2. Sustainable logistics

All Inditex's logistical centres have an Environmental Management System certification in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard, with the exception of the new Logistical Centre, Tempe 3, that is currently immersed in the certification process. All personnel employed in the logistical centres have received environmental training.

LEED Gold in the logistical centres

The LEED Gold certification is one of the most prestigious building standards in the world. It measures the building's level of environmental respect and assesses its location, water management, the indoor environmental quality, the materials used and energy efficiency within the building.

Inditex was awarded the LEED Gold certification for its corporate offices and for the Massimo Dutti logistical centre in Tordera (Spain) and, in 2013, it expects to be awarded the LEED EBOM certification (for existing buildings) for Inditex and Zara's corporate headquarters and for the Zara logistical centre in Arteixo. In addition, the new logistical centre in Guadalajara will be built following the criteria established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to thus be awarded the LEED Gold certification.

The Tordera logistical centre, in the province of Barcelona, is one of Inditex's most important distribution platforms. It is made up of five warehouses with a total floor area of approximately 200,000 square metres and supplies more than 2,300 stores. The Massimo Dutti logistical centre, with approximately 80,000 square metres of floor area, can be found here.

The new logistical centre has a packaging section with a capacity for more than 200,000 boxes and another section with state-of-the-art technology for storing clothes on hangers with a capacity for more than two million garments. In addition, it is equipped with the very latest logistical machinery. The technology applied guarantees that the merchandise will be delivered to the stores in less than 48 hours.

When extending the distribution centre, several sustainability criteria were taken into account, such as the choice of a sustainable location, the use of water-saving and water-processing systems and the use of highly effective energy-efficient equipment. What's more, renewable energy generated locally using solar panels is used and, in addition, a tri-generation plant covers 50% of its energy needs. As regards the materials used in the construction of the logistical centre, the demand for products that incorporate recycled materials has grown. Likewise, 10% of the demolition waste resulting from the destruction of the old factory located on the same site was used as a filler. In addition, preference was given to construction materials and products extracted from or manufactured in the region itself, or in neighbouring regions (within a radius of 800 km).

Carbon footprint of the logistical operations

All transportation and distribution operations are carried out using external operators. Therefore the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with these activities are considered scope 3 as determined by the criteria established in the GHG Protocol.

As a result of the considerable weight of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with these activities, Inditex has developed a software tool that makes it possible to calculate these emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol and, at the same time, propose improvement plans to its logistical operators in an attempt to reduce these. This tool used to calculate emissions from logistical operations is already up and running in Tempe and covers more than 6,000 stores worldwide. This allows Inditex to obtain real scope 3 data and work on emission reduction plans.