H&M commits to bold energy targets

Multinational clothing retail giant H&M has committed to doubling its energy productivity by 2030. Steps include boosting energy efficiency in stores while reducing the energy used in logistics transport and warehouses.

H&M has become the first international fashion retailer to join EP100. Led by The Climate Group in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy, EP100 encourages influential businesses to double their energy productivity as part of international efforts to transition to a net-zero economy.

Since it was launched in May 2016, EP100 has already attracted 12 major leading businesses worldwide including Woolworths, Dalmia Cement, Swiss Re and Johnson Controls, according to The Climate Group.

On joining the campaign, Pierre Borjesson, Global Sustainability Business Expert and H&M, said: “Using less energy and increasing our economic output is a fundamental part of our strategy. We have long been working to reduce our climate impact and recently launched our new commitment to achieve a climate positive value chain by 2040.

“This means H&M will support reductions of greenhouse gases to larger extent than what our value chain emits. Two of our key priorities are leadership in energy productivity and using renewable energy throughout the value chain.”

By 2030 at the latest, H&M plans to build future stores using 40 per cent less energy per square metre, compared to those constructed today. Within its stores, the Swedish retailer aims to invest in new technologies for lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to improve its operational energy productivity.

It also aims to have 100 per cent of its supplier partners enrolled in an energy efficiency program by 2025, as well as reduce the energy used in its logistics transport and warehouses.

“It is great to see a multinational such as H&M taking a leading role in enhancing energy efficiency by joining EP100,” said Helen Clarkson, Chief Executive of The Climate Group said.

“We hope that H&M’s leadership in this area can inspire other companies across sectors to embrace energy productivity initiatives, to align economic growth with environmental sustainability.”

A new report from the Energy Transitions Commission indicates that a 3 per cent annual improvement in average global energy productivity through to 2050 is required to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius.

According to a 2015 report from Ecofys, doubling energy productivity worldwide could cut global fossil fuel costs by around USD 2.3 trillion and create more than 6 million jobs by 2020.

 

Image credit: H&M

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3 Responses

  1. Hello Team,
    reading about the H&M initiative, I know they are also in several places in the Canton of Zug. Therefore it comes into my mind to combine it with my initiative (see the post here “In September 2017, I will start the business Togethenergy in Switzerland”). It is about the Renewable Energy Cooperative proposal that I will submit to the Zuger Kantonal Bank (ZKB). I can imagine that H&M could make available a roof and the local community will invest in solar energy and sell the electricity directly to the host (H&M). It is an existent Business Model and I am already a member of exactly such an initiative. See http://www.energieruswil.ch.
    I hope you like the idea! Will you respond me here on the forum?
    Thanks,
    Norbert N. Vasen
    http://www.togethenergy.ch

    • GES Team says:

      Hi Norbert,
      That sounds like a great idea! Perhaps you could contact them and let us know what happens. We just posted the information about your new business under News from our Members, and created a group for interested persons to join. We wish you all the best for your new project!

  2. Thanks a lot! I hope it will contribute to the Renewable Energy revolution from the bottom (the people).

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