SAN DIEGO — Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. is one of the increasing number of pet industry companies taking steps toward sustainability. The leading pet retailer announced April 13 its commitment to make 50% of its product assortment represent sustainable products by the end of 2025.

This means half of all Petco products will align with at least one of Petco’s five pillars of sustainability. These include: responsible manufacturing; sustainably sourced materials; sustainably sourced ingredients; responsible packaging; and animal welfare.

The company took other sustainability pledges in 2020, including using 92% less plastic and 23% less cardboard in its e-commerce packaging, which Petco estimated saves 3.6 million lbs of cardboard and 30,000 lbs of plastic from landfills.

The retailer also upcycled 1.5 million plastic bottles into pet accessories in 2020, and removed 3.2 million pieces of packaging waste among its private label 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."

Petco has singled-out its sustainable products at www.petco.com/sustainability, where pet owners can find resources and information about the retailer’s more environmentally and socially friendly pet care products.

This sustainability commitment is the latest in a series of changes and improvements Petco has made to establish itself as the premier provider for holistic pet care. This includes banning pet food products with artificial ingredients, “breaking up with” traditional rawhide dog chews, and launching its Whole Health philosophy.

The retailer reported it will continue to ramp up sustainability initiatives and look for new opportunities to reduce its carbon footprint, waste and improve energy efficiency. Petco plans to publish its first-ever environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) report in May to provide updates on its progress and initiatives.

Read more about sustainability in the pet food and treat industry.