Petco Commits to Increasing Its Assortment of Sustainable Pet Products to 50% By the End of 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF) announced its commitment to increase its assortment of sustainable products to 50% by the end of 2025. This initiative aligns with five sustainability pillars, including responsible manufacturing, sustainably sourced materials, and animal welfare. Petco is also launching a new sustainable shopping destination and plans to provide resources to educate pet parents. Significant environmental progress includes reducing packaging waste by 92% and upcycling 1.5 million plastic bottles. An ESG report is set to release in May 2021.

Positive

• Commitment to sustainable products reaching 50% by 2025.
• Implementation of five sustainability pillars improves product offerings.
• Significant waste reduction: 92% less plastic and 23% less cardboard in packaging in 2020.
• 1.5 million plastic bottles upcycled into pet accessories.

Negative

• None.

SAN DIEGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOOF), a complete partner in pet health and wellness, today announced a commitment to increasing its assortment of sustainable products to 50% by the end of 2025, reinforcing the company's pledge to corporate social responsibility and to preserving the health and wellness of pets, people and planet.

"Improving the lives of pets and people means improving our impact on the planet too," said Ron Coughlin, Chairman and CEO

As part of its mission to improve the lives of pets, pet parents and Petco partners, half of Petco's complete assortment of pet products will align with at least one of five sustainability pillars:

• Responsible manufacturing – brands and products that use responsible manufacturing practices during production
• Sustainably sourced materials – products made with materials like organic cotton or recycled nylon
• Sustainably sourced ingredients – food and treats made with ingredients that are more environmentally friendly or emit fewer greenhouse gases
• Responsible packaging – packaging designed to be refilled with the same type of product or for multiple uses
• Animal welfare – ensure animals are treated humanely and products meet Petco's cruelty-free standard

To help pet parents easily identify and shop for more sustainable pet products, Petco launched a new sustainable shopping destination at petco.com/sustainability and is now featuring in-aisle signage at the majority of its Petco pet care centers. Petco will also proactively provide resources and information to further educate pet parents on the benefits of sustainable pet products.

The commitment to featuring sustainable pet products in 50% of its assortment builds on Petco's significant environmental sustainability progress from 2020, including:

• Using 92% less plastic and 23% less cardboard in packaging, compared to online-only retailers by fulfilling online orders in our Petco Pet Care Centers, which we estimate eliminated 3.6 million pounds of carboard waste and 30,000 pounds of plastic waste in 2020 alone
• Upcycling 1.5 million plastic bottles into pet accessories with our "Started as a Bottle" program
• Eliminating 3.2 million pieces of packaging waste across Petco's owned brand products

"Improving the lives of pets and people means improving our impact on the planet too," said Ron Coughlin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Petco. "We know pet parents find it important for companies they do business with to carry more sustainable products and options. With this ambitious commitment as our first step, we embark on a journey aimed at not just meeting that expectation, but also raising the bar even higher. Petco's sustainability team has my full support to continue driving positive change within our business, industry and the world through ongoing, accelerated efforts."

The commitment to increasing its assortment of more sustainable pet products is in line with Petco's recently launched Whole Health philosophy, and follows the company's bold moves to stop selling food and treats containing artificial colors, flavors and preservatives for dogs and cats; end the sale of specific electronic "shock" collars online and at pet care centers; and remove traditional rawhide options from store shelves in favor of safe, healthy alternatives.

Petco will continue accelerating current environmental sustainability initiatives across merchandising, packaging, logistics, and service delivery, among other areas, and identifying opportunities for lowering its carbon footprint, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing waste. To that end, Petco will release its first environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) report in May of 2021 as part of its commitment to transparent and accountable communication to the communities the company serves.

For more information on Petco's commitment to sustainability or to shop more sustainable pet products, visit petco.com/sustainability. For more on ESG at Petco, including sustainability, visit corporate.petco.com.

About Petco, The Health + Wellness Co.
Petco is a category-defining health and wellness company focused on improving the lives of pets, pet parents and our own Petco partners. Since our founding in 1965, we've been trailblazing new standards in pet care, delivering comprehensive wellness solutions through our products and services, and creating communities that deepen the pet-pet parent bond. We operate more than 1,500 Petco locations across the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, including a growing network of more than 100 in-store veterinary hospitals, and offer a complete online resource for pet health and wellness at petco.com and on the Petco app. In tandem with Petco Love (formerly the Petco Foundation), an independent nonprofit organization, we work with and support thousands of local animal welfare groups across the country and, through in-store adoption events, we've helped find homes for more than 6.5 million animals. 

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, concerning expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical fact. Although the company believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors that the company identifies in its Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no duty to update publicly any forward-looking statement that it may make, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable law, regulation or other competent legal authority.

Contact:

Ventura Olvera
Ventura.olvera@petco.com 
858.453.7845 ext. 222820

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SOURCE Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc.