November 12, 2013
Target Develops Green Scorecard
Citing consumers demand for safer, sustainable products, Target is planning to create an environmental scoring system for the thousands of products it sells.
Developed over the last two years in partnership with industry experts, vendors and non-governmental organization, the Target Sustainable Product Standard "will help establish a common language, definition and process for qualifying what makes a product more sustainable."
In October, Target began collecting information from vendors supplying 7,500 products in the household cleaning, personal care and beauty, and baby care categories. Using GoodGuide’s UL Transparency Platform, each product will be assigned up to 100 points based on the sustainability of its ingredients, label transparency and overall environmental impact.
"Today, there is no consensus on what a more-sustainable product is, especially within these categories," Kate Heiny, Target’s senior group manager of sustainability, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Developing a product standard is the first step toward expanding the selection of sustainable product choices, and not just a subset of products that are called ‘natural.’?"
Target plans to use the first phase to learn with vendors how to improve its entire selection of products. Those identified as offering more sustainable products will be rewarded with program incentives. Other categories, including cosmetics, will be added in 2014.
As the product standard rolls out and matures, it will inform Target’s merchandising and product placement decisions. Eventually, consumers may have access to the rankings.
"We know more and more Target guests want greater transparency about the ingredients in the products that they’re purchasing," said John Replogle, president and CEO, Seventh Generation, a maker of eco-friendly home are products, in Target’s statement. "This tool will help us showcase the authenticity of our products while pushing for industry-wide clarity around what really makes a product sustainable."
The index will join Walmart’s Sustainability Index, rolled out in August 2012 with the support of The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). It has a particular focus this year on using less energy, greener chemicals, fewer fertilizers and more recycled materials. By the close of this year, Walmart expects its index to extend to more than 300 product categories and as many as 5,000 suppliers.
- Introducing the Target Sustainable Product Standard – Target Corporation
- Target Sustainable Product Standard Fact Sheet – Target Corporation
- Target using scoring system to look at product sustainability – Minneapolis Star-Tribune (tiered sub.)
- Walmart Highlights Progress on the Sustainability Index – Walmart Stores
- Walmart Announces Sustainable Product Index – Walmart Stores
- Sustinability Index – Walmart Stores
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What is the value of sustainability indexes to retailers? How strong an influence do you think eco-scores will have on sourcing, manufacturer processes and package design?
Poll
I agree very much with John Replogle that many consumers want greater transparency. This is probably even more true with Target guests than consumers of many other retail stores.
My thoughts are that programs like this are effective if the evaluations are made apples vs. apples; in other words, pillows vs. pillows, mouthwash vs. mouthwash, picture frames vs. picture frames, hammers vs. hammers.
Walmart’s order blanks have certainly done more for sustainability than the government has in recent years. And I’m sure Target’s will help also. All good. I just wish there could be a common standard across the industry, but not from the government, which is bought and sold so easily and has little credibility with consumers on these matters.
Until this becomes a consumer-driven initiative, I’m not thinking it will have much influence at all. Consumers have been notorious for saying in surveys that they want “green” products, and then not buying them. Manufacturers who are trying to be greener will continue to be greener – the index is just a way to measure how eco-friendly you are.
I think if Target sticks to its guns on this issue, it can have a huge effect on how products are made, shipped and recycled. The Walmart effort has resulted in much energy saving and landfill reduction, and has the opportunity to carry that even further as suppliers attempt to raise their score. The ultimate success will depend on how well Target supports its highest scoring suppliers with purchases. Many times the investment necessary to meet these goals raises costs for suppliers, particularly in the short term.
Let us hope for and encourage a growing “do what’s right” movement. We have been living for decades in a culture of greed and deceit – in manufacturing, finance, big agriculture, food processing and of course, politics. Maybe initiatives like this by Target, Walmart and others are a sign that the good gene of humanity is emerging even in the business world.
Is the motivation a desire to do what’s right or is it the realization that there’s money to be made this way? Honestly I don’t care…just do it. ‘Why’ these companies are doing it is a matter of their own corporate soul.
From a socially-conscious standpoint, I applaud Target’s intent. However, from a purely consumer point of view, eco-scores will not drive decisions as much as availability and price. If the eco-scores translate to increased acquisition costs, non-shelf-friendly package design, or less-than-adequate shelf life, the indexes may mean little.
I’m sure eco-scores will be well received. Everybody will feel good about them. But for mass-market, commodity retailers like Target, there’s only one score that ultimately matters – the price. It’s just the way it is.
If wholesalers can deliver a good eco-score at the lowest price – great! And if the lowest price doesn’t have a great eco-score, then I’m sure there will be pressure applied. But in the end, lowest price will win. That’s just how it goes.
I believe that the sustainability scores will be increasingly important through time – especially as we begin to encounter more water shortages (driving up prices).
However, a universal scoring system is the real key to making this work for consumers. If we don’t like the idea of the government intervening, maybe a trade association could help broker an agreement among the biggest players, so that consumers have a way to consistently compare brands and products against this new metric.
I suppose it will be of interest to those – Greens? – who are already interested in the concept(s), but only if it’s perceived as unbiased, and therein lies the problem. Target, and (and every one of its suppliers) makes money by having people buy and use things, and frequently the most sustainable thing is to not use a product at all…getting people thinking in the “right” direction, without having them go overboard in a way that hurts profitability is a challenge.
How important is it to let consumers know that their food products are “Gluten Free”? How important is it to let consumers know that a product has zero trans fats? (Most products have reached this position).
