Human Rights

Human Rights Statement

We recognize that we can impact the human rights of our team members, guests, workers in the supply chain and people in the communities we serve. Aligned with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labor Organization Core Conventions, we are committed to respecting human rights throughout our operations.  

In alignment with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we respect human rights and seek to avoid adverse impacts resulting from our business activities. We are continuously working to do better and improve our impact. However, if adverse impacts arise, our approach focuses on working with our suppliers to mitigate and remedy adverse impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services.   

At Target, we help all families discover the joy of everyday life. In adhering to our purpose and as part of our ongoing commitment to human rights, we conduct regular reviews to understand the salient human rights issues across our business. Based on these assessments, we understand that we can impact human rights in the following ways through our stores and supply chain:   

Our team members 

• Our team members are at the heart of everything we do at Target, and they help us meet the evolving needs of our guests.  
• We recruit and retain team members who represent the communities we serve, and we develop practices and policies, such as our Code of Ethics, Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and Harassment-Free Workplace Policy that aim to create a workplace where all feel a sense of belonging, can build meaningful careers and have equitable access to opportunity. 
• Our commitment to an equitable experience for our team has made Target a destination for great talent. Attracting, retaining and developing a workforce whose background and experiences represent the communities we serve is a competitive advantage and helps us meet the needs of our guests. We’re committed to providing a safe environment for both team members and guests, with dedicated safety programs to reduce or eliminate workplace hazards, including our Injury and Illness Prevention Program.  
• We believe that engaging directly is the best way to meet our team members’ needs, as we respect the rights of workers to make an informed decision as to whether or not to associate with any group, consistent with all applicable laws. 

Our guests 

• In an ever-changing consumer environment, we believe that creating a joyful and welcoming experience for all guests helps foster long-term growth and value creation for our business.  
• Our guests feel seen, heard and cared for because inclusivity and belonging are core to who we are, and are authentically reflected at every guest touch point.  
• Our team aims to create environments of belonging for all families year-round – through our products, our in-store and digital experiences and our marketing. 

Our supply chain 

• We are committed to respecting the human rights of workers within Target’s supply chain and operations, especially groups that may be subjected to higher-risk human rights impacts, including women, young workers, domestic migrant workers and foreign contract workers.  
• We expect our domestic and international business partners to respect human rights, and to comply with Target’s Standard of Vendor Engagement and all applicable laws pertaining to human rights including, without limitation, all laws applicable to workplace health, safety, labor and employment. Target’s Responsible Sourcing Audit Program monitors worker safety and labor compliance in locations that produce Target owned brand or exclusive products, as well as those that produce nationally branded products for which Target is the importer of record. 
• We are committed to ensuring that workers have decent, safe and healthy working conditions, including the right to water, validating that clean, drinkable water and sanitation are accessible for the workers in Target’s supply chain. We regularly monitor for emerging health and safety concerns and update our policies and programs accordingly; recent examples include banning sandblasting and ensuring worker protections for hazardous temperatures and weather. 
• In 2022, we created a Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability Human Rights Strategy to strengthen human rights due diligence in our supply chain in response to the salient human rights issues identified in our Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA). As part of this strategy, we continue to advance human rights due diligence tools in new areas of our supply chain. This work is still in the early stages, and we anticipate scaling and institutionalizing new learnings and procedures, with the objective of enhancing Target’s human rights due diligence while also amplifying industrywide impacts.  
• Target is a member of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) organization. We adopted the ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL), to help reduce worker exposure to unwanted chemicals in the manufacturing process and help ensure these chemicals don’t make their way into products, and ultimately to our guests. In addition, we adopted the ZDHC wastewater guidelines to help drive clean and drinkable water and support aquatic life by reducing the amount of pollutants and hazardous chemicals in our suppliers’ wastewater, which could be discharged into surrounding communities and waterways. 
• We empower our suppliers to support their workers through capability building programs, including the Responsible Sourcing Advisory Program, which aims to bring innovative labor management practices and a continuous improvement culture to our strategic vendors and factories. The program provides train-the-trainer support in key focus areas: management systems, building worker-management social performance teams, supervisory skills, workplace communication, negotiation skills and grievance mechanisms.  
• We take a risk-based approach to supply chain management, and we continually assess and address the risks that emerge and evolve over time. In addition, we are working to expand coverage of third-party grievance mechanisms in our supply chain to increase direct engagement with rights holders.  

