Sustainability

We are Made for Change

Some of us are made to be creators, who see an urban jungle as a playground, where imagination can run wild.

Some of us are made to be explorers, who climb mountains, then move them. Protectors of the world and all it holds.

Some of us are made to be makers. Reliable. Proud. Hard workers. Delivering real change every day.

At VF we’re all made to do different things. It’s why we work so well together. One community, using our diverse skills, experience and unparalleled scale, to make the world a better place.

Together, we collaborate and innovate to drive new growth. And to preserve the world, the people and environments it contains. So that future generations can do the same.

In our fast-changing world brands must to step up to the mark. It’s why we’re leading the way. Powering movements to inspire each and every one of us to live active and sustainable lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet.

Science-Based Targets

Our new science-based targets (SBTs) are among the most ambitious in the industry and are aligned with the ideology of using our global scale for good. SBT’s are greenhouse gas emission reduction targets that are in line with meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

We underwent an intensive, two-year long collaborative process to develop our new SBTs. We partnered with global consultancy, the Carbon Trust, to model data across our owned and operated facilities as well as our entire operations from farm to retail store; and engaged deeply with our entire value chain. Primary data was gathered from our 1,400 owned facilities, distribution centers and global logistics as well as more than 100 Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, strengthening our ability to identify and implement reduction strategies.

Our science-based carbon emissions targets include:

An absolute reduction of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 55 percent by 2030, from a 2017 baseline year; and,
An absolute reduction of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030, from a 2017 baseline year focusing on farm-to-retail materials, sourcing operations and logistics.

The Science Based Targets initiative champions science-based target setting as a powerful way of boosting companies’ competitive advantage in the transition to the low-carbon economy. It is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. For more information, visit the SBTi website: sciencebasedtargets.org.

VF’s Sustainability & Responsibility Report

View Report GRI Index SASB Disclosure

Circular Business Models

We believe in doing business better: designing better products to maximize their life span and using materials and processes that enable products to be deconstructed and fed back into the production cycle – time and time again. It’s our circular approach to business – Made for Change.

As one of the largest apparel retailers in the world, we’re bold about our commitment – to be a leader of large-scale commercialization of circular business models by 2030. Today, we’re pioneering progress in three key areas: circular business models, second life and circular design.

Our aspirational goal:

Lead the large-scale commercialization of circular business models through brand-led recommerce and rental initiatives.

Scale For Good

We believe that as one of the world’s largest apparel and footwear retailers, we have a responsibility to make the world a better place. Leveraging our scale and impact to protect people and the planet presents exciting opportunities: to lead our industry’s charge to help limit climate change; to dramatically reduce the impact of our materials in a resource-constrained world; and to assure no worker risks their dignity, health or wellbeing to work in our supply chain.

Scale for Good focuses on three critical areas of our business: environment, key materials and products, and worker wellbeing. The strategy provides the roadmap, enabling our size and influence to lead the transformation our industry needs.

Our aspirational goals:

Halve our upstream environmental impact, farm-to-front door by 2050
Improve the lives of 2 million workers and their communities by 2025

Movement Makers

As we connect purpose and profit, we have the opportunity to leverage our resources on a global scale to lead change. We believe we can make a measurable positive impact on millions of lives and the planet, while continuing to grow brand and business value.

We’re transforming our operations to bring a deep sense of purpose to all that we do – using our talent, resources and scale to improve lives and drive new sustainable forms of growth. In this pillar, we have three core areas of focus:

Impactful work: empower our associates to create a positive impact through their work.
Impactful brands: utilize the power of our brands to spark movements and inspire people to achieve large-scale change.
Impactful interventions: remove barriers and create opportunities for more people to live active and sustainable lifestyles.

Our aspirational goals:

Every VF associate has the opportunity to contribute to their local communities.
Empower our consumers to live more active and sustainable lifestyles.

CDP Responses

At VF, our focus centers on areas offering the greatest opportunity to reduce our environmental impact. We believe the apparel and footwear industry has both an opportunity and a responsibility to take action to tackle climate change. To learn more about how VF is working with suppliers, business partners, and key stakeholders to reduce our environmental impact, please read VF’s Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) disclosures:

Climate Change Forests Water