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Our Climate Commitment

To help keep the world within 1.5°C of warming to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to work together, all of us, to make drastic reductions in carbon emissions. The goals set out in the  Paris Agreement  in short mean halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions this decade and achieving net zero[1] emissions by 2050 - at the latest. This will require an enormous global effort to achieve and unfortunately, the world is not yet on track to do that. Therefore, those of us who can move faster need to do so. 

That is why, in 2020, we made a commitment to reduce our emissions by 50%[2] by 2030.

While we continue our work to reduce emissions, we purchase high-quality carbon credits equivalent to our carbon footprint.

How we will get there 

Our plan to halve our carbon emissions and reach net zero focuses on four main areas: 

  1. Measure and disclose

The first time we measured and reported the carbon footprint of our emissions in Scopes 1, 2, and 3 was in 2020. We committed to measuring and disclosing our emissions on a yearly basis to track progress against our climate commitment.

 

The results confirm that Scope 3 is where most of our emissions lie and that the manufacture of the materials that go into our products is the value chain step that has the biggest impact. We use this information to ensure that we focus our resources and reduction initiatives on the areas that have the largest opportunity for improvement.

 

It should be noted that there is considerable uncertainty in the data within the Scope 3 emissions. These emissions refer to those generated outside of our own organization, which poses challenges in data collection and leads us to rely heavily on generic industry data and assumptions. Calculations are based on the best available data and emissions factors at a given period in time and, therefore, should be treated as indicative and directional only. The aim is to continually improve the quality of the data. As data collection improves, we may, from time to time, restate previous results to reflect these improvements.

In recognition of the challenges in reporting Scope 3 data, we purchase a 10% buffer of carbon credits to help compensate for any potential variability between actual emissions and our calculations.

We report our progress through our yearly sustainability report

  1. Reduce energy use

Our first priority is to reduce energy use in both our operations and across our supply chain. The production of materials for manufacturing Haglöfs products is the largest source of emissions. Focusing on this area, we can make the biggest impact by selecting materials with lower carbon footprints produced in factories with energy-efficient practices.

Some of the areas we are working on include: 

  • increasing the use of lower impact materials and dyeing processes,
  • identifying energy efficiency opportunities at factories across the supply chain
  • ensuring products last for longer 
  • investigating alternative business models to allow our business to grow without always having to produce more product 
  1. Introduce renewable energy

Even with better materials choices and more efficient factories, energy will always be required to produce and distribute Haglöfs products. Therefore, a phase out of coal and transition to the use of renewable energy will be fundamental in achieving large scale reductions in overall emissions. We aim to use only renewable energy for electricity in our own operations and support suppliers to do the same. We also encourage government action to drive the transition to renewable energy.

  1. Remove carbon

In 2030, once we have reduced emissions as much as we possibly can, and at least by 50% compared to 2020, the remainder of our emissions need to be removed from the atmosphere to be able to reach net zero. Here, we will not wait until 2030 but rather take responsibility for our emissions along the way. We commit to supporting projects that are reducing or removing a quantity of carbon equivalent to our own remaining carbon footprint. By 2030, we will transition any remaining projects that rely on carbon reduction to those that actively remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Most carbon credits available today support projects which reduce or avoid potential future emissions - such as renewable energy installations or forest protection. These projects are vital to slow the growth of emissions, however they will not be enough to bring the overall balance of emissions to zero (net zero). Therefore investment in projects which remove carbon from the atmosphere will also be needed. This is why we commit to ensure that by 2030 any carbon credits which rely on reducing or avoiding emissions are transitioned to ones which remove carbon from the atmosphere until we completely remove the same amount of emissions as we emit. 

The methods for assessing and accounting for different types of carbon removal projects in the context of net zero remain under discussion with key criteria such as the durability or permanence of the removal being an area of debate and as such the market for carbon removals is still relatively undeveloped. We expect to learn and adapt to changes in the standards and market as we go along.

It is important to ensure that the carbon credits which we choose are of the highest quality. All the projects we have chosen to support have been evaluated against strict criteria and in addition provide benefits beyond just climate mitigation such as supporting jobs in the local community or biodiversity protection.  

