San Francisco, CA, October 2024 — Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.), one of the world’s most iconic denim and apparel brands, today released its first climate transition plan, outlining a clear, strategic pathway to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The roadmap underlines the company’s long-term commitment to sustainable practices and signals its intent to align with the 1.5-degree pathway, the target outlined in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
The climate plan of the company emphasizes transparency and is structured into three strategic areas: operational improvements, value chain engagement, and governance integration. For interim targets, LS&Co. has set certain goals to be able to maintain its momentum such as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reductions by 90% by 2025 and Scope 3 by 42% by 2030. All these are part of its ambition to create a resilient, climate-friendly business model.
Why It Matters: Transparency and Net Zero Goals as the New Corporate Benchmark
Net Zero commitments are a hallmark of corporate climate responsibility. Thorough transition plans indicate that a company takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. Plans outline not only reductions in emissions but detail how those reductions will be realized. For LS&Co., this allows stakeholders-from investors and customers to regulators-to understand the company’s climate journey and provides an example for other corporations.
For years, LS&Co. has been deeply engaged in fighting the climate crisis and sought to lead by example in tackling one of the most pressing and urgent issues of our time,” said Jeffrey Hogue, Chief Sustainability Officer of LS&Co. “Our climate transition plan embodies our commitment to doing our part, reaching our targets, and working with partners across our value chain to enable collective action to address climate change.”. These steps will take us not only toward our goal of Net Zero climate ambition by 2050 but also make our business more resilient to the impact of climate change. ”
Transition Plan: Three Strategic Focus Areas
1. Improving Operations
LS&Co. has committed to reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by investing in energy-efficient technology, renewable energy, and climate-centered partnerships. The company will reduce these emissions by 90% by 2025 compared to a base year of 2016. To this end, LS&Co. will transition all company-operated facilities to 100% renewable electricity by 2025 and continue to optimize procurement processes to further prioritize low-carbon energy options.
2. Interacting with the Value Chain
With the knowledge that 77 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions are not in scope with its direct operations, LS&Co. has narrowed down to Scope 3 emissions. Working through global suppliers, LS&Co. hopes to bring about positive change across all areas of its value chain through sustainable behaviors. As a collaborator with suppliers, LS&Co. is setting Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-aligned targets, which are focused on sustainable materials and innovation, and also advocates for more sustainable cotton-farming practices. These are targeted to an overall reduction of 42% of Scope 3 emissions that relate to the purchased goods and services by the year 2030. The baseline will be established in the year 2022. 3. Good Governance and Planning
There is a requirement for good governance, which will help the LS&Co. achieve its climate ambition. The company will have climate-related risks and opportunities built into all its activities.
How will this be done is that LS&Co. will look forward to getting continuous inputs from third-party experts to influence policies that advance climate transition. Transparency is one thing; LS&Co. Update every three years to include and reflect the newest climate science and internationally benchmarked standard. Additionally, the company continues to pursue regular, periodical reporting practices on the sustainability fronts, such as climate, consumption, and community impacts. Concrete targets have been placed for its sustainability milestone. In addition to reducing emissions, LS&Co. set out also to reduce water consumption 50% in the areas it manufactures, within regions characterised by a higher-stress level for the manufacturing of its high-stressed water regions. LS&Co. measures against this level will be as a reference point for a base-year 2018 baseline and is set by the close of 2025. This is another aim put forward by LS&Co., which forms a large scope of its sustainability actions due to the scarcity nature of some of the world’s purest water regions the firm operates in. In other words, this fully mirrors the efforts and targets which LS&Co. would undertake in dealing with environmental risks and conserving resources to ensure sustainable growth in each of its various fields and sectors.
Industry Experts and Partners Laud LS&Co. Efforts
The climate transition plan has received widespread praise from sustainability experts and industry partners, who underscored the significance of LS&Co. public commitment.
According to Eliot Metzger, director of sustainable business and innovation at the World Resources Institute, “The climate crisis only grows more urgent daily, and we applaud companies like Levi Strauss & Co. for not only setting clear and ambitious, Paris Agreement-aligned targets but for publicly declaring how they will make meaningful progress.”.
A climate transition plan lets all stakeholders know how the business will work with its value chain. “LS&Co. is taking a very collaborative approach to its transition planning,” according to Tyler McCullough, Ceres Manager of Corporate Climate Action.
“Climate change cannot be addressed by any single actor, and Ceres was proud to partner with Levi Strauss & Co. to facilitate a multi-stakeholder discussion on how to practically and holistically achieve the necessary emissions reduction across their value chain. Soliciting thoughtful feedback throughout the transition planning process is critical to building an achievable roadmap.” Transparency and Accountability Ahead The firm will update the climate transition plan at least every three years to keep the plan consistent with the current climate science and international standard. This will be continuous reporting by the company on the sustainability performance, which shows the firm’s progress toward the Net Zero. This demonstrates the company’s commitment toward transparency and accountability.
The Bottom Line
The climate transition plan of Levi Strauss & Co. is truly benchmarking sustainability in the apparel industry.
LS&Co. outlines clear interim goals, engages with its value chain, and embeds climate risks in its governance model to pave the way for a resilient, climate-conscious future. As the company continues on its plan, it shows that proactive climate action and sound business practices are compatible and necessary for long-term success. With its transparency and commitment, LS&Co. is an example to other corporations that seek to make climate responsibility a core element of their business strategy.