Target Corporation
Packaging producers and users
Key Metrics
Plastic packaging weight
69,991 metric tonnes
Total and/or virgin plastic packaging reduction target
20% virgin reduction compared to 2020
Reusable plastic packaging
Reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging
100
75
50
25
%
Post-consumer recycled content
100
75
50
25
%
* Aligned: in assessing the recyclability of their portfolio this signatory has aligned with the New Plastics Economy 2021 Recycling Rate Survey results and/or the Global Commitment methodology of recyclability ‘in pratice and at scale’. This means their recyclability percentage is comparable to other signatories that also aligned with the above.
Company Details
Description
Target is a general merchandise retailer with stores in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. We sell a wide assortment of general merchandise, including food, personal care and beauty, apparel, home goods, electronics, and toys. Our digital channels include a wide merchandise assortment,
Website
Revenue band (USD)
> $10 billion
Headquarters location
United States
Regions active
America: Northern America
Products sold in plastic packaging
Cleaning products, Cosmetics & personal care, Food & nutrition, Non-alcoholic beverages, Pet & animal supplies, Pharmaceutical & medical goods
Reporting details
Data verification/assurance status
No third-party verification or assurance in place
Scope of reported data
Does not cover the full scope of activities (see endnotes for more information)
12-month quantitative data time frame
From January 2020 to January 2021
Joined the Global Commitment
October 2018
Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Plastics Pact Network membership (as of 18/05/2021)
United States
Webpage or report addressing progress
https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility
Plastic packaging portfolio details
See endnotes for more information on quantitative data
Plastic packaging weight (new packaging)
69,991 metric tonnes
Reused plastic packaging weight
0 metric tonnes
Plastic packaging categories in portfolio
Type | Category | Proportion |
---|
Rigids | PET bottle | - |
PET thermoforms | - | |
Other PET rigids | - | |
HDPE bottles | - | |
HDPE other rigids | - | |
PP bottles | - | |
PP other rigids | - | |
PS rigids | - | |
EPS rigids | - |
Flexible | Other >A4 flexibles | - |
<A4 flexibles PE | - | |
<A4 flexibles PP | - | |
<A4 multi-material flexibles | - | |
Other <A4 mono-material flexibles | - |
Other | Other PET rigid | - |
Plastic packaging design assessment
Reusable, recyclable and/or compostable
17.4%
Reusable
0%
Recyclable
17.4%
Compostable
0%
Material sourcing
Virgin fossil-based content
99.4%
Post-consumer recycled content
0.6%
Pre-consumer recycled content
0%
Virgin renewable content
0%
Link to other published data
https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility
Commitments
Plastic and/or virgin plastic packaging reduction target
2025 target
20% virgin reduction compared to 2020
Plastic packaging weight baseline
70,413 metric tonnes - different scope than the reporting scope (see endnotes for more information)
Additional information about the target
Reduce the total volume of virgin plastic packaging by 20% in our owned brand Food, Beauty, and Essentials businesses, measured against our total plastic packaging baseline volume in these categories in 2020 (70,413 metric tons).
Eliminating problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging
Progress made over the reporting period
Examples of materials / formats / components eliminated or reduced
Proportion eliminated % of weight | Weight eliminated metric tonnes | Quantity eliminated units | Primary means of elimination | Other details | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EPS | - | - | - | Direct elimination | EPS has been eliminated from 661 items since we first published this goal in 2017 |
Activities and progress made on elimination
We have been working with our vendors since 2017 to remove EPS from packaging and seeking alternatives. In 2020, we used EPS in approximately .007 % of our OB assortment, primarily in our home/hardline categories. In the reporting period we developed a vendor survey to further engage our vendors on EPS elimination and alternatives. The survey covers efforts of vendors to design out of EPS, cost implications, formats and volumes, and reduction and elimination efforts.
Planned actions by 2025
Plastic packaging to be eliminated or reduced
Proportion eliminated % of weight | Weight eliminated metric tonnes | Quantity eliminated | Year Achieved | Other details | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EPS | 100% | - | - | 2022 | - |
PS | 100% | - | - | 2025 | - |
PVC | 100% | - | - | 2025 | - |
PVDC | 100% | - | - | 2025 | - |
Single-use hangers (for clothing) | - | - | - | - | Closed-loop system for hangar reuse in stores |
Undetectable carbon black | 100% | - | - | 2025 | - |
Planned actions on elimination
In 2020, Target developed a comprehensive packaging strategy, grounded in our NPE commitments. We invested in data collection and measurement to identify where our greatest opportunities exist to work with our vendors to eliminate problematic plastic packaging, move into more recyclable materials, increase our use of post-consumer recycled content, and design opportunities to reduce or eliminate packaging altogether. Target is partnering with national brands sold at Target on refill/reuse strategies and other packaging innovations. In 2020 Target became a founding partner of the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag. In early 2021 the Consortium shared nine cutting-edge potential designs for the retail bag of the future, each with the goal of reducing plastic waste and creating end-to-end solutions that are affordable, consumer-friendly, and better for our planet.
Moving from single-use towards reuse models
Progress made over the reporting period
Share of plastic packaging that is reusable (2020)
Availability of reuse models today
Recent or in-progress pilots of reuse models for new products or packaging
Product applications and reuse model types
None reported
Pilots launched
1
Activities and progress made on reuse
In 2020, Target developed a Retail Packaging Strategy anchored in its New Plastics Economy commitments, with the goal of elimination problematic and unnecessary packaging, reusing existing packaging material, and shifting consumer behaviors. One of the workstreams under this strategy is collaboration with strategic national brand partners to explore the packaging innovations to reduce or eliminate problematic packaging, including the potential for reuse/refill pilots across our Essentials and Beauty businesses. We aim to launch innovations in-line or on designated endcaps in 2022. This work also enables the development of processes and capabilities to be used to develop and launch potential refill/reuse pilots in other categories. In August 2020 Target launched a light-weight reusable bag in New York stores.
