Last week Petco announced a commitment to increasing its assortment of sustainable products to 50% by the end of 2025, reinforcing the retailer’s pledge to corporate social responsibility and to preserving the health and wellness of pets, people and planet.

As part of its mission to improve the lives of pets, pet parents and Petco partners, half of Petco’s complete assortment of pet products will align with at least one of five sustainability pillars:

• Responsible manufacturing – brands and products that use responsible manufacturing practices during production
• Sustainably sourced materials – products made with materials like organic cotton or recycled nylon
• Sustainably sourced ingredients – food and treats made with ingredients that are more environmentally friendly or emit fewer greenhouse gases
• Responsible packaging – packaging designed to be refilled with the same type of product or for multiple uses
• Animal welfare – ensure animals are treated humanely and products meet Petco’s cruelty-free standard

To help pet parents easily identify and shop for more sustainable pet products, Petco launched a new sustainable shopping destination at petco.com/sustainability and is now featuring in-aisle signage at the majority of its Petco pet care centers. Petco will also proactively provide resources and information to further educate pet parents on the benefits of sustainable pet products.

The commitment to featuring sustainable pet products in 50% of its assortment builds on Petco’s significant environmental sustainability progress from 2020, including:

• Using 92% less plastic and 23% less cardboard in packaging, compared to online-only retailers by fulfilling online orders in our Petco Pet Care Centers, which we estimate eliminated 3.6 million pounds of carboard waste and 30,000 pounds of plastic waste in 2020 alone
• Upcycling 1.5 million plastic bottles into pet accessories with our “Started as a Bottle” program
• Eliminating 3.2 million pieces of packaging waste across Petco’s owned brand products

“Improving the lives of pets and people means improving our impact on the planet too,” said Ron Coughlin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Petco. “We know pet parents find it important for companies they do business with to carry more sustainable products and options. With this ambitious commitment as our first step, we embark on a journey aimed at not just meeting that expectation, but also raising the bar even higher. Petco’s sustainability team has my full support to continue driving positive change within our business, industry and the world through ongoing, accelerated efforts.”

The commitment to increasing its assortment of more sustainable pet products is in line with Petco’s recently launched Whole Health philosophy, and follows the company’s bold moves to stop selling food and treats containing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives for dogs and cats; end the sale of specific electronic “shock” collars online and at pet care centers; and remove traditional rawhide options from store shelves in favor of safe, healthy alternatives.

Petco will continue accelerating current environmental sustainability initiatives across merchandising, packaging, logistics, and service delivery, among other areas, and identifying opportunities for lowering its carbon footprint, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing waste. To that end, Petco will release its first environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) report in May of 2021 as part of its commitment to transparent and accountable communication to the communities the company serves.