If Target expects to make an impact with consumers on this issue, they have to bring the message to the consumer. If it is merely a business to business decision, and they hold the information back, but still move a product off the shelf because they are judging that it lacks “sustainability,” they are inviting a different set of problems, particularly if the product is one the consumers appreciate.
The Prosper Insights & Analytics Monthly Consumer Survey has been asking 6,000+ respondents every month to address a question in regards to Life Changes. The response choice to be check is: “I have become more environmentally responsible in my daily life.”
For the readers’ convenience the numbers shared represent the percentage of Adults, 18+ each October who called out this position. 10-13-11.0%, 10-12-13.1%, 10-11-14.3%, 10-10-15.6%, 10-09-17.0%, 10-08-20.5%.
Target Shoppers who stated “I have become more environmentally responsible in my daily life.” over that time were 10-13-12.0%, 10-12-14.4%, 10-11-16.3%, 10-10-18.7%, 10-09-21.8%, 10-08-27.1%.
Hope that Target has a plan to make these Insights, and the results of their efforts available to the consumer and to the media.
Can’t we just cut back more on superfluous packaging? That’d be a good effort that one could actually measure rather than the difficult-to-fathom, success-or-failure results of that greeny stuff.
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I agree very much with John Replogle that many consumers want greater transparency. This is probably even more true with Target guests than consumers of many other retail stores.
My thoughts are that programs like this are effective if the evaluations are made apples vs. apples; in other words, pillows vs. pillows, mouthwash vs. mouthwash, picture frames vs. picture frames, hammers vs. hammers.
Walmart’s order blanks have certainly done more for sustainability than the government has in recent years. And I’m sure Target’s will help also. All good. I just wish there could be a common standard across the industry, but not from the government, which is bought and sold so easily and has little credibility with consumers on these matters.
Until this becomes a consumer-driven initiative, I’m not thinking it will have much influence at all. Consumers have been notorious for saying in surveys that they want “green” products, and then not buying them. Manufacturers who are trying to be greener will continue to be greener – the index is just a way to measure how eco-friendly you are.
I think if Target sticks to its guns on this issue, it can have a huge effect on how products are made, shipped and recycled. The Walmart effort has resulted in much energy saving and landfill reduction, and has the opportunity to carry that even further as suppliers attempt to raise their score. The ultimate success will depend on how well Target supports its highest scoring suppliers with purchases. Many times the investment necessary to meet these goals raises costs for suppliers, particularly in the short term.
Let us hope for and encourage a growing “do what’s right” movement. We have been living for decades in a culture of greed and deceit – in manufacturing, finance, big agriculture, food processing and of course, politics. Maybe initiatives like this by Target, Walmart and others are a sign that the good gene of humanity is emerging even in the business world.
Is the motivation a desire to do what’s right or is it the realization that there’s money to be made this way? Honestly I don’t care…just do it. ‘Why’ these companies are doing it is a matter of their own corporate soul.
From a socially-conscious standpoint, I applaud Target’s intent. However, from a purely consumer point of view, eco-scores will not drive decisions as much as availability and price. If the eco-scores translate to increased acquisition costs, non-shelf-friendly package design, or less-than-adequate shelf life, the indexes may mean little.
I’m sure eco-scores will be well received. Everybody will feel good about them. But for mass-market, commodity retailers like Target, there’s only one score that ultimately matters – the price. It’s just the way it is.
If wholesalers can deliver a good eco-score at the lowest price – great! And if the lowest price doesn’t have a great eco-score, then I’m sure there will be pressure applied. But in the end, lowest price will win. That’s just how it goes.
I believe that the sustainability scores will be increasingly important through time – especially as we begin to encounter more water shortages (driving up prices).
However, a universal scoring system is the real key to making this work for consumers. If we don’t like the idea of the government intervening, maybe a trade association could help broker an agreement among the biggest players, so that consumers have a way to consistently compare brands and products against this new metric.
I suppose it will be of interest to those – Greens? – who are already interested in the concept(s), but only if it’s perceived as unbiased, and therein lies the problem. Target, and (and every one of its suppliers) makes money by having people buy and use things, and frequently the most sustainable thing is to not use a product at all…getting people thinking in the “right” direction, without having them go overboard in a way that hurts profitability is a challenge.
How important is it to let consumers know that their food products are “Gluten Free”? How important is it to let consumers know that a product has zero trans fats? (Most products have reached this position).
If Target expects to make an impact with consumers on this issue, they have to bring the message to the consumer. If it is merely a business to business decision, and they hold the information back, but still move a product off the shelf because they are judging that it lacks “sustainability,” they are inviting a different set of problems, particularly if the product is one the consumers appreciate.
The Prosper Insights & Analytics Monthly Consumer Survey has been asking 6,000+ respondents every month to address a question in regards to Life Changes. The response choice to be check is: “I have become more environmentally responsible in my daily life.”
For the readers’ convenience the numbers shared represent the percentage of Adults, 18+ each October who called out this position. 10-13-11.0%, 10-12-13.1%, 10-11-14.3%, 10-10-15.6%, 10-09-17.0%, 10-08-20.5%.
Target Shoppers who stated “I have become more environmentally responsible in my daily life.” over that time were 10-13-12.0%, 10-12-14.4%, 10-11-16.3%, 10-10-18.7%, 10-09-21.8%, 10-08-27.1%.
Hope that Target has a plan to make these Insights, and the results of their efforts available to the consumer and to the media.
Can’t we just cut back more on superfluous packaging? That’d be a good effort that one could actually measure rather than the difficult-to-fathom, success-or-failure results of that greeny stuff.