Athletic apparel company lululemon, headquartered in Canada, has set a number of ambitious Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for 2030. As a result of its efforts to meet these targets, in 2023 the company achieved - for the first time - an impressive reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions compared with the previous year. The reduction was all the more impressive given that the company’s sales grew at a double digit rate over this period. In order to reduce its CO2e emissions, the company has minimised its use of air freight.
Also, it has benefited from the carbon reduction activities of its suppliers. Most importantly, it has increased its use of so-called preferred materials - fibres which improve environmental and social sustainability compared with conventional production. Examples of such fibres include recycled polyester, recycled nylon, and fully certified responsibly-sourced cotton, down and cellulosics.
In the company’s 2023/24 financial year, 38% of lululemon’s products contained at least 50% of preferred materials and, looking ahead, the company plans to increase this percentage. In fact, its target for 2030 is for 100% of its products to contain at least 25% preferred materials by weight. If lululemon is to achieve its target, however, it will need to consider and address a number of supply chain-wide initiatives.
