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The ALDO Group’s bold next step to fight global warming and climate change

The ALDO Group extends its climate neutral commitment to include all eCommerce and product transportation carbon emissions from production to end customer.

Published 5 years ago | About a 5 minute read

Climate change is already happening. Now more than ever, Gen Z and millennials are leading the conversation in saving the planet. From food and agriculture to the way they shop, they ensure the choices they make, positively impacts the environment. Last year, the ALDO Group became the first fashion footwear and accessories company in the world to be certified climate neutral for its corporate stores, offices and distribution centres. The natural next step to continue its climate journey and extend its commitment to the environment, is having all its eCommerce shipments and product transportation certified climate neutral.

In 2013, the ALDO Group began its sustainability journey by calculating its carbon footprint and setting itself a baseline for improvement. Since then, the company has improved the energy efficiency of its offices and stores, and invested in projects to limit emissions in its own operations. From 2013 to 2018, the company is proud to have achieved a 46% reduction of its greenhouse gases in only five years since embarking on this journey to help our planet.

“Online shopping is a part of our customer’s experience, so the next step is extending the climate neutral certification to include our eCommerce shipments and product transportation,” said David Bensadoun, CEO of the ALDO Group. “Not only is this part of the company’s social responsibility philosophy and purpose, which is a journey to create a world of love, confidence and belonging, it’s also our goal to make it easy for our customers to stay fashionable and to ‘choose good’. By communicating our progress about reaching ambitious new objectives, we hope to inspire other major fashion companies to follow suit.”

Global sustainability solutions provider South Pole certified the ALDO Group’s climate neutrality and confirmed that the company is successfully offsetting its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as well as a portion of its Scope 3 indirect emissions in accordance to its new, more rigorous, certification.

“We are proud to work with the ALDO Group who continues to push its fight against climate change,” said Renat Heuberger, CEO and Co-Founder of South Pole. “This is an ongoing commitment and together, we are convinced that our efforts to reduce business environmental impacts will contribute to a sustainable society.”

In addition, the ALDO Group is excited to announce that its new, ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goal was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. This initiative is in line with what climate science says is needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to well-below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. Other major fashion CSR leaders with approved science-based targets include Kering, Levi’s Strauss & Co., Burberry and PUMA. By 2030, the company plans to cut carbon emissions across its operations by 40% and down per pair of shoe by 30%, compared to its 2016 levels. This long-term goal is a true reflection of the company’s commitment to the planet.

“Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined pathway to future-proof growth by making sure their greenhouse gas emission reduction goals are specific, timely and aligned with ambitious targets to limit global temperature rise,” said Chendan Yan, Research Analyst at World Resources Institute (WRI), one of the Science Based Targets initiative partners. “The ALDO Group’s science-based target demonstrates leadership that other companies in the apparel and footwear sector would be wise to follow.”

Social consciousness has always been infused in the ALDO Group’s actions. They are aware that they still have a lot of work to do, but they strive to be an agent of change and influence society not only in fashion but also in social responsibility. Among others, the company is responsible for initiatives such as:

A sustainable campus (recycling and composting facilities, plastic water-bottle free, electric vehicle charging stations, carpooling incentives, discounted public transit, a community garden and beehives, etc.)
A bagless initiative where their brands fully eliminate all single-use shopping bags, saving 10M bags every year
A sustainable collection made with recycled polyester and carbon neutral lake algae. The ALDO Group designers and material teams continue to explore the latest advancements in sustainable materials to incorporate in their products
Improving the environmental performance of the footwear and leather industries by working with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Leather Working Group and Sustainable Brands
Community days and 15 paid hours to volunteer for all office associates around the world
A commitment to diversity & inclusion, with a focus on female leadership. Today, 69% of the ALDO Group managers are women and they’ve reached parity on their executive team
An innovative wellness program encouraging associates to stay fit, eat healthy and reduce stress (on-site gym, optometrist appointments, mindfulness classes, chair massage services, nutritionist-approved meals, osteopaths, etc.)
Work/life integration guidelines and services in offices (telecommuting guides, flex hours, summer Fridays, subsidized daycare, car maintenance and wash, fresh take-out meals, etc.)

What’s next?

The ALDO Group’s CSR strategy will always focus on reducing its carbon emissions and is now moving on to the next phase of its low-carbon journey to meet its long-term science-based target. The company hopes to reduce its carbon footprint even further by:

• Working to meet its new ambitious emissions reduction target for 2030 grounded in climate science

• Investing in efficiency projects to limit emissions in its own operations

• Introducing more sustainable materials with a low footprint in its products

• Continuing the company’s working relationship with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition to develop product footprint tools that will more accurately calculate and address fashion footwear’s environmental impacts

• Working towards decarbonising the company’s supply chain through close collaboration with suppliers

In addition, to offset the remainder of its non-avoidable emissions, the company will continue to purchase high quality carbon credits focusing on wind, solar and hydropower projects located in regions where the company operates. These projects, in turn, create jobs locally and support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

For more information about the ALDO Group’s commitment to sustainability please visit: responsibility.aldogroup.com.