Target: Green for Profit or Green for the Environment?

When I think about brands that are socially or ethically responsible one that stands out to me is Target. I am a very frequent shopper at the retailer pretty much every weekend. After doing some research on them for a previous class I found out that are not just a great store but they also do a lot of great things in the local communities. They send an email out to their red card holders called A Bullseye View with news of new launches, store happenings and community base work they are doing. If you go to their site you will find What’s New under the More tab. You will find different sections like Trends, Ideas, Spotlight and Fun Stuff that show more information of things going on at Target as a company. The company conducts itself in a socially responsible way by giving back to the communities they are in by philanthropy, civic activity, and staying engaged with their team members and stakeholders.

If you shopped at Target around Christmas in 2013 it was possible that you were one of thousands of card holders were hacked after shopping there during that time. The biggest issue was the fact that the company waited weeks before releasing the news of the hack to the public. Target did reimburse customers that were able to prove they were effected by the hacking by paying up to $10,000 each due to a 10 million dollar settlement of a class action lawsuit. Since that incident Target has been able to rebound and keep growing despite the news of other retailers closing all around.

When you look at Target you can see they are “green” for profits and “green” for the environment and here’s why I say that because the company does a lot for the communities and they also sell sustainable products and have sustainable operations in place. Their corporate site talk about it in their planet section.

n 2010 Target was voted “World Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute for the forth year in the row. To know a company that you shop at and like has been given an award that big is pretty awesome.

References:

https://corporate.target.com

https://www.target.com/finds/spotlight