Sustainability, the basis for transformation
Advancing on our positive impact roadmap. Positive impact is the core axis of our sustainability vision, which is underpinned by respect for human and labour rights and compliance with the most stringent environmental standards.
On that basis, we are building an ambitious sustainability strategy and focusing our efforts on the impact of our programmes and their real effects for our people, communities and natural resources. Only in that manner can we move beyond short-term approaches and create structures and action plans with tangible results that last the test of time.
We are working on several specific aspects deemed key to having a positive impact:
- Sustainability culture: sustainability is a principle common to and shared by the entire Organisation: from product design to store management. We are creating training initiatives to help nurture a shared culture. In 2021, 15,560 employees received sustainability-related training.
- Collaboration: to tackle the challenges posed by climate change, the transition to circularity and sustainable community development, we are joining forces with all vested parties.
- Transparency: we are sharing information about our sustainability strategy, the programmes we are working on and the targets we have set for ourselves with our stakeholders.
- Innovation: the complexity of the global challenges we are facing is increasingly requiring us to layer the latest scientific and technology developments into our actions.
To guide our actions, we have devised a dedicated Sustainability Roadmap. As announced at our last AGM, we have made our targets even more ambitious, bringing forward delivery of some commitments and adding new challenges. Most significantly we are aiming for net zero emissions by 2040, which is 10 years earlier than initially targeted.
100% of energy consumption from renewable sources in all our own facilities (headquarters, logistics centres, factories and stores), exceeding the 80% previously planned for 2025.
More than 50% of articles featuring the Join Life label.
100% of cotton from more sustainable sources, two years ahead of the previous target of 2025.
100% man-made cellulosic fibres from more sustainable sources.
Zero waste from our own facilities: headquarters, logistics centres, factories and stores.
100% elimination of single use plastic for customers.
100% collection of all packaging materials for recycling or reuse in the supply chain (Green to Pack).
100% Polyester from more sustainable sources.
100% Linen from more sustainable sources.
25% reduction of water consumption in the supply chain.
Net zero emissions, ten years ahead of the previous target of 2050.
All of our professionals are engaged in the mission of achieving our commitments, from our governing bodies down through every level of our Organisation. This sustainability governance system is underpinned by a range of policies and strategies that guide our activities and decision-making and form the basis for ensuring that sustainability is embedded end to end.
The roadmap depicted by the SDGs represents an opportunity for aligning our contribution with the goals set by the United Nations, while maximising the impact of our programmes together with our stakeholders.
Our contribution to overall delivery of the 17 SDGs and their various targets runs the full spectrum of our value chain: from product manufacturing to our stores, and involves all Company processes and areas. However, due to the nature of our business, we have identified specific SDGs where our scope for making a difference is more significant.
At Inditex we advocate for human rights across all of our operations. Our Human Rights strategy is aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. That is clearly evident in our Human Rights Policy, which was approved by our Board of Directors in 2016, is binding across the entire Group and forms a cornerstone of our strategy.
We also perform due diligence to detect how our activities could impact human rights, focusing on two areas:
- Supply chain. Our supply chain is one of the areas of our value chain flagged as high priority for our human rights advocacy effort, to which end we pay special attention to fostering and upholding the human rights of our supply chain's workers. We drew up our social sustainability strategy - Workers at the Centre 2019-2022 - on the basis of a due diligence effort conducted in collaboration with the organization, Shift.
- Value chain. In parallel, we carry out a slew of activities designed to identify potential impacts and prevent and mitigate them by integrating responsible human rights practices.
We review the policies and procedures that guide and govern our actions constantly. In 2021, for example, we updated our staff security procedures and our personal data and privacy protection policies, among others.
Our grievance mechanisms, the third pillar of our Human Rights strategy, are key to improving our due diligence process, as the information obtained as a result helps us identify potential negative impacts and react to and mitigate risks early on. Our main grievance channel is our Whistle-Blowing Channel, which can be used by Inditex professionals and by legitimately-motivated third parties.
