Nike and VF commit to Paris agreement-style emission goals
21/09/2017
Businesses that commit have two years to develop science-based targets, which are then reviewed by the initiative’s team.
Cynthia Cummis, a director at the World Resources Institute and a member of the Science Based Targets steering committee, said: “The fashion industry is known for innovation and these companies are using that spirit to tackle climate change.
“For apparel brands, up to 90% of emissions come from the value chain, and companies share many of the same suppliers, so setting ambitious value chain targets will open up a great deal of opportunity for collaboration, innovation and efficiency across the industry.”
Quantis, a company that specialises in environmental sustainability services, is working with ClimateWorks to develop a view of the apparel industry’s footprint. A preliminary estimate, based on apparel production volumes and calculated with emission factors from Quantis’ World Apparel and Footwear Lifecycle Database, shows that the annual greenhouse gas emissions of the apparel sector could amount to 5% percent of total emissions. This is comparable to the total emissions of the aviation sector or to the emissions of Russia.
Letitia Webster, VF’s vice-president of corporate sustainability, said: “VF Corporation has started the process of setting science-based targets as a way to guide our carbon reduction efforts and demonstrate leadership on the very real issue of global warming.”
Puma, Asics and H&M are already part of the project.
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