Hasbro to cut PVC from packaging

Hasbro is working to eliminate PVC from packaging

"At a time when consumers have an abundance of choices, we hope our track record of innovation and corporate citizenship—including our focus on sustainable packaging and product safety—will give shoppers one more reason to choose our products during the holiday season and throughout the year," says Brian Goldner, Hasbro's president and CEO.

Hasbro highlighted the commitment to eliminate PVC from all new core toy and game packaging for products manufactured at its contracted third-party facilities, in its 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report.

"Walmart applauds Hasbro's long-term commitment and accomplishments in corporate social responsibility," says Laura Phillips, Walmart's senior vice president of toys and seasonal merchandising. "As Hasbro builds upon its industry leadership position in environmental sustainability and product safety, we are hopeful that all industry players will adopt similarly ambitious goals."

"Our commitment to corporate social responsibility is behind everything we do at Hasbro, and we're pleased to be sharing our CSR goals and accomplishments with the world in our first-ever CSR Report. We are proud of our progress to date and look forward to making continual improvements in CSR as we assess the many opportunities and challenges ahead," Goldner says.

Phasing out PVC in packaging is the most recent effort in a long series of sustainable packaging initiatives by Hasbro, all of which are designed to minimize the impact on natural resources:
•Elimination of Wire Ties: In 2010, Hasbro replaced all wire ties in its packages with ties made from paper rattan or bamboo mix to reduce environmental impact. The effort eliminated approximately 34,000 miles of wire ties - more than enough to wrap around the circumference of the Earth.
•Increase in Recycled Content: In 2010, Hasbro set a goal to derive at least 75 percent of paper and board packaging from recycled material, or from sources that practice sustainable forest management, by 2011. By 2015, Hasbro plans to increase that goal to 90 percent.
•New Sourcing of Paper: Hasbro outlined an aggressive paper sourcing policy in 2011, providing guidelines for suppliers regarding sustainable paper sourcing to help ensure that paper used in Hasbro products aligns with the company's commitment to environmental sustainability. Among the policy's key requirements is the expectation that suppliers will source paper with as much post-consumer recycled content as practical and financially viable. The company has communicated the policy to its suppliers, and has made it a part of its company-wide quality assurance procedures.

In addition to these leading sustainable packaging commitments, Hasbro is committed to continuous improvement in corporate social responsibility. The company's CSR efforts focus on three key priorities: product safety, manufacturing ethics, and environmental sustainability.
Earlier this month, Hasbro was named a 2011 sector leader by Climate Counts, a non-profit organization rating corporations on their efforts toward mitigating climate change. Hasbro was named to the group's top rating tier as a Company that is "striding toward a low-carbon future."
Other goals, accomplishments, and initiatives outlined in Hasbro's 2010 CSR Report include:
•Reducing the company's global greenhouse gas emissions by more than 11 percent from a 2008 baseline, using Greenhouse Gas Protocol guidelines
•Continuing the company's outstanding record of product safety
•Producing zero waste in U.S. manufacturing processes
•Continuing to ensure that the company's owned and operated factories, third-party factories, and licensee factories pursue fair and safe labor conditions
•Auditing the company's third-party factories and licensee factories to ensure they achieve the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) Seal of Compliance in countries where ICTI operates its Caring, Aware, Responsible and Ethical (CARE) program

Source: Hasbro Inc.
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