John Lewis doubles down on sustainability targets
The John Lewis Partnership is committing to more sustainable sourcing of cotton, cashmere and polyester under new targets in a bid to achieve zero-deforestation.
Following up on a commitment made almost one year ago – which saw the John Lewis and Waitrose owners ink new credit facility plans in line with its environmental targets including net-zero carbon emissions by 2035 – John Lewis has published its ‘Plan for Nature’, mapping out measures to reduce waste across its supply chains and beyond.
The new ‘Plan for Nature’ includes a zero-deforestation pledge which the company said had been designed to reduce the impact of the business’s commercial activities on the natural world. Also reiterated in the plan is the focus on carbon reduction and energy efficiency programmes.
The retailer aims to ensure that all key materials in own-brand products, including timber, cotton, soya, palm oil, cocoa and cashmere are from recycled or sustainable sources by 2025.
The same pledge is also in place, with a 2028 deadline, for polyester, leather and man-made cellulosic fibres such as modal and lyocell.
Marija Rompani, director of ethics and sustainability at John Lewis Partnership, said: “We all know that we can’t exist without nature, it is essential for our survival and it will play a vital role in solving the problem of climate change. We can’t solve one without the other, the crises of nature loss and climate change are inextricably linked. And yet, the UK currently languishes in the bottom 10% of global countries for its abundance of nature. That’s unacceptable and given the tiny window in which we have to get this right, delaying action is simply not an option.
“This is why we’re going back to our roots and focusing our efforts on protecting and restoring nature. Whether it’s eliminating fossil fuel use across our transport operations, investing millions in conservation projects in regions where we source our products, or helping our farmers make the transition to net zero, we are acting where we can make the biggest impact.”
The new commitments include a new partnership between John Lewis Partnership and WWF. This collaboration will see the retail group investing in the NGOs nature protection and regeneration projects in the UK and India, with an initial backing of GBP2m.
