WEBVTT - Walmart Creates New Approach Toward ESG 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm 0:00:04.480 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanovk. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.840 you the latest news from the world to business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.680 plus technology, politics, economics, all partnessing the power of Business 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.160 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.000 analyst in more than one twenty countries. You can download 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.239 Bloomberg Business Week and iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.200 You can also listen to our radio show at two 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:27.880 pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio or watch us on 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:32.040 YouTube search Bloomberg Global News. They are the nation's biggest 0:00:32.040 --> 0:00:35.280 private employer, well known household corporate name, one known big 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:38.760 time to our financial and investment audiences. We're talking about Walmart. 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:40.920 It's also a company that is on a mission to 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:44.599 become a regenerative company on all levels. So let's get 0:00:44.640 --> 0:00:47.960 into it with Walmart executive vice president and chief sustainability officer. 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:51.600 She's also president of the Walmart Foundation, Kathleen McLoughlin, and 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.880 she joins us on the phone from Canada. Kathleen, so 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:56.920 nice to have you here on Bloomberg Business Week. How 0:00:56.960 --> 0:01:00.360 are you I'm great, Thanks Carol, thanks for having me. 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:02.280 It's super to be here. Well, it's super to have 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:05.680 you here because you guys see so much in our 0:01:05.720 --> 0:01:08.080 global economy, have to deal with so much in our 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:11.120 global economy when it comes to supply chains. First of all, 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:13.680 step back if we could, or look back past year. 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:18.120 Tell us about the year on your world, uh, from 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:20.600 your perspective at Walmart and the impact on e s 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:24.200 G initiatives. Yeah, well, you know, our focus when it 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:28.000 comes to e f G really is on shared value meeting. 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.200 How do we as a business address the issues that 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:34.280 are most important to our stakeholders, the societal issues that 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.960 are relevant to our business important to the stakeholders, or 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.720 we can make a difference through our business. And boy, 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:44.360 what a year it's been. Um Covid obviously climates what 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:49.400 we're hearing about nature, equity, economic opportunity for people. You know, 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:53.120 we had it all and so you know, many ways 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:55.720 when when COVID really struck, we thought, gosh, this is 0:01:55.720 --> 0:01:58.840 gonna make it things really challenging. Graphtakes step back. If anything, 0:01:59.040 --> 0:02:01.160 it's actually strength and their resolved and how us go 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:03.840 faster on just about everything. Well, you know that's a 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:07.040 great point, and I do wonder this last year laid 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:09.840 bare things that we knew were already existing, existing in 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:12.680 our society, but nonetheless kind of hit us bam in 0:02:12.720 --> 0:02:14.320 the face because we were all at home and kind 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:17.160 of taking it in or feeling it. Has it helped 0:02:17.560 --> 0:02:21.600 in terms of the timelines and aggressiveness that you can 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:25.079 apply to E s G goals at your company, Yeah, 0:02:25.120 --> 0:02:27.000 it has, you know, as you say, it really has 0:02:27.040 --> 0:02:29.960 been a moment when all of us, um, you know, 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:32.200 I had to sit back and take notice. And I 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:34.960 think we realized a few things. One is the power 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:38.520 of individual action. You know, everybody acting together can really 0:02:38.520 --> 0:02:42.040 turn the corner on something that's global in scale. We 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:44.440 learned that with COVID, we're seeing the same thing with 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.040 climate or equity or other things. So it really did 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:51.760 help us elevator ambition and in many ways we have 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.400 moved faster. So you know, for example, in terms of 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:59.160 the response to COVID, our first concern was associate safety 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:01.880 and because we even continue to operate in terms of 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:05.960 PPE and protective equipment, plexic glass, all those kinds of safeguards, 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:12.359 additional emergency paid time off leave policies, hiring an additional 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.160 five thousand people to put some slack in the system, 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:16.880 will make it easier for folks to stay all that 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:18.920 they felt they needed to and so on. So all 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:21.120 of those kind of things. But in terms of our 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:24.880 omni channel transformation to serve the customer well in a 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:29.200 contact less way, we accelerated our expansion of O g 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.560 P for example online grocery pickup sites, and we now 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.520 offered that in three thousand, seven hundred