Planned action by 2025
Product applications and reuse model types to be introduced or expanded
Reuse model types | Markets | Other details | |
---|---|---|---|
Cleaning products | Refill on the go, Refill at home | - | - |
Cosmetics & personal care | Refill on the go, Refill at home | - | - |
Food & nutrition | Refill on the go, Refill at home | - | - |
Non-alcoholic beverages | Refill on the go, Refill at home | - | - |
Other 2025 reuse goals
Piloting reuse models for new products or packaging: 5 pilots
Introducing or expanding reuse models for consumer facing products/packaging
Planned actions on reuse
Development of successful national brand pilots would also inform reuse/refill pilots in our owned brand assortment. Target continues work internally to identify how to reach our goal of 5 reuse/refill pilots by 2025 and actions and conditions that will be necessary for success. Our vision: Guests leave without any extra packaging. We also aim for the experience to go beyond just consumer packaging: Product within this refill/reuse assortment need to come into the store without that extra packaging, and our displays should also reflect our waste elimination ambitions as well.
100% reusable, recyclable and/or compostable plastic packaging
Progress made over the reporting period
Share of plastic packaging that is reusable, recyclable or compostable (2020)
Actions and progress made to make packaging recyclable or compostable (see previous section for progress on shifting to reusable packaging)
In 2020, 96.04% of packaging in Food and Beverage and Essentials and Beauty categories carried the How2Recycle label on pack. In 2013, we became a member of the How2Recycle Label program, an initiative of our non-profit partner GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition. The labeling system is designed to give consumers clear, on-package recycling instructions and encourage participation in recycling programs. In 2017, Target committed to a goal to add the How2Recycle Label to our owned brand packaging by 2020 (where space allows).
Actions and progress made on collaborating towards increasing recycling and composting rates for plastic packaging
Target is an activator in the US Plastic Pact. working to achieve ambitious targets by 2025 (take measures to eliminate a defined list of problematic or unnecessary packaging; ensure all plastic packaging is 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable; undertake actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging; and collectively have the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging be 30%). Target also help fund a study conducted by The Recycling Partnership exploring EPS alternatives. Target provided training in circular design principles to more than 2000 team members, spurring innovative thinking in product design and development.
Additional details on recyclability
Share of plastic packaging that is recyclable (2020)
Alignment with the New Plastics Economy 2021 Recycling Rate Survey results
Yes
Planned actions by 2025
2025 target
100% reusable, recyclable or compostable
Planned actions to make packaging recyclable or compostable
We continue to build and redesign the future which offers our guests ease in addressing and reducing waste. As such, Target is committed to eliminating, reducing, and finding alternatives for plastics in our products, packaging, and operations. We are working across our business to identify and quantify the amount of plastic used in own retail product packaging to aid our efforts to find alternatives to problematics plastics.
Planned actions on collaborating towards increasing recycling and composting rates for plastic packaging
In addition to its work in the US Plastics Pact, Target is a member of the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR); member of Sustainable Packaging Coalition; member of the Recycling Partnership. As a founding partner of the Beyond the Bag Consortium, Target is supporting the development of recommendations around infrastructure investments and policy needs.
Increasing post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging
Progress made over the reporting period
Level of post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging (2020)
Activities and progress made on post-consumer recycled content
In 2020, Target utilized 437.6 metric tonnes of post-consumer recycled content in its Household Cleaning category, 17.7% of the total plastic volume used in this category. Target has eliminated approx. 1MM lbs. of virgin plastic by adding more PCR to our owned brand packaging. In 2020, Target’s cross-functional working group focused on technical work and baseline tracking of where PCR currently exists in our assortment, and increasing PCR in personal care and household cleaning categories.
Planned actions by 2025
2025 post-consumer recycled content target
20%
Planned actions to increase post-consumer recycled content
Future-facing work will focus on increased utilization of PCR across all owned brand categories, including Food and Beverage, Style, Beauty, and Home and Hardlines categories. Target is developing sustainable brand standards for all of our owned brands per our Target Forward strategy to be the market leader for creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences by 2030. Our NPE commitments are a key part of these standards. Target is also investing in data and specifications capabilities to document the percentage of PCR in specific packaging types and progress over time.
Investments
Total invested/committed over the reporting period towards achieving the commitments
Submitted to the Foundation only
Additional details on investments
Along with our founding partners, we have committed to invest over $15M in the Beyond the Bag Challenge.
End notes
Scope of reporting
Scope is limited to Owned Brand packaged goods in the following categories: Food and Beverage, Personal Care and Beauty, Household Cleaning products, OTC medication, Baby Toiletries and Food, and Pets. Reported data reflects packaging weights available from product packaging specification and/or from a 2016 vendor survey, extrapolated to reflect 2020 packaging weight estimates across categories covered by our reporting and matched to 2020 sales.
Interpreting the quantitative data submitted
Reported data reflects packaging weights available from product packaging specification and/or from a 2016 vendor survey, extrapolated to reflect 2020 packaging weight estimates across categories covered by our reporting and matched to 2020 sales. Target continues to develop systems and processes for data measurement and reporting and work with our vendors partners to provide this information directly to Target.
Reason for scope exclusion in the reduction target
Our elimination goal is limited Food and Beverage and Essentials and Beauty categories, which is the bulk of our packaged goods businesses.