Our progress
The climate crisis is a challenge we all face right now, including fashion. In 2018, the global fashion industry produced around 2.1 billion tonnes of GHG emissions, equalling 4% of the planet’s total*. Our world is changing fast and this is our moment to make a difference.
At COS, we’re not just making changes to what we do. We want to drive change for our industry too. To make the things we love last, we need to push beyond our boundaries so that we’re staying within the boundaries of our planet. Use less resources. And create a new way of living that will lead us to a low carbon existence.
We want to achieve net-zero by 2040 together with the H&M Group, who are committed to halving greenhouse gas (GHG, CO2e) emissions every ten years, aiming for an initial reduction of 56% by 2030**. We know this will not happen overnight for a company of our size, but we are committed to achieving this goal.
These ambitions are not new to us. We’ve been working towards them for many years, especially by improving the way we make our collections. The fashion industry estimates about 70% of a garment’s climate change impact happens in the manufacturing. This is why we work closely with our suppliers to help them switch to renewable energy solutions, such as wind and solar.
To help us reach our climate neutral commitment, we’re focusing on three key areas in line with the UN global goals for sustainable development.
Save more. Use less.
As our brand gets bigger, we want to maximise our energy efficiency. This means reducing the energy needed to create our collections, from how the materials are made to the manufacturing of garments by our suppliers. It goes beyond our collections too. We’re also looking at ways we can reduce energy in the running of our own operations, such as in our stores and offices.
A new generation.
While pushing toward our goal of sourcing 100% renewable electricity for our own operations, we are also increasing the quality of our sourcing. We have already made the switch to renewable technology and generators that are wind or solar power based. Our next step is to support these through power purchase agreements – a long-term contract to purchase electricity directly from a renewable energy generator. Ultimately by 2030, we aim for all the electricity we use to come from renewable resources that can be replenished easily. By choosing renewable electricity over electricity generated through fossil fuels, we can significantly decrease the amount of emissions we release into the atmosphere.
Our ambition is to reach 100% by 2030.
Powered for progress
Using more sustainable alternatives to the fuel we use to generate heat will be key to us reducing our footprint on the planet. This could be to power the factories that manufacture our collections, or in the vehicles used to transport them all around the world. We’re currently part of the LEO Coalition project, which is researching LEO fuel as a near-carbon neutral biofuel to use for shipping. And we continue to use fossil-free fuels, such as biogas and biodiesel.
** Based on 2019 baseline.