Water and biodiversity management
Water and biodiversity are essential to the survival and well-being of society and the planet. Here at Inditex, we are committed to protecting natural resources all along our value chain.
Reducing the use of water in our operations and in supply chain operations is a top priority and has the potential to have a significant positive impact on the environment, particularly on marine and freshwater habitats and the communities living nearby. In 2021 we consumed 1,886,900 cubic metres of water between our head offices, own factories, logistics centres and own stores, down 12% compared to 2018.
Water is essential for the wet processes needed in the garment industry, such as washing, dying and printing. It is similarly vital for growing key raw materials, like cotton. That is what prompted us to pledge last year to reduce water consumption in our supply chain by 25% by 2025.
To achieve that objective we are working on a number of initiatives, such as increasing the number of factories that use water-saving technology and fostering agricultural practices that reduce consumption.
As part of our commitment to reducing our water footprint, in 2021 we created the Care for Water Improvement Programme, with the aim of helping wet processing facilities to reduce and optimise their use of water and strive to achieve our highest certification - Excellent Water Management - in our Green to Wear audits. We have already worked with more than 170 facilities.
Under that initiative, the factories themselves design their own action plans around four key lines: investment in new technology or equipment; process optimisation; waste water recovery and treatment; and the use of closed loop water circuits.
Our Biodiversity Strategy is based on the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and translates into actions designed to boost the transition to more sustainable raw materials and products, the conservation of water and land ecosystems, and climate change action.
Framed by that approach, in 2021 we joined the LEAF Coalition, a public-private financing effort coordinated by Emergent with the aim of halting deforestation by financing large-scale tropical forest protection and supporting sustainable development in the countries where those forests grow.
We have also been collaborating with Galicia’s forest association on the restoration of forest land since 2020. More than 650 hectares were reforested in 2021, an area equivalent to 910 football pitches. Specifically, more than 650,000 Galician pine trees and over 22,000 chestnut trees were planted.
