Late last week Minneapolis-based retailer Target released its  Target’s 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report, the report presents their progress to date, a look forward, Circular Design, and of course some private brand highlights.

Amanda Nusz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility, Target, and president of the Target Foundation

“Perhaps more than any other year, in 2020 the Target team showed how living our purpose and values can drive meaningful progress,” says Amanda Nusz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility, Target, and president of the Target Foundation. “As we embark on our new sustainability strategy, Target Forward, we know that there is much work to be done as we strive to deliver on our goals. And we remain committed to keeping people and planet at the heart of what we do — co-creating an equitable and regenerative future with our team, guests and communities we serve.”

A few of the 2020 accomplishments we’re celebrating:

• Providing more than 3,000 hours of pro-bono consulting services for Black-, Indigenous-, and People-of-Color-owned small businesses in the Twin Cities
  • Which, together with the thousands of hours Target assocaites dedicated so far in 2021, helped the retailer surpass the 10,000-hour promise they made in June 2020 as part of a commitment to the advancement of social justice and rebuilding efforts in the retailers hometowns of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Plus, they will take on new pro-bono projects in the coming weeks, expanding a program to include businesses in Chicago, Atlanta and the Bay Area of California.

• Diverting more than 60% of  construction waste and more than 80% of operational waste from landfills
  • That puts Target well on their way toward the new goal to reduce or divert 90% of waste by 2030 and includes recycling 573,633 tons of cardboard within operations.
• Expanding the electric vehicle charging program to more than 600 parking spaces at 100 sites across the country
  • Now in 2021, Target has more than 1,000 spaces at 117 sites in 19 states.
• Joining the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag, a groundbreaking new partnership built to identify, pilot and implement innovative alternative designs for the single-use retail bag.
  • It’s all with the end goal of co-creating to innovate to eliminate waste, one of three Target Forward ambitions.
• Giving $245 million in cash and in-kind donations to communities as part of a 5% commitment, including more than 78 million meals worth of food to support families in need
  • Plus, Target gave more than $7 million to 2,500 local and national nonprofits via Target Circle customer-directed giving.
• Big investments in the Target team, including an additional $1 billion toward well-being, health and safety
  • The retailer increased wages and added bonus payouts for frontline workers, and offered paid leave support, free access to health care through virtual doctor visits and free backup care for all our U.S. team members as they navigated the pandemic.
• Launching Target’s Circular Design Guide, an internal, interactive training hub for all team members to learn about circular design and how it impacts their daily work
  • More than 2,400 team members have already participated, learning how to continue designing to eliminate waste, how to use materials that are regenerative, recycled or sourced sustainably and how to create products that are more durable, easily repaired or recyclable

Looking Ahead to 2030 and Beyond

The Private Brand emphasis in the report exciting

Design and elevate sustainable brands

Target aims to elevate owned, national and emerging sustainable brands that are affordable, inclusive and inspirational

By 2030, Target aims to be the market leader for creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences

Initial milestone:

• • By 2030, Target intends for the leading raw materials (e.g., forest products, cotton and more) that go into our owned-brand products to be 100% recycled, regenerative or sustainably sourced

By 2025, Target plans for 100% of our owned brands, in addition to our owned-brand limited-edition and brand partnerships, to adhere to Target’s already established sustainability standards

Target is committed to a sustainable and inclusive supply chain that is just and equitable for all workers

By 2025, Target plans for 100% of suppliers to have policies and programs to advance gender equity

Focus areas of these policies and programs include:

• • Equitable systems for hiring and advancement
  • Financial security for their workers
  • Effective anonymous channels for incident reporting
  • Access to gender-responsive health information and services for their workers

By 2025, we plan for 100% of owned-brand suppliers to regard Target’s purchasing practices as industry-leading

• • We intend all strategic business partners to rate Target’s purchasing practices at 4 stars or above on the Better Buying Supplier Survey
  • We plan for owned-brand products to be measured using industry-leading Impact Profit & Loss methodology
  • We plan for all owned-brand suppliers to pay workers digitally

Target plans to partner across the value chain to design solutions that eliminate waste while providing ease and convenience

By 2040, Target plans for 100% of our owned-brand products to be designed for a circular future

Our teams will continue designing to eliminate waste, using materials that are regenerative, recycled or sourced sustainably to create products that are more durable, easily repaired or recyclable

Initial milestone:

• • By 2025, Target aims to offer two circular owned brands

By 2025, Target intends to reduce annual total virgin plastic in our owned-brand packaging by 20%

Initial milestone:

• • By 2025, Target intends to have 100% of our owned-brand plastic packaging be recyclable, compostable or reusable

Further in the report Target Address Social Responsibility in the Supply Chain and specifically address private brand manufacturers and producers by setting the requirement that they participate in Target’s Responsible Sourcing Program.

We expect suppliers that produce Target’s owned and exclusive brands, as well as those that produce nationally branded products for which Target is the importer of record, to participate in Target’s Responsible Sourcing Program. This includes complying with our SOVE and all applicable national and local laws, as well as participating in our responsible sourcing oversight program.

Audits and Continuous Improvement

All facilities that manufacture or convert raw materials into Target owned-brand products, Target-exclusive products, Target-distributed products and/or nationally branded products for which Target is the importer of record, are in scope for Target’s Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability audit program.