Pet Sustainability Coalition

Name

Pet Sustainability Coalition

Legal name

Pet Sustainability Coalition

Website

https://petsustainability.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Pet Sustainability Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers third-party verified sustainability accreditation, benchmarking, and collective-action programs to 200+ pet industry member companies across 18+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Sustainability Coalition Services

NAICS

Business Associations (81391), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Advocacy, Policy & Public Awareness (Animal Welfare) (BPAGAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education & Community Outreach (Responsible Pet Ownership) (BPAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Sustainability accreditation
• Industry coalition membership
• Pet industry benchmarking
• Third-party sustainability verification
• Nonprofit coalition services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyons

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: PSC generates revenue through membership fees from pet industry companies (brands, manufacturers, suppliers, retailers) that join the coalition. Members receive access to benchmarking tools, accreditation programs, toolkit resources, webinars, events, and industry collaboration opportunities. The organization offers different membership tiers including Icon Member status.
2. Accreditation Fees: Companies seeking PSC's third-party verified sustainability accreditation pay fees associated with the assessment and verification process. Accredited companies gain the right to use PSC's accreditation logo and receive recognition through awards programs.
3. Event Sponsorships and Registration: Revenue generated from industry events including Impact Unleashed (annual conference), Interzoo networking events, and other sponsored gatherings. Companies sponsor events to gain visibility and participate in the sustainability community.
4. Donations (PSC Impact Fund): The PSC Impact Fund accepts donations from corporations and individuals to invest in transformational, systemic, long-term programming advancing sustainable ingredients, sustainable packaging, and corporate social responsibility. Corporate donors include major pet industry companies such as American Packaging Co, Petco, Pet Food Institute, KONG Company, Morris Packaging, Tyler Packaging, and others.
5. Plastic Recovery July Participation Fees: Companies pay participation fees (Torchbearer $10K, Explorer $5K, Supporter $3K, Ally $1K) to fund verified plastic recovery through the Plastic Recovery July initiative. PSC members may apply one member credit ($1,000 value) toward participation. Contributions are used to fund rePurpose Global's Verified Plastic Recovery projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides sustainability accreditation, benchmarking, and coalition-building services for the pet industry. Its core offerings include the pet industry's only third-party verified sustainability accreditation, paid membership tiers for pet brands, manufacturers, suppliers and retailers, the PSC Toolkit of free resources, industry events and webinars, and the State of Sustainability in the Pet Industry benchmark report. PSC also runs collective-action programs such as Plastic Recovery July in partnership with rePurpose Global and the Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off Action Collaborative co-founded with Hill's Pet Nutrition.

Product overview

The Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC) is a nonprofit organization that serves as the only independent sustainability-focused membership body for the pet industry. PSC offers a portfolio of interconnected programs: the core PSC Accreditation (the pet industry's only third-party verified sustainability accreditation), PSC Membership (providing individualized support and industry collaboration), the PSC Toolkit (free resources including case studies and benchmark assessments), Events & Webinars (educational networking), Pet Industry Sustainability Awards (recognizing leadership), and the State of Sustainability in the Pet Industry Report (industry benchmark). Additional offerings include the PSC Benchmark Assessment, Packaging Supplier Directory, Product Carbon Footprint Reports (via HowGood partnership), and the Plastic Recovery July campaign. These offerings work together to help companies improve environmental performance, demonstrate credible progress, and unlock growth through collective industry action.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Plastic Recovery July: Annual industry-wide initiative in partnership with rePurpose Global to fund verified plastic recovery projects globally.
• Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off (SDO) Action Collaborative
• EcoPaws Asia
• Pet Industry Sustainability Awards

Products and services

• PSC Accreditation Paid accreditation program providing third-party verified sustainability assessment for pet industry companies across environmental and social impact areas, with documented minimum performance scores and year-over-year improvement requirements.
• PSC Membership Recurring paid membership tier for pet brands, manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers providing individualized support, toolkit access, networking, and industry collaboration opportunities, including an Icon Member level.
• Plastic Recovery July Annual campaign in partnership with rePurpose Global that enables pet industry companies to fund verified plastic recovery through tiered participation sponsorships (Torchbearer $10K, Explorer $5K, Supporter $3K, Ally $1K).
• State of Sustainability in the Pet Industry Report First-ever industry-wide benchmark report covering sustainability trends, consumer expectations, and corporate practices to establish a baseline for measuring pet industry sustainability performance.
• Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off Action Collaborative

