Target is a US general merchandise retailer serving mass-market customers through owned and national brands across apparel, household goods, food and consumables.
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Target cut market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions 67.9% from 2017, mostly through renewable electricity certificates, but Scope 3 fell only from 59.6 to 55.7 Mt and its assurance covers only business air travel. In 2026 it moved its net-zero date from 2040 to 2050 and its Scope 3 goal to 2035, missed its packaging goals, and belongs to trade groups that oppose climate policy.
Target Corporation scores 32/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Fees pay for the review, never the result. Last verified October 2026.
That places Target Corporation joint 557th of 847 companies scored, and joint 34th of 48 in Retail (non-fashion).
Where Target Corporation sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.
Among the 48 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, Target Corporation is tied =34th of 48, with 2 others.
Its three lowest-scoring questions, and what the evidence didn't show.
Owned-brand packaging met circularity criteria only 41% vs. 100% goal (moved to 2035).
Supply-chain water impact acknowledged as majority of total but unpublished.
In 2026, Target weakened commitments: net zero moved from 2040 to no later than 2050; 32.5% Scope 3 goal moved from 2030 to 2035.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Evidence that isn't public can count through an evidence review.
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Get in touch →Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Resource Use & Waste and Water Impact (4/10, 4/10).
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Target Corporation.
ALDI SOUTH has validated net-zero targets and eliminated 63% of operational emissions since 2016, but total Scope 3 emissions rose 18% in 2023 due to expansion.
See the breakdown →Robert Dyas has no emissions data, no climate targets, and no sustainability governance.
See the breakdown →Superdrug reports Scope 1 and 2 under the GHG Protocol in its filed accounts, but its Scope 3 covers only logistics and business travel; purchased goods, the dominant footprint for a £1.7bn health and beauty retailer, are not quantified, so the Scope 3 completeness cap applies.
See the breakdown →Target Corporation's score has moved from 34 to 32 across 3 recorded reviews, down 2 points.
Fortune 50 re-score (owner-approved batch 3, 2026-10-19)
correction: re-sourced 2026-10-17 (live records failing current gates). Re-scored under v2.5.14 from the 10-K and the 2026 Sustainability and Governance Report; aggregator citation removed.. History gap: the last recorded row is 34 (2026-04-04, initial_score), but the live score before this change was 29 (previousScore 34). The intermediate change(s) were not recorded at the time and are not reconstructed here.
Initial score at platform launch
The formula and all 15 sources.
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale15 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
10 of 15 sources are independent of the company.
“Gross quantity of direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions (mtCO 2 e) 811,489 867,450 818,148”
“Optera has been engaged to provide independent limited assurance on the greenhouse gas (GHG)”
“Target measures and reports GHG emissions data each year in accordance with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Resources Institute's GHG Protocol.”
“make up 98.5 percent of the company’s footprint”
“88% diversion of operational waste from landfill from our 2017 baseline”
“41pc of its owned-brand packaging met the retailer's circularity criteria in fiscal year 2025, unchanged from 2024”
“ultimately meeting that threshold for just 41% of packaging”
“in line with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations”
“As of 2024, 78% of eligible items conformed to the forest product policy across all of Target’s owned brands”
“We have modified and concluded, and may continue to modify and conclude, certain of these goals and initiatives from time to time.”
“Target is holding back government climate action through its money and influence”
“the federal district court in Minnesota denied Target Corp.'s motion to dismiss a consumer-fraud action”
“Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations”
“Target's longtime membership in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, known for its efforts to obstruct climate regulation, raises concerns.”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Target is a US general merchandise retailer serving mass-market customers through owned and national brands across apparel, household goods, food and consumables. Incorporated in Minnesota in 1902 and headquartered in Minneapolis, it had about 415,000 employees and $104.8 billion in FY2025 revenue.
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