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REI Co-Op’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals were approved by the Science Based Target initiative, the outdoor retailer said in an internal post last week.
Its short-term goals call for a 47% reduction in direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, with 2019 as the base year. Ultimately, REI is committed to reducing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 90%, achieving net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2050.
REI aims to have 41% of its emissions-based suppliers commit to science-based targets by 2025 to reduce its Scope 3 footprint.
“We believe companies have an urgent responsibility to address the climate crisis and invest in the communities in which they operate,” Chris Speyer, REI’s chief merchandising officer, said in a statement. “Co-op is proud to retail a huge number of brands that share this sense of responsibility, and we will continue to work with our partners to reduce our collective impact.”
REI cited three-year clean energy agreements in its supply chain with solar energy company Sol Systems and sock maker Nestor Socks, one of the retailer’s largest manufacturers.
The agreement provides Nester Hosiery and REI with more than 11,000 renewable energy credits sourced from solar energy facilities in North Carolina. REI said the credits “represent a significant step forward by ensuring that one of the co-op’s major suppliers has 100% renewable electricity.”
The company adopted a similar approach in its international supply chain. REI recently purchased his 25,000 credits from renewable energy projects in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines through clean energy procurement specialist Power Trust.
REI calls the acquisition “the next step in the co-op’s efforts to decarbonize product manufacturing,” which will create new energy products and reduce manufacturing emissions in the countries where they are sourced. The company said it will.
This summer, SBTi A consortium of organizations that works with companies to set emissions targets has reported a sharp increase in companies setting targets to reduce emissions.
But many companies, including those in the high-emission fashion industry, are only just beginning to set targets.
Some estimates put the fashion industry’s greenhouse gas emissions at 8% or 10% of the world’s total. Environmental advocacy group Stand.earth said the fashion industry’s progress on climate change so far has been “insufficient and deeply disappointing”.
The organization gave scores below the “C” level to nearly every player it evaluated (43 in total). H&M is the only company he scored a B-. REI gave him an overall score of C- from Stand.earth, which was higher than the majority of scores.
Stand.earth’s grades were announced months before the retailer announced SBTi’s endorsement of climate change targets. Rachel Kitchin, corporate environmental activist at Stand.earth, says that while these scores factor in goals, they are largely determined by specific actions taken to reduce emissions. The organization focuses specifically on financial support and data sharing with manufacturers, efforts towards circular production, and reducing emissions in materials.
“Having SBTi” [target] The recognition is a great step for them,” Kitchin said of REI in an interview. “That means we need to focus on how to achieve the reductions.”
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