Quantifiable outcome

• 92,000+ pounds of plastic recovered from the environment in the first Plastic Recovery July campaign (2025), with verified recovery through rePurpose Global's VPR framework
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Pet Fair Asia Ltd.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026PSC entered a formal agreement with Pet Fair Asia to guide the EcoPaws Asia program at Pet Fair Asia 2026 (August 19-23, 2026, Shanghai). EcoPaws Asia, guided by PSC standards, highlights sustainability as a core driver of the Asian pet industry, providing recognition platforms, awards, and matchmaking for sustainable pet products.
• rePurpose Global (for EPR Webinar)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2026PSC hosted a webinar featuring rePurpose Global's Lowell Huffman to guide pet brands through Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging regulations as multiple state deadlines converge, with May 31, 2026 emerging as a critical reporting deadline.
• Astro LoyaltyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2026PSC partnered with Astro Loyalty to launch a first-of-its-kind Earth Week shopping event (April 20-26, 2026) featuring special offers from PSC Accredited brands at independent pet retailers through Astro's loyalty platform.
• Pet Food Processing Magazine / Sosland PublishingminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2026PSC is an allied affiliate for the Pet Food Processing Exchange (September 29 - October 1, 2026, Kansas City, MO), a 1.5-day educational and networking event covering topics including AI, recall readiness, supply chain challenges, regulatory compliance, regenerative agriculture, and emerging production technologies.
• Hill's Pet NutritioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026PSC and Hill's Pet Nutrition co-founded the Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off (SDO) Action Collaborative to address flexible plastic pet food packaging waste. The initiative aims to develop a scalable store drop-off collection system across U.S. pet retail locations to divert multi-layer pet food bags from landfills, generating verifiable data for EPR compliance.
• Peel PlasticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Peel Plastics is a founding participant in the Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off (SDO) Action Collaborative, contributing packaging expertise to design the voluntary store drop-off program for flexible plastic pet food packaging.
• Morris PackagingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026Morris Packaging is a founding participant in the Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off (SDO) Action Collaborative and has participated in both Plastic Recovery July 2025 and 2026 campaigns. Morris Packaging is also a PSC Top Performer 2025-2026 and corporate donor.
• rePurpose GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025PSC partnered with rePurpose Global to launch Plastic Recovery July, a collective industry campaign to fund verified plastic recovery projects. rePurpose Global's Verified Plastic Recovery (VPR) framework tracks and verifies plastic waste recovery through ethical collection and end-of-life processing. In 2025, the first campaign recovered 92,000+ lbs of plastic across Kenya, India, and Indonesia. The 2026 campaign continues with projects spanning South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• PetSmartmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2025PetSmart participated in the inaugural Plastic Recovery July 2025 campaign as one of 14 brands, funding verified plastic recovery across Kenya, India, and Indonesia. PetSmart is also a founding participant in the Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off Action Collaborative.
• PetcomajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 July 2025Petco participated in Plastic Recovery July 2025 and is a founding participant in the Pet Specialty Store-Drop-Off Action Collaborative for flexible plastic pet food packaging collection. Petco is also a corporate donor to PSC.
• World Pet Association (WPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025WPA provided the grant that funded the inaugural State of Sustainability in the Pet Industry 2025 Edition report. WPA also provides Platinum sponsorship for global distribution of this report and has co-sponsored PSC events including Plastic Recovery July (matching contributions up to 50,000 lbs of plastic recovery). WPA is a corporate donor and allied affiliate for the Pet Food Processing Exchange.
• HowGoodmajorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024PSC announced a partnership with HowGood, an independent research and software company with the world's largest database on food product sustainability. The partnership offers PSC members access to Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) reports through HowGood's platform. HowGood's PCF methodology is certified by Carbon Trust and aligned to the GHG Protocol.
• Outdoor Industry AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Outdoor Industry Association Sustainability Working Group collaborated with PSC to provide guidance on utilizing the Higg Index framework to benchmark and measure sustainability of pet industry products, brands, and manufacturing facilities.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Pet Products Association (APPA): The largest US pet industry trade association representing manufacturers, retailers, and distributors. Overlaps with PSC's member base but is broader in scope (industry growth, trade shows like Global Pet Expo) and does not specialize in sustainability.
• World Pet Association: Producer of SUPERZOO, the largest US pet retail trade show, and PSC's Platinum sponsor for the State of Sustainability report. Adjacent in mission (industry advancement) but not a sustainability peer; comparable as a major pet industry trade body.

Direct peers

• Climate Neutral Certified: Nonprofit certification body that verifies and certifies brands for net-zero carbon footprint. Closely comparable as a third-party verified sustainability certification with a membership-driven, brand-targeted model.
• Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute: Operates a leading multi-attribute product-level sustainability certification used by CPG and packaging companies. Comparable as a third-party verified sustainability standard with rigorous methodology, accreditation fees, and ongoing member engagement.
• Outdoor Industry Association: Trade association running a Sustainability Working Group that collaborated with PSC to apply the Higg Index framework to pet products. Highly comparable as an adjacent industry-level coalition focused on sustainability benchmarking and advocacy.
• EcoVadis: Provides sustainability ratings and scorecards used by procurement teams across global supply chains. Competes conceptually with PSC's benchmarking and verification offerings, particularly for enterprise pet companies managing Scope 3 and supplier sustainability data.
• Sustainable Apparel Coalition: Multi-stakeholder coalition that develops the Higg Index for sustainability benchmarking in the apparel and footwear industry. PSC collaborated with SAC to adapt Higg to the pet industry, making SAC the closest model peer in structure and methodology.
• Green America: Nonprofit that certifies and promotes environmentally and socially responsible businesses. Comparable in mission (business sustainability certification), nonprofit structure, and member-driven advocacy.
• Textile Exchange: Nonprofit driving sustainability standards and material certifications in textiles. Highly comparable operating model: industry-specific coalition, member-funded standards development, third-party verification, and benchmark reporting.
• B Lab (B Corporation): Operates the most recognized third-party verified sustainability certification (B Corp) across industries. Mirrors PSC's model of third-party verified accreditation, ongoing assessment, and member community for sustainability-leading companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_Wqhf3phh3GTEIPM-WX6uQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pet-industry-sustainability-coalition

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pet Sustainability Coalition