Zalando to reduce carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2025

04 Jun '20

3 min read

Pic: Zalando

Zalando, an online platform for fashion and lifestyle, has announced its science-based targets (SBTs), to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the 1.5 C Paris Agreement figure. By 2025, it will reduce its operational carbon emissions by 80 per cent and carbon emissions coming from the production of private label products by 40 per cent relatively.

The Paris Agreement contains a long-term temperature goal (LTTG) of holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C and pursuing efforts to limit this to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.

In order to reach beyond its own operations and positively impact the entire value chain, Zalando commits to having 90 per cent of its key partners set science-based targets to reduce carbon emissions themselves.

Zalando is the first platform worldwide to set science-based targets and have them approved by the independent organisation, the SBT initiative, which assesses companies’ targets and ensures that they are in line with the Paris Agreement. Due to the company’s platform model and scale, the commitment to the targets has the potential to affect a large share of the fashion industry and the majority of Zalando’s partners, the company said in a press release.

“Having our science-based targets approved is an important milestone for our sustainability strategy. We believe there is a clear link between sustainability and continued commercial success in selling fashion online. The global coronavirus situation has shown us how flexible and fast the economy can be when change is needed, and this should be used as a blueprint when it comes to sustainability. Now is the time for a clear sustainability strategy and ambitious goals. As a platform we want to do more and thus did not limit our science-based targets to our own business, but will join forces with our partners,” Kate Heiny, director sustainability Zalando said.

“We congratulate Zalando on becoming the first online platform to have its emissions reduction targets approved by the SBTs initiative. By aligning its goals with a 1.5 degrees Celsius future, and asking its partners to set their own SBTs, Zalando is ensuring it builds resilience firmly into its business model and will be better placed to thrive as the global economy transitions to a zero-emissions future,” Alberto Carrillo Pineda, director, SBTs at CDP, a partner of the SBTs initiative said.

Setting SBTs is part of Zalando’s mission to have a net-positive impact for people and the planet, communicated first in Zalando’s new ‘do.MORE’ sustainability strategy in October 2019. The company works on various initiatives in different business areas in order to reach its carbon reduction targets. Zalando will power all sites (office buildings and fulfilment centres) with electricity from renewable sources such as solar panels. Additionally, Zalando will become 10 per cent more energy efficient by retrofitting existing warehouses and will operate all new fulfilment centres in a carbon-neutral way. Private label products will be made from more recycled materials to further help reduce carbon emissions. Finally, to have a positive impact on the entire value chain, 90 per cent of Zalando’s partners, including fashion brands, packaging and last-mile-delivery partners, will implement science-based targets by 2025.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)

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