To: Art Peck, Chief Executive Officer

From: Alison Milligan, Vice President of Communication

Date: Oct. 23, 2015
Re: Expanding environmental corporate social responsibility efforts
Here at Gap Inc., we have been recognized as a leader in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
We have consistently placed on CRs 100 Best Corporate Citizens list1, showing our dedication
to the environment, human rights and employee relations. As a leader in CSR, it is our job to
continually grow and improve our CSR programs.
Although Gap Inc. is a leader in CSR, programs for environmental and climate change have
lacked progress in recent years. In 2010 Gap Inc. implemented a Waste Less program to
minimize waste in production facilities, corporate headquarters and retail locations. There has
been little progress with the Waste Less program and a reconstruction of the program would be
beneficial. In order to take the Waste Less program to the next level, Gap Inc. needs to commit
to reducing its plastic bag waste. This new Waste Less program will be implemented by:
Project Goals
All Gap Inc. brands will switch from a regular plastic material to a biodegradable plastic
used for shipping and packaging.
To use less plastics in shipping by using one plastic packaging bag per four products,
instead of packaging products individually.
Time Scale
Within 10 years, all of the brands will make the switch from regular to biodegradable
plastics.
Within five years plastic uses will be reduced by 10% in shipping and packaging, until
the full switch has been made.
Environmental Impact
Reduce the amount of plastic in landfills and oceans.
Reduce carbon footprint by using less plastics and more biodegradable plastics.
Reporting
Measure and release report every two years showing Gap Inc. progress with reducing
plastic and transferring to biodegradable plastics.
Promote successful measures on social media to gain recognition and engagement from
Gap Inc. publics.
In order for this program to be successful, Gap Inc. will not only need to promote sustainability
but produce measurable results. By being dedicated to this program the results will lead to
1

http://www.thecro.com/files/100BestList2015.pdf

improve understanding of how plastics impact the environment, and in turn will garner positive
morale for the company.