Under the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, the fashion industry is raising its collective ambition with updated emission reduction targets. The renewed commitments, announced recently at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, form a decarbonizing detailed outline with Paris Agreement aspirations to limit worldwide temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The call for companies to set scientific objectives or divide their emission levels by 2030, with a pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 is core to this. As per a press release from the United Nations, this is an update on the previous target of 30% aggregate greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030.
It comes at a critical juncture for climate policy, going to follow the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which declared a “red alert for civilization.”
“This is a significant moment for the Fashion Charter because it raises the aspirations level in the industry’s effort to combine with 1.5 degrees.” “It’s a signal that we need to collaborate closely with our peers, our distribution network, lawmakers, and customers to get to net-zero,” said Stefan Seidel, co-chair of the Fashion Industry Charter steering committee.
Other obligations in the revised charter include procuring 100% of energy from renewable sources by 2030, sourcing environmentally friendly raw resources, and going to phase out coal from the distribution chain by 2030.
Signatories to the Fashion Charter collectively represent a sizable portion of the fashion industry. The Fashion Charter is currently signed by 130 companies and 41 supporting organisations, including well-known brands such as Burberry, H&M Group, VF Corporation, adidas, Kering, Chanel, Nike, and PUMA, as well as suppliers such as Crystal Group, TAL Apparel, and others.
The renewed charter also calls for the development of incentive structures to encourage supplier participation in the emissions reduction route, as well as measures to interact other key players who will need to play a role, such as policymakers, financial institutions, and communicators. The charter lays out a strategy for developing and implementing a collective decarbonisation strategy, as well as the effective tools required to meet the charter’s greenhouse gas emission reduction aims. The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action’s mission is to drive the fashion industry to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in accordance with the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The Charter establishes a framework for stakeholder dialogue and participation in climate action.