to see locations, 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:37.800 So we moved faster on that. You know. In terms 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.480 of climate, we elevated our ambition. We were the first 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:44.040 retailer years ago, back in two thousand sixteen to set 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:48.240 a science based target for emissions reduction. Um, this last 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:50.920 year we elevated our ambition and said, okay, let's set 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.520 twenty forty as a date to get to zero emissions 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.960 in our own operations. Not met zero, but euro and 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.120 let's go faster. You know. UM, we did set out 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:05.840 a broader aspiration to be to become a regenerative company, 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:08.720 which for us means needing to go beyond just being 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:12.360 sustainable but actually build back. Whether you're talking about climate, 0:04:12.400 --> 0:04:16.560 our natural ecosystems are equity and you know that's huge, right, Like, 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:19.560 it's not just about reducing your impact, but then kind 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:25.240 of bringing back our climate and our environment. Right, that's 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.640 just one example. You know, we're now at a point 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:30.919 we know from the science that we actually need to 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:35.680 draw down emissions, you know, not just avoid further emissions. 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:39.120 So it's a it's a higher bar. And similarly on equity, 0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:42.640 you know, we all felt the impact in a very 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:45.920 visible way of what happened with George Floyd, and like 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:49.440 many others, caused us to reconsider what could we do, 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:51.640 What more could we do with the assets that we 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:55.400 have When it's our jobs, our purchase orders around equity, 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.040 and it's it's not a matter of holding steady on equity. 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.359 We got a lot of work to do to elevate people, 0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:03.160 to address some of the wrongs of the past, and 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:06.640 newly addressed your harbors of systemic racism. Hey, I wanted 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:08.120 to ask you because you pointed out that you guys 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:12.080 are working towards zero missions across your global operations by 0:05:12.200 --> 0:05:15.279 you know, without relying on all of those carbon offsets 0:05:15.320 --> 0:05:17.840 that a lot of companies put into effect and use. 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:20.600 Why does it take help me out here? So that's 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:23.280 what nineteen years from now. Um, part of me wants 0:05:23.320 --> 0:05:25.479 to say, and to be fair, I asked this of 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:27.479 all the companies when we talk E. S G and 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:29.839 all the big companies like yourself, why does it take 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:33.160 so long? What is so difficult? Because most scientists are 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:35.080 saying we're running out of time. If you look at 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:37.640 what's going on the Pacific Northwest, just this like couple 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:41.159 of weeks, the flooding in Germany, the flooding in China, 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:46.520 we just maybe don't have another twenty years. Yeah, So 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:49.760 let's be clear. Is the date will hit zero in 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.200 scope one and two. It's not the date that you 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:54.640 know we'll start working on stuff, right A. Scope one 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:57.279 and two is direct impact and indirect impact like through 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:01.800 suppliers and things. Correct. Um, that's go three. So our 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:05.000 science based target covers all of it. Here's what we're doing, 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.440 and here's to answer your question about So for our 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.960 own operations, that includes the electricity to power our stores 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.200 and our dcs you know, fulfillment centers and so on. 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:19.960 It's our on site fuels, it's refrigeration equipment, refrigerants, and 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.039 it's the tractor trailers you see on the road that 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.720 our labeled Walmart. Right, it's the heavy rigs that are 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:29.240 carrying products around. So all of that getting to zero 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:32.160 takes time. Some of it goes fast, and by the way, 0:06:32.200 --> 0:06:35.320 we're working on it every day. So the science based 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:38.840 target has us reducing emissions every year. It's not as 0:06:38.839 --> 0:06:40.520 if we wait. So you'll see if you look at 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:45.560 our reporting, we've reduced our cumulative admission since two thousands, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:49.120 five teams substantially. You started on this, and every year 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.120 we reduced for what will take the longest and what 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:56.120 requires the technical breakthrough in those categories the long haul 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.240 transportation and Kathleen, you know it is impressive. You go 0:06:59.279 --> 0:07:02.000 to your website and you look at the different you know, 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:05.960 programs and initiatives that you guys are working on specifically 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:09.120 and making progress. Uh. And when it comes to your 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:12.360 impact on the environment, I do wonder when you set 0:07:12.360 --> 0:07:15.800 out goals. We had an interesting Bloomberg story last week 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:20.080 that just said governments need to get more proactive, that 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:23.080 we almost need a response to climate and e s G. 