US' SAC & Fashion Charter unveil new guidance for PG&S emissions

For apparel and footwear brands and retailers, PG&S emissions result from all the value chain activities that go into making finished products, from raw materials to fabric manufacturing to product assembly. For companies operating in the apparel and footwear sector scope 3 emissions are usually the vast majority of their total emissions, SAC said in a media statement.

For every company setting a Science Based Target, the foundation of the target is an inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3. While the GHG Protocol has published technical guidance for calculating PG&S emissions and other scope 3 categories, the instructions for computing PG&S emissions are generic and not specific to the apparel and footwear sector.

The purpose of the guidance is to provide apparel and footwear sector-specific guidance for calculating PG&S emissions so that there is greater consistency in how apparel and footwear companies develop their PG&S inventories. The companies can overcome common challenges faced by the sector, for example the need to use a combination of primary and secondary data. The companies starting the process of measuring PG&S emissions can do so more efficiently and in line with industry practice - which in turn should result in more companies measuring emissions and setting targets.

Over time, with more consistent inventories, the apparel and footwear sector will be able to more accurately gauge its progress towards the GHG reductions needed to stay aligned with SBTs.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)