A&E releases 2016-2017 corporate sustainability report

02 Jun '17

3 min read

American & Efird (A&E), one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of industrial and consumer sewing thread, embroidery thread, and technical textiles, has released its 2016-2017 corporate sustainability report which says that there has been 41 per cent reduction in global water consumption (litres per kg of thread) since 2006 in its operations.

Over 1.1 billion litres of wastewater has been recycled and reused since 2013 while nearly one million litres of wastewater are recycled and reused each day of operation, according to the report.

This year’s report reflects the three concepts that drive A&E’s industry-leading sustainability programme: transparency, traceability and trust, while highlighting A&E’s accomplishments in the areas of safety, environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

A&E’s continued improvements, specifically in global water reduction and zero-waste-to-landfill efforts, serve as an example of leadership and good stewardship throughout the textile industry.

“A core part of our business strategy is to operate all of our global facilities in a sustainable manner. “It is not only a good business practice to do so, but it is the right thing to do for all of our stakeholders,” said Les Miller, CEO, A&E.

The report says that zero-waste-to-landfill status has grown to 16 global manufacturing operations and support facilities in 2017, with five other operations over the 91 percentile mark. A&E’s global goal is to achieve this sustainability designation in every manufacturing operation worldwide.

There has been six per cent reduction of global carbon footprint since 2006 while 44 per cent of the fuels used to create steam at A&E dyeing operations were renewable and carbon neutral in 2016. The report also says that there has been 10 per cent reduction in global power consumption since 2006.

A&E continues to abide by its pledge to create a better world through responsible corporate actions, environmentally protective efforts, and numerous contributions to the communities in which it operates.

Since 2011, A&E has invested over $10 million into state-of-the-art wastewater recycling systems across the world, and these investments have paid off through significant reductions in water use. A&E continues to focus on energy conservation and has increased its use of biofuels and clean fuels, resulting in reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, A&E has grown its number of global operations and support facilities to 16 in achieving zero-waste-to-landfill status.

A&E regularly evaluates all of the global yarn spinning, dyeing and finishing facilities in which the company has ownership to provide the information contained in its annual sustainability report. Categories measured in this report include: water stewardship, solid waste, carbon footprint and energy conservation, product stewardship, social responsibility, employee health and safety, sustainable products, and areas of improvement.

In 2016, A&E developed and implemented its Product RSL Environmental Profile (PREP) form in order to collect restricted substance list and environmental data on all dyes and chemicals used by its operations. A&E is on track to comply with the chemical restrictions contained in the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Compounds (ZDHC) programme by the end of 2018. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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