Challenge 

The 2013 Rotman Design Challenge is a competition that brings together top talent from leading business schools around the world to solve a business design challenge posed by an innovative and forward-thinking sponsor. Using creative problem solving techniques and frameworks from both the business and design disciplines, over one hundred students compete for top prizes in Toronto, Canada, where they offer their final research and recommendations. This year’s sponsor, TARGET’s challenge was “How can TARGET leverage it’s Expect More. Pay Less® brand promise and it’s mantra of “Design for All” to become and be recognized as a leading company in sustainability?”

The team did extensive consumer research, including store observations, customer intercepts, stakeholder interviews, as well as relevant executive interviews including leaders from Walmart, Polaris, and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

Solution

Focusing on the TARGET Canada launch, the team offered sustainable strategies to reduce building energy consumption, calculate, manage, and reduce TARGET product waste, as well as tactics specifically targeting the generation of “millennials” and applying their wants and needs to develop a sustainable TARGET brand.

TARGET Blue is the first brand in its industry with the intention of having a closed loop system.

TARGET Blue will instigate behavior change, enable company transparency and will make TARGET a leader in sustainability.

Target Blue is brand that uses high design in the creation of its products, nurtures engagement with its customers in the promotion of its products and up-cycles its retired products to reduce waste, continue product life, and promote the company’s core mission to be a sustainable company.

Revolutionary