PITTSBURGH, Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DICK'S
Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS), the largest U.S.-based, omni-channel
sporting goods retailer, today announced two major
actions to help create a future free of single-use plastic bags: a
commitment to remove all single-use point-of-sale plastic bags from
its stores by 2025 and a partnership with Closed Loop Partners'
Center for the Circular Economy.
It's estimated that the U.S. alone uses 100 billion plastic bags
per year, and less than 10 percent of these are
recycled. Single-use plastic bags are typically made from
fossil fuel-derived virgin plastic and are among the top 10 items
found on beaches and waterways worldwide where athletes play and
explore. DICK'S has been working to reduce its environmental
footprint with a recycling rate of 70% for its retail stores and
operations. As a next step in this journey, the company is putting
a focus on eliminating single-use retail plastic bags.
As a first step to meet this goal, DICK'S has joined the
Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag as the lead Sports
& Outdoors sector partner and will work alongside founding
partners CVS Health, Target and Walmart, as well as Kroger and
Walgreens. DICK'S is partnering with Closed Loop
Partners' Center for the Circular Economy, Managing Partner of the
Consortium, in its quest for more sustainable solutions to
replace the current retail bag through the Beyond the Bag
Initiative. Closed Loop Partners launched the initiative earlier
this year to identify, test and implement viable design solutions
and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current
retail bag.
"Our customers are outdoor enthusiasts who are passionate about
working together to keep our planet clean and safe for future
generations," said Peter Land, Chief
Communications and Sustainability Officer at DICK'S Sporting Goods.
"Like our customers, we're committed to doing what we can to
prevent waste from ending up in our oceans and natural environment,
and we look forward to working on the Beyond the Bag
Initiative."
The Consortium recently launched the Beyond the Bag
Challenge in partnership with IDEO, which is currently
accepting ideas from across the globe to re-invent the current
retail bag – which could include reusable models, new materials, or
software and hardware innovations that eliminate the need for bags
altogether. As the Consortium's Sports & Outdoors Sector Lead
Partner, DICK'S will direct priorities and activities for the
initiative within this sector.
"We want to realize a future in which waste is a thing of the
past. DICK'S commitment to creating a more sustainable world for
its customers makes them a perfect partner of the Consortium to
Reinvent the Retail Bag," said Kate
Daly, Managing Director of the Center for the Circular
Economy at Closed Loop Partners.
The Beyond the Bag Initiative takes a holistic three-year
approach to identify and scale affordable, accessible and less
wasteful solutions. The initiative focuses on spurring
innovation, advancing materials recovery through
infrastructure investments, identifying best practices
for policy and engaging consumers. The Consortium aims to test
and launch near term solutions to replace the current retail bag
early on in the Initiative, while also continuing to refine longer
term solutions to ensure that we're designing both for today's and
tomorrow's needs. The initiative not only brings together
major retailers as Consortium Partners, but it also engages with
stakeholders across the bag value chain, including suppliers,
materials recovery facilities, municipalities, advocacy groups,
policymakers and others to support this collaborative approach
designed to promote viable market solutions that can scale and
bring value to retailers, customers and end markets.
About DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
Founded
in 1948, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. is a leading omni-channel
sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of
authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and
accessories. As of August 1, 2020,
the Company operated 726 DICK'S Sporting Goods locations across
the United States, serving and
inspiring athletes and outdoor enthusiasts to achieve their
personal best through a blend of dedicated teammates, in-store
services and unique specialty shop-in-shops dedicated to Team
Sports, Athletic Apparel, Golf, Lodge/Outdoor, Fitness and
Footwear.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh,
PA, DICK'S also owns and operates Golf Galaxy and Field
& Stream specialty stores, as well as GameChanger, a youth
sports mobile app for scheduling, communications and live
scorekeeping. DICK'S offers its products through a
content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store
network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise
of a 24-hour storefront. For more information, visit the
Investor Relations page at dicks.com.
Contact: Press@dcsg.com
Sustainability Efforts: 2018 Purpose Playbook
Category: Company
About the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop
Partners
The Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop
Partners convenes competitors to solve material challenges and
advance the circular economy. Its first initiative, the NextGen
Consortium, united leading food and beverage companies to identify
and commercialize a widely recyclable, compostable and/or reusable
cup. Twelve winning cup solutions were selected and the Consortium
is supporting the testing and piloting of these new solutions to
accelerate their path to scale. Now, in partnership with leading
retailers in the United States,
the focus is on the single-use plastic retail bag, a challenge and
opportunity that is top-of-mind for communities and consumers
concerned about the impact of single-use plastics on our
environment. Learn more about the Center's work here.
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SOURCE DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.