The projects

All the projects which we choose to support through the purchase of carbon credits are of the highest quality and are verified by the leading standards in the voluntary carbon market -Gold standard and Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) in combination with the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCB). This means the projects and their associated emissions reductions have been evaluated against strict criteria and in addition provide benefits beyond climate mitigation such as supporting jobs in the local community or biodiversity protection.  

Each year we look for projects which fall into two categories: 

  1. Renewable energy projects in countries where our materials and products are manufactured 
  1. Nature based projects such as forest protection, reforestation or biochar 

The carbon credits purchased to match our 2023 carbon footprint support the following projects:

Qianbei Afforestation, China

This project is planting native trees, such as China fir, Cypresses and Masson pin on barren lands to support local sustainable development, while creating a natural carbon sink. The project creates new employment and training opportunities for local residents, supports biodiversity by connecting forested land, enhances soil and water conservation and importantly fights against desertification which is creeping across the region.

Huadu Afforestation, China

Situated in China’s Guizhou province, this project plants native on barren lands to sequester carbon dioxide and tackle climate change. By afforesting an area that was previously desertified, the project protects biodiversity as it increases the connectivity of forests and improves soil and water conservation in the Karst region. In tandem to producing these environmental benefits the project additionally contributes towards sustainable development - creating jobs for local communities in the region.

Vietstar waste treatment, Vietnam

This project reduces methane emissions by establishing and operating composting facilities to treat organic matter at a landfill site in Vietnam. The municipal solid waste, previously left to decay openly in

waste landfills, is now covered, thus methane gas emissions are captured rather than left to escape into the atmosphere.

 

Q&A 

Why don’t we just reduce our emissions right away? 

We are already working hard to reduce our emissions by looking at every area of our business including sourcing renewable energy for our operations, and increasing the amount of lower impact materials that we use, however much of the additional work that is required to reach our targets will take time to have an effect. 

What does Scope 1, 2 & 3 mean? 

The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol  organizes emissions into 3 different scopes 

  • Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions which occur from sources that are operated by Haglöfs e.g., company cars and gas used for heating or cooking. 
  • Scope 2: GHG emissions from the generation of energy purchased by Haglöfs e.g., electricity and heating for offices, stores and warehouses. 
  • Scope 3: Indirect GHG emissions that occur in our value chain e.g. emissions from the transportation, production, use and disposal of goods 

What does net zero mean? 

At a global level, the IPCC defines net zero as when anthropogenic (i.e., human-caused) emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period.  For businesses this means after reducing their own emissions as much as possible removing from the atmosphere an amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to their remaining emissions. 

There is still some ambiguity as to what this means for businesses in terms of the scope of emissions which should be covered, what type of action qualifies as a removal and how much reduction of internal emissions should be completed before removal starts. There is work going on to define this more clearly to avoid confusion and inconsistent claims. At Haglöfs we are committed to ensuring that our approach to net zero aligns with current best practice and develops as the debate matures. 

In the meantime, we work with the definition that net zero means making as many reductions as we possibly can in the carbon footprint of our operations and supply chain in line with ambitions to keep global warming within 1.5°C while removing from the atmosphere a quantity of carbon equivalent to that of any residual emissions. 

What are carbon credits? 

A carbon credit is a certificate generated when it has been verified that a project has taken action to avoid, reduce or remove a metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions. Companies, organizations, or individuals can then buy these credits to compensate for their own emissions. Money generated through the sale of carbon credits is used by the projects to fund their carbon reduction efforts. 

Carbon credit projects can generally be categorized into two different types: 

  • projects which avoid or reduce emissions for example the construction of a renewable energy project in place of fossil fuel 
  • projects which remove emissions from the atmosphere such as reforestation or direct carbon capture and storage 

Who provides our carbon credit projects? 

We are monitoring and calculating the emissions associated with our operations and our supply chain. We then work with South Pole  to source a quantity of carbon credits equivalent to the size of our carbon footprint.


[1] The IPCC defines net zero as when anthropogenic (i.e., human-caused) emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period.  www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/glossary

[2] Absolute emissions across scope 1 & 2 and selected scope 3 (production and distribution of goods sold and business travel) vs. 2020 emissions.