Protecting Our Planet

We are dependent upon our planet. That’s why we’re working hard to reduce our impact on the environment.

This means minimising the environmental impact of our own operations and our supply chains. We’re committed to halving carbon emissions by 2030 across Primark’s entire value chain - from the farms where raw materials are sourced, through production and manufacturing, to when a customer purchases a Primark product in-store and when they take it home to use.

The large majority of our carbon come from operations which sit in our supply chains.

We’re also committed to ensuring the products we sell are manufactured in an environmentally sustainable way. This means complying with environmental laws in every country where we directly operate. We’re also working to double down on waste, removing all single-use plastic by 2027. And we’re working with the farmers on our Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme to train them in more regenerative farming techniques through reduced water use and reduced use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in order to improve and restore soil health and water quality.

We have a dedicated Environmental Sustainability team, working on the ground to raise the profile of environmental issues with our suppliers and their factories. Their work covers many things: how raw materials such as cotton are sourced, the environmental impact of manufacturing processes in factories and our commitment to recycle wherever possible. It all makes a difference.

Supporting sustainable suppliers

Our Supplier Code of Conduct is the key tool for driving improvement in our supply chains. It states that “Suppliers must comply with all applicable local laws and regulations regarding the protection and preservation of the environment.”

Part of our commitment to becoming more sustainable is encouraging others to come along with us, which includes the suppliers and their factories that we work with. We’ll set out clear expectations for suppliers, and our sustainability teams will provide guidance and support on how they can reduce carbon emissions, and manage other environmental areas.

We recognise that reducing our impact on the environment needs to incorporate every aspect of our supply chains. Primark’s Environmental Policy outlines our commitment to environmental sustainability. The six focus areas in the environmental policy are the result of a comprehensive assessment of Primark’s environmental impacts. They are used to help inform our strategic decision-making. We report annually on our progress across these focus areas as part of our Primark Sustainability and Ethics Report and we’re committed to reviewing our results and objectives annually.

In January 2020 we launched our environmental sustainability supplier guidelines. These inform our suppliers about our environmental requirements across our six focus areas, including responsible sourcing. Suppliers are required to communicate our requirements specified in the guidelines upstream to the lower tiers of their supply chains. Our In-Country Teams also conduct training sessions for suppliers, helping to spread the word about best practices. This process is incredibly valuable as we obtain feedback directly from factories, helping us improve our programmes and processes.

To find out more about our environmental practices, please see Planet.