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:26.840 We need the government to kind of create crisis programming 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.120 just like they did for the pandemic, to get to 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:31.560 be able to kind of help the world and companies 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:37.239 get two goals faster. What's the company's take on that? Yeah, 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:42.880 you know, absolutely, science based government policy that's consistent about 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:48.480 a predictable operating environment and creates the appropriate incentive. You know, 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:51.480 again align with the science is needed. Um. We saw 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:53.360 it in COVID. I think the same can be said 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:56.920 for climate. Um. Having some type of mechanism to encourage 0:07:56.960 --> 0:08:00.840 climate action is something we would really welcome. Well, and 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.600 then are there any specific initiatives that you think that 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:07.440 the government could be helpful on? Well, I think what 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:10.480 you raised in terms of climate action, um, And you know, 0:08:10.520 --> 0:08:13.320 I'm not a policy maker. I don't know the specific 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.840 public policy mechanisms that would be best, but something that 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:20.320 would encourage climate action in line with what we need 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:22.920 to get to around a one and a half degree 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.880 warming scenario. You know, that's what we're shooting for through 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:28.440 our own actions. And you know, I'd say we're going 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.440 to do what we're doing in line with the science regardless. 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:33.400 But I think it would help, especially in some of 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:37.400 these areas. I mentioned transportation as one where we need 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:42.079 technological innovation to actually achieve our goal by driving forty 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:46.240 for certainly long haul transportation. Having favorable policy environment for 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:51.160 something like the carbonizing transportation would be just an example. Well, 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:53.200 it's interesting too because I've been talking m We had 0:08:53.200 --> 0:08:56.240 a Bloomberg Global Sustainable Summit here recently and talking with 0:08:56.559 --> 0:08:59.280 the Cisco CFO and the CFO over at a bm 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:02.480 BEV in there chief sustainability officers as well, and you know, 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:08.199 there's lots of conversations about, you know, using government policy 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:11.319 maybe to impact truckers to some extent because they create 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:14.120 the most usage and destruction, if you will, to our 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:17.520 roadways when we're talking about infrastructure, and how by doing 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:21.120 so that might help create more innovation right to a 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:24.720 more sustainable way. And so I hear what you're saying 0:09:24.720 --> 0:09:26.800 when it comes to trucking, because that's a big initiative, 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:29.400 and you do wonder whether you know government policy along 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:34.480 those lines can make a difference, right right, So, and 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:37.440 then you know, coming back something you're asking me before 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:41.280 the break in terms of emissions reduction, Um, you asked 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:43.360 a really good question, which is, gosh, doesn't twenty four 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:46.240 you seemilate certainly would be late for the action. But 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:49.679 the science based targets set out a trajectory that we 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:53.439 are following that has us reducing, um, you know, day 0:09:53.480 --> 0:09:57.319 by days. So for example, our most recent reporting of 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:01.080 our calendar year two dozen nineteen emissions, we're down over 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:05.000 twelve percent where we started in our two fifteen baseline, 0:10:05.000 --> 0:10:07.600 and we're about to come out with our latest numbers 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:10.040 for which you'll see that, you know, for the decrease. 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.400 So um, please don't take me as to just wait 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.839 till we're moving as quickly as we and day by 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:19.800 day that's the that's the day we get to zero 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:21.720 on our scope one and two. Well, I have to say, 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:23.560 what really caught my attention, and we were talking about 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.959 this in our planning, is you guys are committed to protecting, 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:29.760 restoring fifty million acres of land, one million square miles 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:33.960 of ocean. Uh, you know you're doing these things aggressively. 