TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State University’s efforts to promote sustainability have received a $27.5 million boost thanks to a donation from the foundation funded by Wal-Mart chairman Rob Walton and his wife, Melanie.
ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability will use the gift announced Thursday to fund four strategies in the coming five years. They include providing seed-funding for promising ideas in sustainability research, training the next generation of sustainability scholars and practitioners and education efforts.
Rob Walton is the eldest son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and serves on the board of ASU’s sustainability institute. The donation came from the Rob and Melani Walton Fund of the Walton Family Foundation. The couple have a home in the Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley.