the right fit.

Schedule a 30-minute, no-obligation discovery call or email us directly at hello@measuretoimprovellc.com

SCHEDULE A CONSULT

Oregon’s EPR Ruling: What Should the Produce Industry Do Now?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws continue to take shape across the country. On August 27, a federal judge upheld Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act following a constitutional challenge.

While the ruling applies specifically to Oregon and legal challenges continue in other states, it is another indication that companies should not wait for every legal and regulatory question to be resolved before preparing.

For fresh produce companies operating across multiple states, now is the time to understand where you may have EPR obligations, what packaging information you have, what is missing, and who within your organization is responsible for maintaining it.

The takeaway: You don't need to have every EPR answer today, but you should be building the information and internal processes you will need for what comes next.

Read our latest blog: Oregon’s EPR Ruling: What Should the Produce Industry Do Now?

EPR Readiness

MTI's EPR Readiness Solution helps fresh produce companies understand requirements, organize packaging information, identify gaps, and establish internal processes to prepare for EPR reporting.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MTI'S READINESS SOLUTION

Rethinking Sustainability

Every sustainability investment creates an opportunity.

The investment is often easy to measure.

The return is not.

Too often, organizations measure success by the report they submitted or the requirement they fulfilled.

The organizations creating the greatest long-term value ask a different question: How can this sustainability investment strengthen our business, improve decision-making, differentiate our brand, strengthen customer relationships, and better prepare us for what’s next?

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