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:37.040 You're thinking about our community at large? What really moves 0:10:37.080 --> 0:10:40.000 the needle? Do you think when it comes to reducing 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:43.960 our world, our corporate world are everyone's impact on the 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:48.120 environment And just got about forty seconds left here? Okay, 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:51.280 well sorry, environmental goals we're now we're now learning that 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.000 natural ecosystems are as challenge a climate. So that's why 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.720 we set that goal and it is about rewiring food production, 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.719 production of other products so that the way we do 0:11:01.760 --> 0:11:05.040 that is regenerative to nature. We enhance for our health, 0:11:05.080 --> 0:11:07.800 we can improve water quality, we can improve our diversity. 0:11:08.320 --> 0:11:11.120 That's what's needed in our secret sauce as Walmart, and 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.520 we invite other companies to do this too. Is to 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:15.679 connect the big goals that we have to achieve a 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:19.560 society to the practical action we can take through you know, 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.079 in our case, business to retail business. And it's true 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:24.120 for any company. And that's really what he has He 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:27.760 is about and recognizing that those things create value, financial 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:30.320 value for the company as well as health society address 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:33.920 these tough challenges absolutely. It's why you see, you know increasingly, right, 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:36.760 the CFO and the chief Sustainability Officer like yourself working 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:40.079 hand in hand, because they do go hand in hand. Um, Kathleen, 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.439 I know it's a big world and a big conversation, 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:44.240 but thank you so much, and I hope we can 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:47.000 continue it in the future because it's certainly something I 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:51.000 know our audience increasingly cares about. She is Kathleen McLoughlin. 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:54.120 She's Walmart Executive vice president, chief Sustainability Officer. On the 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:58.000 phone in Canada. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:02.520 Carol Measure and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stenovic on Bloomberg 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:05.280 Radio the World the financial markets. You know, we've been 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.560 obsessed this week a bit with the COVID delta variant, 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:10.360 and rightfully so. One story in the Bloomberg Today warning 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:12.920 us that more variants are coming and the US is 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:15.440 not ready to track them. This story also a Bloomberg 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.120 Big Take and in the upcoming new issue of Bloomberg 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:21.280 Business Week magazine on newsstands, online and on the Bloomberg 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:23.560 All Happening Tomorrow. Let's get to it with Bloomberg Business 0:12:23.600 --> 0:12:26.760 Week editor Jill Webber and Bloomberg News US Healthcare reporter 0:12:27.000 --> 0:12:32.120 Cynthia Kons, both of them in our Interactive Broker studio. Um, 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.280 it's a mustry. There's a lot of information here. Is 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:37.960 it a feel good story? It's well no, I don't 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.199 think so. There's a little bit of Colonel of Hope 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:44.800 in here. But you know, the thing down we actually 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:48.360 started talking about this story, um a while ago, and 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:51.040 the thing that just made me um my ears perk 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.880 cup was because at that time, variants, I don't they 0:12:54.880 --> 0:12:58.240 were not part of the bigger conversation, And in Cynthia 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:01.199 was like, you know, there's this a threat that variants 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:03.280 are going to come at us. We're gonna have more 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:06.360 than one of them. But the bigger thing is we 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:09.560 don't actually know how to track them the US. Other 0:13:09.600 --> 0:13:12.040 people actually do do a better job of this, But 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:15.240 that sort of the takeaway from the story is genetic 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.200 sequencing is not something that has really been prioritized in 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:20.400 the US. So the little kernel of hope is that 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:22.400 there is this little patchwork quilt that I think we're 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:24.600 going to talk about a little bit. But but Cynthia, 0:13:24.640 --> 0:13:28.920 why is the US not doing genetic sequencing at scale 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:33.640 and and why are we effectively flying blind without it? Yeah, well, 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:37.120 it's a money issue. Um, there's no real center. Now. 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:39.920 The CDC has some money from the Biden administration, but 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:43.200 they're giving it out. It's not moving very quickly from 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:45.800 what I hear from scientists in the field. But when 0:13:45.800 --> 0:13:48.040 it came down to it, we had these genomic labs 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.720 at academic universities and they would seek, you know, grants, 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.680 or they would apply for money and they would get rejected. