H&M to forego new suppliers who rely on coal

In the wake of COP26, the H&M Group has reiterated its commitment to take action on climate beyond the conference. Energy efficiency, renewable electricity and shifting towards a circular business model are the pillars of the group’s climate strategy with the active goal of achieving a climate positive value chain by 2040.

The company has also aligned its ambitions with the carbon law, which sees green energy double every five years while carbon emissions halve every ten years. Accordingly, the H&M Group plans to reduce 50 percent of their emissions every ten years, aiming for a reduction of 56 percent by 2030 (with a base year of 2019). In line with this, the group is now tackling the use of coal as an energy source in its supply chain.

“Our long-term vision is a fossil-free supply chain. One step that will get us closer to our long-term goals is that from January 2022, we will no longer onboard suppliers to our supply chain that use onsite coal-based solutions to run their facilities,” stated the H&M Group in a news release.

The company also said it would help existing suppliers transition away from fossil fuels, for example by investing in renewable energy projects in sourcing countries but has not given a deadline for this. The group already invests in partnerships with renewable energy developers, aiming to source 100 percent renewable electricity in its own operations no later than 2030.