The Home Depot announced today a series of new sustainability commitments, along with the release of the company’s 2020 Responsibility Report. The new pledges include expanding the use of renewable energy, and changes in packaging to more sustainable materials.

Home Depot announced a new target to produce and procure energy from 335 megawatts of renewable and alternative energy projects by 2025. According to the company, this is equivalent to the power required to provide energy for 90,000 homes. The new goal will help the company on its path to reaching its existing target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2035. In today’s report, Home Depot announced that it reduced its GHG emissions by 10 percent in 2019, driven primarily by energy reductions and supply chain efficiencies.

The company also committed to eliminate expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from its private brand packaging by 2023. In 2019, Home Depot eliminated 1.44 million pounds of plastic from its products and packaging, and another 7.73 million pounds of virgin plastic were replaced with recycled plastic.

Another significant sustainability milestone for Home Depot is the inclusion this year of disclosures aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) frameworks. In recent months, several large investors, such as BlackRock, have begun recommending these reporting standards for their portfolio companies. Home depot also applies Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards as an identification and cross reference tool, highlighting 10 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that align within company’s sphere of influence.

Craig Menear, Chairman, CEO and President of The Home Depot, said:

“We believe our commitment to continuing progress on environmental, social and governance issues has made our company stronger, had a lasting positive impact on the environment, deepened our relationships with associates and customers, and created long-term shareholder value.

“I want to thank our associates and suppliers for the significant progress we made last year and look forward to making meaningful progress in the future.”