Retail heavyweight Wal-Mart said on Thursday that it plans to massively cut greenhouse gas emissions from the life cycle of its products by the end of 2015, describing it as "an effort equivalent to taking more than 3.8 million cars off the road for a year".

Wal-Mart plans to reach the goal by having its suppliers reduce "emissions involved in the sourcing, manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of the thousands of products it sells in its stores".

The retail giant, which announced previously, that it would rely solely on renewable energy to run all its operations, completed three solar installations in Southern California, last month.

"We have the capacity to do more", Chief Executive Mike Duke said. "It's a very sizable goal, as we often do at Wal-Mart".

"We do plan and want to continue to build stores. We want to add square footage. That's the reality of our business. Yet we know we need to get ready for a world in which energy will only be more expensive, and that there will only be a greater need to operate with less carbon in the supply chain", he added.