Target Works Toward Sustainable Future With New Eco-Conscious Commitments 

Target, which has almost 1,900 brick-and-mortar locations and Target.com, revealed a “Target Forward” sustainability roadmap that builds on its “legacy of corporate responsibility and sustainable practices,” according to a Tuesday (June 22) announcement.

The strategy signifies a “new era in sustainability for the company,” as Target seeks to “co-create an equitable and regenerative future with its guests, partners and communities,” according to an announcement.

As part of that roadmap, Target says it commits to be a “net zero enterprise” by 2040. It also intends to have all owned brand products to be created “for a circular future” by that year.

Target said that its work in collaborating to provide its communities and the environment with “equitable, sustainable” are currently visible throughout its business.

To that end, circular design principles are visible in the retailer’s owned brands like Everspring and Universal Thread. Moreover, Target sped up its commitments to sustainable packaging in 2018. At that time, it signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.

“We want our guests to turn to Target first when they think about sustainability,” Amanda Nusz, senior vice president of corporate responsibility at Target and president of the Target Foundation, said in the announcement. “We know that the only way to make that possible is by putting both people and the planet at the center of our efforts, as we co-create with our guests, our partners and the communities we serve.”

The news comes as Target posted first-quarter earnings in May that came out ahead of expectations, riding the strength of stimulus checks, private-label clothing and the digital strategy honed amid the pandemic.

“Just as we saw our guests use our same-day services during the pandemic, using pick up and drive up and ship, we expect those services to be very sticky over time, and certainly we’ve ensured the awareness and the use of those same-day services by two, three, if not four years,” Target COO John Mulligan said during the earnings call.