Support our suppliers with the decarbonisation of production
Because the use of renewable energy sources is essential to drastically reducing the CO2 impact.
After an initial climate target approved in 2020 by the Science Based Targets initiative concerning the suppliers representing 90% of the company's purchase volumes, Decathlon decided in 2021 to raise its ambitions and expand the scope of its action.
In September 2021, the Science Based Targets initiative officially validated Decathlon's new emissions reduction trajectory plan across its value chain.Two targets are directly related to scope 3 and the activities of the company's suppliers:
■ curbing its carbon emission intensity (t. CO2-eq/value added euro) by 53% on scopes 1, 2, and 3 between 2016 and 2026;
■ coordinating suppliers representing 90% of emissions linked to product and service purchases to define their own reduction trajectory in line with the science.
After announcing this new trajectory, Decathlon organised a webinar to explain its new climate goals to buyers along with members of the production network.
The current priority is to map out the scope of action to identify, by product category, the manufacturing process steps and the suppliers representing 90% of the emissions linked to Decathlon's product and service purchases.
Renewable energy sources in production
The use of renewable energy sources by our production sites is essential to drastically reducing the CO2 impact of Decathlon products.
By 2021, renewable energy consumption in production has more than doubled: 33% of the electricity used by the Decathlon supplier production sites is from a renewable energy source, compared to 12% in 2020.
The production and industrial processes teams put a lot of effort, in 2021, into getting their preferred suppliers to make progress on this issue.It is, for example, the case for the industrial footwear process, where more than 90% of the electricity used by Tier 1 suppliers now comes from renewable sources.
“By 2021, renewable energy consumption in production has more than doubled: 33% of the electricity used by the Decathlon supplier production sites is from a renewable energy source, compared to 12% in 2020. ”
Ambreen tabassum's testimonial
Sustainable development operational process manager, decathlon bangladesh
“The decarbonisation of manufacturing is a project that is really important to me. So I am very happy to have signed up for such a crucial mission for Decathlon and the planet. In 2021, our project made significant progress in Bangladesh: we succeeded in getting 23 of our 26 Tier 1 suppliers committed to defining their Science Based Targets trajectory.
Five of them have installed solar panels on their sites, and 17 are working on feasibility studies with the GIZ46 agency to develop on-site electricity production. We are also working with other industry brands and the United Nations Development Programme to set up Power Purchase Agreements and other solutions supported by local legislation aimed at increasing the use of renewable energies and aligned with our vision: to make ourselves useful to people and their planet.”
Stronger commitments
to phasing-out coal
For the year 2021, 17% of measured emissions from Decathlon's Tier 1 supplier sites are linked to the use of coal in comparison with 23% in 2020.
To further reinforce the efforts to phase-out highly polluting energy from burning fuels, and after having already committed on behalf of its Tier 1 suppliers by 2025, Decathlon has set a new target to phase-out all use of coal by its Tier 2 suppliers by 2030.
To fulfil this commitment, the teams have carried out feasibility and cost studies for most of the production sites using coal and are now working on setting up reduction trajectories.
Setting up
energy efficiency programmes
To reduce the impact of its most CO2-emitting suppliers, Decathlon is putting effort into supporting them to analyse their energy performance development phase and, subsequently, setting up suitable efficiency programmes. In 2021, priority was given to energy audits conducted with the help of external organisations:
■Decathlon has worked with the Apparel Impact Institute to enable ten of its clothing suppliers in the textile industry to participate in the Clean by Design programme aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the industry;
■ RESET CARBON assessed the energy performance development phase of seven suppliers in industrial footwear processes and 24 suppliers in clothing processes.As a result of this analysis, energy efficiency measures, along with associated potential gains, were identified.
Within Decathlon, a team of engineers also launched the "Sustainable Clothing Processing" project, leading to support being provided, in 2021, to 23 suppliers with the highest energy consumption.Thanks to this project, actions to optimise processes and reduce energy waste have been implemented.
Tristan louis' testimonial
“decarbonise our production” project leader
“One of the most critical levers to reduce Decathlon's carbon footprint is the energy used by the industry. Since 2020, we emphatically speeded up the measurement of our suppliers' emissions and implemented
the Science Based Targets objectives have enabled us to sign up production to ambitious trajectories, in particular, to the reduction of CO2 emissions in absolute value:I am very proud of that. Suppliers have played their part by our sides, rolling out measures to optimise their consumption, evolving their energy mix, and phasing out the most polluting energy sources. None of this would have been possible without the fifty or so Decathlonians, CO2 intermediaries on the ground in manufacturing, driven by the same willingness to reduce our impact.”