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:56.800 And this happened to so many scientists. I know one 0:13:56.840 --> 0:13:59.600 turn to crowdfunding, but he didn't get much money from that, 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.319 and their one actually was very dejected and about to 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:05.760 run out of money, and someone who turned her down 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:08.480 five months prior because they didn't realize the importance of 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:10.960 variant tracking came back and said, wait, wait, we want 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:12.559 to give you money. So she reapplied. So it was 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:15.240 a lot of really slap dash getting money where and 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:17.840 how you could. And it wasn't Hey, here's a substantial 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.240 amount of money. It's going to be invested through academic 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.160 centers and different parts of the healthcare system to get 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:24.760 this done to well. First of all, I feel like 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:27.280 you went through went out a rabbit hole when it 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:30.160 came to labs that are trying to do this and 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:32.640 put it together. Why is it so important that we 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.960 do this sequencing? So this is how we find mutations, 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:38.840 and so virus like COVID's changing all the time and 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:40.960 you have to do a lot of sequencing to figure 0:14:40.960 --> 0:14:43.400 out what's important, and that there are tons of changes 0:14:43.440 --> 0:14:46.200 within the virus that don't matter, and to matter, it 0:14:46.240 --> 0:14:48.200 has to be, you know, significant in terms of its 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.960 infectiousness or how it harms a person. Potentially they get 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:54.640 sicker things of that nature, artifacts, younger patients worse, or 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:58.080 something like that. There are distinct things that make mutations concerning, 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:00.720 but the very virus is changing all the time, so 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:02.160 you need to be keeping an eye on it in 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:04.680 such a huge way in order to get enough data 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:07.960 to say that this specific mutation is doing X, y 0:15:08.040 --> 0:15:10.400 or z to patients. And once you have that data, 0:15:10.520 --> 0:15:13.640 then you have a better handle on how to enact measures. 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:15.840 This is how they decide, say the mask mandate may 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:18.720 come back, or there may be longer quarantine time, versus 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.400 waiting to see the impact on the population. We need 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:23.360 to see it's too late because then the disease just 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:26.080 continues to exactly exactly. That's kind of how you would 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:28.120 think of it in terms of the best key scenario 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:31.240 of public health officials had the information fast enough, they 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:34.040 could lock it down really fast. Granted, it feels like 0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:37.120 we're in a post lockdown world, but not necessarily just 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:39.440 in the US, it doesn't. It seems like that might 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:41.280 not be the next That might be a strategy that's 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:43.360 readily employed at this stage, but still it could be. 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:45.360 If we know we have a highly infectious or highly 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:48.160 deadly version things could be done to stop it from 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.000 spreading too quickly. So the some of this sequencing is 0:15:52.040 --> 0:15:55.280 actually happening in New York in in Queens right. Talk 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.440 to us about the Pandemic Response Lab and the work 0:15:57.440 --> 0:15:59.120 that they do. It's Pearl for those of us who 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:03.880 are cool Jill so Pearl, as it's called. This was 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:06.320 an effort by a company called opent Trons. They do 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:09.560 they create robots that help automate labs, and they basically 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:11.880 applied to be a COVID testing center and they became 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.360 this pandemic Response Lab and they were a COVID testing 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.440 center for New York City and they augmented the city 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:18.960 health efforts and that started in the fall. And what 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:21.520 happened was early on they thought, okay, but let's figure 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:24.120 out what's going on mutations. So they tried to, you know, 0:16:24.160 --> 0:16:26.240 convene with health officials and figure out if they could 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:28.640 get some money to start sequencing. And there was just 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:31.480 no money for it. Again coming back to the initial 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.720 issue of money. So because there's no money for it, 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:36.600 but they were actually in a good position. They had 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:38.840 a lot of the technology. They decided to set this 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.360 up and do the sequencing on their own dime to 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.320 start out, and so they're doing the sequencing, and they're 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:47.160 giving New York all their data, and now they're participating 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:50.080 in trying to get funding from other sources. But they 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:52.440 did it basically on their own dime, which is pretty 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:55.800 remarkable when you consider that's not how businesses typically operate. 