Sporting goods retailer Decathlon has revealed that it managed to reduce its absolute carbon emissions for the first time last year, while increasing sales in both quantity and turnover.
The 1.7% reduction in emissions in 2022, compared with the previous year, is revealed in the company’s new ‘Non-Financial Reporting Declaration’ which also sets out a new target – to reduce overall emissions by 20% by 2026, against a 2021 baseline.
The report says that last year’s decrease was achieved partly due to the company’s product ecodesign programme, helping more suppliers transition to renewable energy and reducing transport-related emissions, but the slowing down of production due to high level of stocks at the end of the year also played a part.
One of the key ways that Decathlon aims to meet its ambitious new target on climate change is by eliminating all coal use by its ‘rank 1’ suppliers by 2025 and by its ‘rank 2’ suppliers by 2030.
For example, it has been working with suppliers in Vietnam to help them transition from coal-powered energy to biomass, enabling one rank 1 supplier to eliminate coal entirely and another to reduce coal use by 20%.
“Overall, the actions taken in Vietnam in 2022 helped raise awareness among production sites and led to the creation of a “zero coal” technical working group with other international contractors to disseminate good practices and involve as many companies present in the country as possible,” said the report.
Other plans to mitigate the company’s impact on climate change include investing in more sustainable raw materials; designing products to be durable, repairable, recyclable and traceable; and scaling circular business models.
The report reveals that Decathlon is already sourcing all of its cotton from ‘more sustainable’ sources – recycled, Better Cotton or organic – and that almost half (49.7%) of its polyester is recycled. And 23% of its products were created according to eco-design principles in 2022 – compared to 10.4% in 2021 – against a target of 100% by 2026.
Decathlon says it is looking to increase the amount of recycled textiles it uses, working with major collectors and recyclers to access new sources of raw materials.
“At the same time, the company is working in alliances and partnerships aimed at implementing the recycling technologies (mechanical, thermal and chemical) that are most appropriate to its sources based on the technical, environmental and economic aspects,” says the report.
The company says it is also working to ensure the rights of workers in its supply chain, employing a human responsibility in production (HRP) system in which 86.7% of its major suppliers were ranked A, B or C, on a scale from A to E. HRP focuses on issues including child and forced labour, freedom of association, health and safety, working hours and wages.
Decathlon CEO Barbara Martin Coppola said in the report: “Our economic model has to evolve if we hope to address the issues facing our society, especially the climate emergency.
“Through the widespread use of more sustainable materials and circularity solutions, our products will have a reduced impact and can be handed down from person to person, from generation to generation.”
