climate

Since we opened our first store back in 1962, we’ve aimed to make our products and operations more sustainable for our guests. In 2017, we took the next step forward, introducing a new climate policy and goals to guide our progress. Through our continued efforts, we aim to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint and work with our industry partners, policymakers and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

view our full climate policy

Scope 1: Emissions that come directly from Target facilities
Scope 2: Emissions from energy we purchase to power Target facilities
Scope 3: Emissions generated through the manufacturing and distribution of products, business travel, guests using our products and other indirect sources
 

To make it all happen, we’ll focus our efforts in five areas:

• Increasing adoption of renewable energy in our own operations, our supply chain, and on the electricity grid
• Driving energy and water efficiency in our own operations and in our supply chain
• Investing in innovations supporting the transition to a lower-carbon transportation system, including vehicle electrification
• Considering climate impacts in raw materials sourcing, particularly the impacts of land use change, and designing plans to mitigate those impacts
• Supporting communities most heavily impacted by climate change and building their resilience to climate change impacts like extreme weather events

We set our goals with the Science-Based Targets initiative in mind. This organization provides guidelines that help U.S. companies align their corporate goals with climate science so the economy can progress together.

Target will reduce its absolute Scope* 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25% below 2015 levels by 2025.

We’ll get there by continuing to ramp up our use of renewable solar and wind power to offset energy used at our facilities, increasing the energy-efficiency of heating and lighting sources in stores, actively managing our refrigerant inventory, and exploring new programs.

Target will implement projects in our owned brand manufacturing facilities that will result in the avoidance of 2 million metric tons of Scope 3 emissions annually by 2022.

We’re already well on our way through efforts like our participation in the Clean by Design textile industry program and the Vietnam Improvement program, both of which work to improve energy and water efficiency—which we’ll expand in coming years.

Within a year, Target will develop an additional Scope 3 goal that, coupled with our Scope 1 and 2 goal, will fulfill our commitment to the Science-Based Targets initiative.

read more about our goals and reporting

To keep our progress on track, we’ll continue building on several projects already in the works, like our collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which advises us in areas like climate change, water stewardship, food waste, packaging, and sourcing raw materials, and more to come as the relationship moves forward.

Meet more of our partners:

• World Resources Institute’s Clean Power Council
• ENERGY STAR
• Ceres Company Network