Care for Our Planet

Hallmark’s Science Based Target

In 2022, we marked a major milestone in our sustainability journey: the approval of our Science-Based Target by the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi). This UN-sponsored organization drives climate action by inspiring companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets, and we’re joining more than 2,000 organizations with our commitment.

This approval means our goals align with what climate science indicates is needed to prevent the most dangerous impacts to the planet. We’re hard at work to reach our approved targets for 2030, which include:
• Reducing emissions created by our own facilities by 46.2% by 2030
• Reducing emissions from our value chain by 27.5% by 2030

Our teams are aligned on the road map we’ll use to achieve these targets, and this is reflected in our new enterprise sustainability four-point plan. Our four-point plan focuses on those areas where we can have the most impact to reduce our global emissions: including product and content; renewable energy; sustainable forestry; and transportation.

The current progress on our goals follows. We have met the scope 1 target for our facilities in 2023 due to our strong progress moving to renewable electricity.

Our facilities: 46.2% reduction by 2030                              As of 2023:  51%
Value Chain: 27.5% reduction by 2030                                As of 2023: —— *

* Production volumes were low in 2023 due to supply chain systems upgrades. Therefore, we will report progress in 2024. ♦ 

Hallmark’s CARE Supplier Program

As we’ve strengthened our commitment to sustainability and created a roadmap for how we’ll reduce our impact on the planet, it has become increasingly clear: we can’t do it alone. Addressing challenges throughout the full life cycle of our products requires collaboration and partnership across our global supply chain.

With this in mind, we are engaging our suppliers to reduce emissions stemming from their production of our raw materials and finished goods—one of the largest contributors to our overall carbon footprint.

The CARE Supplier program was first launched in 2022.  As part of this program, our top suppliers are encouraged to measure their emissions, set greenhouse gas reduction targets, improve energy efficiency and transition to 100% renewable electricity for production of our products and raw materials by 2030. Transitioning to renewable electricity is a major commitment for any business, so we’re partnering closely with our suppliers and sharing best practices and tools as they work toward this goal.

We’re encouraged by the progress and idea-sharing we’ve already seen as a result of this program and look forward to the ways we’ll continue to care for the planet together. ♦ 

Commitment to Renewable Energy

As part of our enterprise sustainability four-point plan, we’re committed to transitioning to 100% renewable electricity across our global operations. Hallmark’s renewable energy journey began in 2021 when our Liberty Distribution Center in Liberty, Missouri, began sourcing 100% renewable electricity for its operations. By participating in the Renewables Direct program with local utility provider Evergy, the Liberty Distribution Center began receiving electricity from a wind farm in southwestern Kansas.

In July 2023, the remainder of our owned operations in the United States, as well as operations in the United Kingdom, Japan and European Union completed the transition to renewable electricity. We have plans to further our progress in Australia and other Asia facilities in 2024.

Also, in exciting news, in 2023, we signed a contract to build a solar array at our Lawrence Production Center in Lawerence, Kansas. This production center specializes in producing of greeting cards and envelopes for Hallmark’s North American business. ♦

Hallmark Media Pilots Sustainable Production

Our focus on Product & Content in our four-point plan extends beyond physical products and into our content production at Hallmark Media. In 2023, Hallmark Media began piloting a carbon calculator developed by the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance.

After using this calculator on several productions, we have a good understanding of where to focus our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our movie production. We are so excited to bring more sustainable Hallmark movies to the world! ♦ 

Hallmark Australia Launches Recyclable Signature Cards

All areas of our global business are focused on the Product & Content pillar of our sustainability four-point plan. One goal of our efforts in this area is to increase the recyclability of our products and packaging to reduce waste and increase circularity.

One example of our progress in this area is the design of a fully recyclable Signature greeting card line by our Australia & New Zealand team.  Our design teams replaced all plastic components on these cards with fully recyclable embellishments such as paper-based gems and recyclable foil embossing. They also leveraged premium processes such as artistic paper quilling to add design elements that deliver a beautiful and sustainable keepsake for our consumers. ♦

Gift Presentation Sustainability

Our design team for gift bags, roll wrap and bows is committed to finding ways to increase the sustainability of our product offering and delivering on our four-point plan. In 2023, the design team began using Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC) chain of custody certified paper for all our US produced wrapping paper. Using this paper ensures there is zero deforestation in the supply chain for all raw materials.

We know that every step counts on a sustainability journey; so, our team also implemented new design guidelines to increase the amount of newly designed gift presentation products which are recyclable and added an offering of recyclable paper bows in our model line. ♦ 

Properly Disposing of E-Waste

Hallmark employees at the company’s U.S. locations staged electronic waste (e-waste) collection events for employees in October 2023. The event diverted an estimated 11,000 pounds of computers, fax machines, old printers, and household electronics from landfills. Hallmark’s EARTH (Environmental Awareness, Responsibility & Transparency at Hallmark) employee resource group organized the event to keep e-waste from unnecessarily filling up refuse sites and to prevent the chemicals and elements that make those electronic devices functional from contaminating soil, groundwater, and streams. ♦