Global Commitment 2021 Signatory Report

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,

America: Northern America

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).

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.

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.

Recent or in-progress pilots of reuse models for new products or packaging

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.

Piloting reuse models for new products or packaging: 5 pilots

Introducing or expanding reuse models for consumer facing products/packaging

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.

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).

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.

Yes

100% reusable, 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.

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.

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.

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.

Along with our founding partners, we have committed to invest over $15M in the Beyond the Bag Challenge.

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.

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.

Our elimination goal is limited Food and Beverage and Essentials and Beauty categories, which is the bulk of our packaged goods businesses.