Levi’s to slash emissions in global supply chain by 2025
Retailer to reform factories and mills in 39 countries, starting with first-tier suppliers
Levi Strauss & Co. is launching an effort to slash the environmental impact of the factories worldwide that make its apparel and accessories.
By 2025, the denim brand wants to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in its supply chain, a sprawling set of thirdparty factories and mills in 39 countries that produce the bulk of its merchandise, from its iconic jeans to T-shirts, jackets and other goods.
Levi’s Vice President of Sustainability Michael Kobori said the company will start by implementing energy-efficiency programs at about 60 of the more-than 500 vendors in the first tier of its supply chain—the suppliers the company works with directly. He said those vendors represent the biggest share of both the brand’s production volume as well as its carbon footprint.
Many of those factories also produce apparel for other brands and retailers, and Mr. Kobori said Levi’s wants to set an example for its peers. “We really want to encourage our industry colleagues in the apparel sector to join us,” he said. “We want to have an outsize impact beyond our own footprint.”
Across many industries, sup- port has been growing in recent years for broader, collective efforts to address sustainability and fair labour standards in supply chains. The Consumer Goods Forum, which counts hundreds of the top global retailers and manufacturers as members, seeks to develop and implement sustainability and labour standards worldwide. EcoVadis vets supply chains for about 150 global firms, including Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé SA and Verizon Communications Inc.
Levi Strauss is planning to follow programs developed by the International Finance Corporation’s Partnership for Cleaner Textiles at its supplier factories. Levi’s emissions targets were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, a consortium of business and environmental groups aimed at setting standards for environmental plans for companies.
Yossi Sheffi, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation & Logistics, said common standards set through col- laboration across supplier networks are more likely to stick than varying targets for different vendors. “You have leverage, you don’t make suppliers crazy with different requirements and you can audit it,” he said.
But there’s still concern that having more companies participating could dilute the requirements to the “lowest common denominator,” he said.
As part of the new sustainability push, Levi is also committing to use 100% renewable energy and reduce emissions by 90% in its own facilities. But Mr. Kobori said changing practices at its supplier factories will have more of an impact. “It’s a bigger footprint,” he said. “So there’s a big opportunity.”
Mr. Sheffi said it can be extremely difficult for companies to calculate their total carbon emissions because the true impact stretches beyond the factories and even fabric mills to raw materials providers and transport operations. The basic production of denim material also uses large amounts of water and produces chemical runoff.
“When they say ‘supply chain,’ I’d ask, ‘How deep in the supply chain?’” he said. “If it’s tier 1, do you even know your tier 2, 3, 4, or 5 suppliers? Would they even talk to you?”