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Halving Our Carbon Footprint

Primark Carbon Emissions Reduction Plan

Most of us know global warming is bad for the planet, and the global fashion industry creates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a lot of waste. For everyone who cares about the natural environment, the focus is on reducing emissions and doing everything we can to limit global temperature rise to less than 1.5֩ C above pre-industrial levels.

Here’s what Primark is doing about it.

Primark Carbon Emissions Reduction Plan

For starters, as a big business which produces more than 6 million tons of CO2 a year, we’re absolutely focused on tackling this. Our target is to halve carbon emissions by 2030. This aligns with the renewed commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. To achieve this, we need to take a really hard look at our Primark supply chain because that’s where most of our emissions come from.

Increasing Suppliers’ Energy Efficiency

While our supply chain is big and complex, factories located in our top five sourcing countries account for the large majority of carbon emissions. We’ve already reduced the environmental impact of three of our suppliers’ Chinese mills. Through our engagement with the Clean by Design program, we've worked with these mills to make improvements in energy efficiency, lowering their use of water, energy and chemicals.

We're continuing our work with Clean by Design in China, and we're in the process of setting up additional pilot projects to test energy efficiency measures in Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam. Once we’re satisfied with the results, we’ll roll them out on a much wider scale. We'll work with our suppliers and require them to make their businesses more energy efficient as a condition of doing business with us.

Support to Switch to Renewables

We'll also give our suppliers hands-on support to transition away from fossil fuels, towards renewable energy. Once we’ve established what renewable energy sources are available in a particular area, we'll help our suppliers phase out on-site fossil fuel usage, and move over to renewable energy through actions like: buying off the grid where it’s available, engaging in Power Purchase Agreements with private renewable energy providers, or by installing on-site renewable technologies like rooftop solar panels where feasible.

Benefits of More Regenerative Agriculture

We’re collaborating with CottonConnect and our on-the-ground implementation partners, who will teach farmers about new practices for more regenerative farming. As well as benefitting the environment, the use of more regenerative techniques will also help reduce the CO2 emissions related to their cotton farming practices.

Primark Energy Management

In 2015, we established an Energy Reduction Group to identify potential energy savings in our stores. To date, we've achieved ISO 50001 certification in stores, offices and distribution centers in some of our established markets, and are working hard to roll this out in all markets.

There’s always more to do and we want to smash a VERY big goal. Because of our size and scale, we know we can make a positive difference to climate change. Which is why we’re tackling our own carbon emissions and working with the industry to bring others along with us.

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