Protect the Environment

We are committed to playing our part to address the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our supply chain to a level consistent with reaching global net zero emissions and investing in credible removal of any residual emissions.

Achieving and sustaining net zero emissions will require adoption of low- and zero-carbon practices throughout our supply chain. We have identified the strategies that will be most important to reach our 2040 target. These strategies include the electricity used in our operations, energy used by our suppliers, how we transport our goods, the raw materials in our products and the circular products and experiences we offer to customers.

In June 2020, we set a 2030 goal to reduce our Scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG emissions by 30% against our FY20 baseline. This target was approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). We plan to seek SBTi approval for our new 2030 target and our net zero target in calendar year 2022. To accompany these commitments, we published a Net Zero Commitment Statement that details how we will achieve these targets.

New to our overall climate strategy, in 2023, we will set new goals aimed at protecting and regenerating nature in alignment with the comprehensive Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) guidance to be published in late 2022.

Freshwater is an essential resource for people and wildlife, and a foundation for healthy ecosystems and thriving economies. It’s also a resource that the textile and apparel industry is heavily reliant on—from growing cotton to dyeing and washing fabric.

Our strategy covers our whole value chain, with a focus on:

CONSERVATION

Safeguard and preserve water resources where we operate through contextual water targets and collective action program implementation in priority geographies with high water stress.

COTTON

Sustainably source cotton and accelerate the adoption of regenerative farming practices.

COMMUNITY

Partner with organizations focused on watershed health and community WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) solutions through the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation.

In FY22, we continued to collaborate with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to advance our conservation work and set a comprehensive strategy for water stewardship and water use reductions in our value chain. Additionally, we are in the process of setting contextual water targets to better align our reduction goal with surrounding water challenges.

Across our distribution centers, offices and stores, we work to minimize waste and avoid sending materials to incineration or landfill, including excess inventory.

We’ve committed to integrating zero-waste principles across our business, focusing on reducing waste at its source and diverting waste from landfill through increased recycling. As we work to become a more circular business, we’re aiming to reduce excess inventory, keep materials in use for as long as possible and minimize waste generated at our facilities.

In FY22, overall operational waste volumes returned to FY20 levels in line with the increase in business activities. We generated approximately 5,767 metric tons of waste at our distribution centers and diverted 88% of this from landfill—on track to meet our 2023 goal. In our North America-owned distribution centers, we achieved a 92% diversion rate in FY22. We also collected detailed waste data for all of our third-party operated distribution centers in Europe and Asia.

Environmentally responsible packaging is an essential part of a circular future.

In FY22, 82% of our packaging volume met at least one of our sustainable packaging criteria. Additionally, we transitioned to a regular, standardized reporting process for our suppliers to allow us to track sustainable aspects of our packaging across brands, packaging types and regions throughout the year.

We also help consumers play a role in the sustainable packaging process. On our e-commerce site, RalphLauren.com, our reduced packaging option gives consumers the ability to remove plastic or paper inserts, hangers, garment bags, promotional materials and paper invoices from their orders. In FY22, we continued to remove and recycle all of the polybags from reduced packaging orders, which represented 14% of all orders placed through RalphLauren.com.

Chemicals play an important role in the creation and manufacturing processes of our products. We have a responsibility to ensure the chemicals used to make our products are safe for people and the environment. Our Sustainable Chemical Management Policy outlines our approach in assessing the impacts of the chemicals in our supply chain, and in partnering with our manufacturers in responsible chemical management practices. For more information, please see Chemical Management in the 2022 GC&S Report.