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.200 Right Who else is doing a good job of this 0:16:58.320 --> 0:17:01.640 in the US? There's states that are doing better than others, 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.480 but they're still not There's still a lot of limitations 0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:07.479 within state based systems. But Michigan has a really strong system, 0:17:07.520 --> 0:17:09.840 but it still takes up to two weeks to identify 0:17:09.880 --> 0:17:12.760 and communicate a variant through the system that Michigan set up. 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:14.960 But they are one of the bigger systems. There are 0:17:15.000 --> 0:17:17.159 some big labs around the country doing a lot of it, 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:21.960 like Scripts in California. UM, there's different UM, the Chance 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.120 Zuckerberg Group was doing it for a while. Now they're 0:17:24.160 --> 0:17:26.560 trying to move into helping educate labs around the country 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.919 and get up and going. But there are definitely a 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:31.359 lot of places that are doing it. The problem is 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:34.119 there there's a lack of cohesion to create something that 0:17:34.160 --> 0:17:37.159 we would consider really a system through which these books 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:39.320 are all participating in the same way. Well, if anything 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:41.359 we've learned through the pandemic is that we need like 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.200 a coordinated response, right, and somebody in charge of But 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:46.359 where's the CDC or the U. S. Government on this 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:47.960 saying well, wait a minute, we do not want this 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.200 to happen again, So let's create a coordinated effort, maybe 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:54.639 led by the CDC, and coordinate all these labs. Yeah. See, 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:56.600 this is a piece of the CDC. And they did 0:17:56.600 --> 0:17:58.560 get this money and they are going to spend it. 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:00.679 But they told me, for example, are supposed to set 0:18:00.720 --> 0:18:03.800 up centers Centers of Excellence as part of the Biden proposal, 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:07.640 which would help bridge the gap between some academic research 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:09.679 where this is going on, and commercial labs and so 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.000 on and so forth state labs. But they're not going 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:14.640 to fund that until next year, the next fiscal years. 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:18.040 So that's a problem. It's there's there's money, but it's 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:20.639 taking a long time to flow through the system. And 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.679 so basically, you know, someone proposed something to be At 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:25.120 one point in my reporting, I thought it was really 0:18:25.200 --> 0:18:28.440 quite an interesting idea, like should pandemic preparedness sit inside 0:18:28.480 --> 0:18:31.000 of these big government groups or should it be its 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:34.040 own segment of the government. Should there be an agency 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:36.439 around pandemic preparedness because if you look at it, and 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:40.040 I've covered this through vaccines as well, it's pieces of 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.320 pandemic preparedness are kind of scattered throughout different parts of 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.840 the government. And we do have a lot of pieces 0:18:46.840 --> 0:18:49.480 of pandemic comparedness, but we don't have a lot of cohesion, 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:53.880 not yet, even after all we've been through. Okay, so 0:18:54.080 --> 0:18:55.560 there's a little Like I said, there was a little 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.119 bit of hope, it's not all bad, but you know, 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:04.080 stuff we could fix now, um abroad, does anybody else 0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:07.480 do this better? You know, are effectively I feel like 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:09.560 we're flying blind. We don't know what variants are out there, 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:12.760 how bad they are, what the what their capacity spread is. 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:14.720 But has anybody else figured out how to do this 0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.679 yet or just just about the UK has done a 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:19.840 remarkable job that came out of the gate really early 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:23.520 March April. They were doing a remarkable amount of sequencing. 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:26.200 When we say there's a UK variant, that's just because 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:28.640 they've done the work to discover something that easily could 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:31.200 have come from somewhere else. Um, when you think about it, 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:33.600 possibly that's the same story with South Africa. So there 0:19:33.600 --> 0:19:36.280 are some countries and places doing it. We definitely need 0:19:36.320 --> 0:19:38.560 more of this around the world. We need some flexibility. 0:19:38.720 --> 0:19:41.760 But technology is also moving quickly, and as we're developing 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:45.600 smaller and smaller and more handheld or easily use sequencing devices, 0:19:45.680 --> 0:19:48.600 perhaps we can get this technology out into the field faster. 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:51.320 But it's going to take you know, money and sinkers 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:55.280 crossed and money. Money is what makes it all happen, 0:19:55.560 --> 0:19:57.960 all right, Jil Webber Cynthia Coon's check out that story 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:00.240 in a new issue of the magazine. This is Blue Bark. 0:20:01.440 --> 0:20:05.480 This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg 0:20:05.600 --> 0:20:11.600 Quick Takes. Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Stop yourself in, everyone, because, 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:15.280 as he writes, a sloppy summer for stocks is going 0:20:15.320 --> 0:20:17.920 to test investor's stomachs. Here with more on his thinking, 0:20:17.960 --> 0:20:20.560 Bloomberg Market Senior Editor Mike Reagan, he joins us on 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.600