Levi Strauss Aims for 100% Renewable Electricity in Plants in New Supply Chain Strategy

Levi Strauss & Co. said on July 31 that it is setting aggressive targets for reducing carbon emissions across its owned-and-operated facilities and global supply chain by 2025.

Plans include using 100% renewable electricity in company-owned facilities.

“While LS&Co. has a strong track record of reducing carbon emissions in its own operations, the most significant climate impact—and the most difficult to tackle—lies within the apparel industry’s global supply chain,” the company said.

The company points out that its science-based targets are part of the company’s efforts to make the global apparel industry more sustainable.

Approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, these 2025 targets include:

• A 90% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in all owned-and-operated facilities, which will be achieved by investing in onsite renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades.
•  A 40% reduction in GHG emissions in the supply chain, which will in large part be achieved by working with key suppliers to expand the International Finance Corporation’s Partnership for Cleaner Textiles (IFC PaCT) globally. The IFC PaCT is an innovative public-private partnership that provides suppliers with technical expertise and access to low-cost financing to support sustainable energy and water investments.

 “We believe that business has the opportunity and the responsibility to be a force for positive change in the world,” said Chip Bergh, CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. “We are proud to be one of the first companies to set science-based targets for our global supply chain, and we hope to be an inspiration for others to follow.”

 Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined way to help prevent climate change by specifying how much, and how quickly, they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Targets are considered “science-based” if they are in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures.

 “Levi Strauss & Co. has set an ambitious science-based target aligned with the Paris Agreement for its operations and value chain, which will help bring energy efficiency and renewable energy to its suppliers in developing markets,” said Cynthia Cummis, Director of Private Sector Climate Mitigation at the World Resources Institute (WRI), one of the Science Based Targets initiative partners.“The company’s targets represent the kind of forward-thinking innovation that the fashion industry needs, and are a model for business success in a low-carbon world.”