Encouraging suppliers to adopt practices having less impact on the environment.
In 2023, 74.8% of DECATHLON’s total CO2 emissions were derived from the extraction of raw materials and the production stages required to manufacture sporting goods. To contribute to the global effort for carbon neutrality by 2050, it is essential that DECATHLON work with its suppliers to reduce its footprint along its entire value chain.
Since the energy used in production worldwide is still generated primarily using fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil), DECATHLON decided in 2017 to assist its suppliers in their transition.
DECATHLON's production decarbonisation strategy is structured around several pillars:
- Measuring the energy consumed
- Obtaining supplier commitment to reduce their
footprint
- Constructing coal elimination trajectories
- Deploying energy efficiency programmes
- Deploying renewable energies
- ldentifying collaborative opportunities and economic incentives for supplier decarbonisation
These pillars are verified during environmental audits for the relevant sites. They are also promoted more widely with all suppliers because of how important this strategy is for the company.
DECATHLON assessed suppliers representing 92% of measured CO2 emissions and supported them in managing energy in production better, through various energy efficiency projects.
The company continued its commitment to have its Rank 1 suppliers eliminate all coal use by 2025, and its Rank 2 suppliers by 2030.
At the production sites on DECATHLON’s priority guidance list, 48.1% of electricity consumed comes from renewable sources, compared to 44% in 2022.
In order to reduce the impact of its suppliers emitting the most CO2, DECATHLON is helping them analyse their energy management maturity and then implement suitable efficiency programmes. This year, twelve energy efficiency referents assisted suppliers in their approach.
Apparel component manufacturer Tran Hiep Thanh, an important industrial partner for DECATHLON in Vietnam, has drastically reduced its carbon emissions by replacing coal with biomass.
Biomass is a fuel made of organic waste that can be burnt to generate heat, which can be used for manufacturing or converted into electricity.
Using biomass as a source of fuel is a Low Carbon Process.
In 2023, DECATHLON deployed an energy efficiency survey to assess the energy management maturity of 357 production sites representing 92% of measured emissions related to product and service purchases. This survey provided the following results:
- 37% of measured production-related CO2 emissions are generated by sites that were considered mature in energy management and are now ready to conduct optimisation programmes
- 34% of measured production-related CO2 emissions are generated by sites that were considered to be making progress on energy management and will be supported to improve
- 6% of measured production-related CO2 emissions are generated by sites that were considered immature on energy management and need support on the basics
- 15% of measured production-related CO2 emissions are generated by sites that did not respond to the survey with all the expected information
At the same time, energy optimisation pilot projects expected to last two years were started at six production sites with external organisations:
- In particular, DECATHLON worked with ÖKOTEC, a subsidiary of Veolia Group, to set up an energy and production data acquisition and analysis software at five sites representing 8.6% of DECATHLON’s CO2 footprint. This tool will help the engineers at ÖKOTEC identify energy loss in the major utilities of the factories such as boilers, air compressors, chillers and others. With this data, they will be able to suggest and follow energy conservation measures on the sites’ major utilities.
- In one pilot using Cool Planet41 software at a bicycle assembly site in Europe, engineers identified heat recovery and other energy conservation measures that could save 10% of the gas and electricity used at the site.
To reach this goal, the teams have conducted feasibility and cost studies at all production sites that use coal, and have worked on setting up reduction trajectories.
In 2023, 36 production sites (27 Rank 1 sites and 9 Rank 2 sites) still consumed coal, compared with 43 sites in 2022 (32 Rank 1 and 11 Rank 2 sites).
As of 31 December 2023, this number had decreased to 30, with six Rank 1 supplier sites having stopped using coal during the year. This performance, paired with a decrease in production, meant that coal consumption was reduced this year by 33% for Rank 1 suppliers and by 59% for Rank 2 suppliers compared with 2022.
It is essential that DECATHLON’s production sites use renewable energy sources if the company is to drastically reduce its CO2 emissions.
To minimise its impact, Decathlon’s priority today is to focus on setting up new renewable electricity generation capacities.
So, the company now aims to help its suppliers, in this order of priority :
1. Set up new generation capacities
2. Participate in existing off-site projects
3. Purchase Energy Attribute Certificates (in addition to the other activities)
In November 2023, DECATHLON helped bring together 14 industrial partners with CGN to sign renewable energy financial contracts in Mainland China.
With an investment of 1.4 billion yuan52 from CGN, the offshore solar farm is expected to generate 260 GWH of renewable electricity annually. With a surface area of 2.2 km2, this project will double DECATHLON’s volume of bundled renewable energy consumed worldwide in production.
This is comparable to offsetting the carbon emissions of over 35,000 households' electricity usage or 41,000 petrol-powered cars annually.
The initiative represents a major milestone for DECATHLON in its efforts to decarbonise production by supporting suppliers to readily access renewable energy.
The company has also partnered with several renewable energy suppliers both on and off site in Bangladesh, Mainland China, India and Vietnam.
These collaborations include feasibility studies and aim to help Decathlon’s suppliers adopt and deploy renewable energies locally.