Our communities 

• Our rich 120-year history of partnership, volunteerism, philanthropy and local engagement helps communities thrive. Since our founding, Target has recognized that “making ourselves useful in the world” by caring for our team, guests and communities is essential for sustained growth. We aim to create deep and lasting relationships with the communities we serve. 
• Our team members play a central role in strengthening the thousands of communities where our stores and supply chain facilities create jobs, energize economies and serve local guests. 
• Our longstanding commitment to the community is demonstrated through our corporate giving, the Target Foundation, local store giving and our strong legacy of team member engagement – volunteering millions of hours of service nationwide.

Human Rights Due Diligence 

We conduct ongoing due diligence, including engagement with internal and external stakeholders, to continuously strengthen our understanding of the salient human rights issues applicable to our operations and our supply chain. We refresh our corporate-wide HRIA regularly. Most recently, Target partnered with an external expert business and human rights consultant to conduct an HRIA for our operations, supply chain and business relationships. The HRIA identified salient human rights issues relevant to Target, our team members, guests, supply chain workers and the communities we serve. We continue to refine our strategy to develop an impactful human rights program focused on the salient issues most relevant to our business. 

Current Salient Human Rights Issues  

Governance

Target’s Board of Directors, including its committees, oversee multiple aspects of our Human Rights Commitment, as follows:  

• The full Board oversees our overall sustainability strategy, including the organizational team health aspect of human rights.  
• The Governance & Sustainability Committee oversees external reporting on human rights.  
• The Audit & Risk Committee oversees our compliance and ethics programs and supply chain matters, including vendor human capital and responsible sourcing practices.  
• The Compensation & Human Capital Management Committee oversees a variety of human rights topics, including broad-based compensation and benefits, culture and team member engagement; diversity, equity and inclusion in support of our business; pay equity; and team member growth and development.  

In addition, our vice president of corporate responsibility and sustainability has executive oversight of this work, and the day-to-day implementation of our human rights commitments is led by numerous teams, including but not limited to dedicated team members in Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, and Responsible Sourcing & Sustainability. These teams work together to advance our human rights program for our owned operations and supply chain. 

Implementation

We conduct ongoing due diligence, as well as engage with our stakeholders, to continuously strengthen our understanding of our salient human rights issues within our operations and in our supply chain. In addition, due diligence reviews may be triggered by a variety of different circumstances, including the entry into a relationship with a new business partner or acquiring a new business. 

We prioritize industry collaboration and stakeholder engagement, including working directly with NGOs and experts around the world, to ground our human rights due diligence in best practices and maximize our impact. Examples of industry engagement include Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR) Human Rights Working Group and the Institute for Human Rights and Business Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment. Target also works with several labor rights certification bodies in specific areas of our supply chain, including the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) and Fair Trade USA. 

In 2022, we rolled out our first human rights training to key business areas including merchandising, owned brands (including sourcing), and corporate responsibility. These teams are now automatically enrolled in the training annually — covering topics including the foundations of human rights; human rights issues in business operations worldwide; and Target’s Human Rights Commitments, including our alignment with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declarations on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. We plan to build on the success of this training in the future.  

Additionally, Target’s Integrity Hotline is available to all team members and suppliers to report any concerns about potential violations of our Code of Ethics. Team members are made aware of the Code of Ethics and reporting channels via new hire and annual ethics training, and the employee handbook. Suppliers are made aware via The Standards of Vendor Engagement. 

For supply chain investigations, we use a combination of internal and third-party investigators depending on the issue and region. Complaints received are thoroughly reviewed and investigated.  

We prohibit retaliation against anyone who, in good faith, raises a grievance or concern. Likewise, factories are prohibited from retaliating against third-party workers, who may remain anonymous, for reporting any potential violations of our SOVE. Target has enacted extensive remediation policies and practices to responsibly respond to human rights violations and impacts.