JAGreen
Sustainability Progress
At Jones Apparel Group, we are committed to understanding and improving our impact on the environment. While recognizing that we have only begun on the path to sustainability, we provide in this document a status report on our current environmental activities, focusing on leadership, greenhouse gases, and resource reduction.
I. Environmental Leadership at Jones Apparel Group
With a goal of reducing our carbon footprint and minimizing other environmental impacts, we have established an Executive Green Committee to explore environmental opportunities throughout the company. The Executive Green Committee consists of ten strategic business executives having direct impact on our decisions to incorporate green initiatives. Additionally, we have identified more than 200 of our associates to be "eco-ambassadors" working in parallel with the Executive Green Committee to raise environmental awareness among employees, exemplify
II. Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Emissions Reduction Projects, and Life Cycle Assessment
Scope 1 and Scope 2 Inventory
Working with Esty Environmental Partners, JAG recently performed its first Greenhouse Gas Inventory to understand its climate change impacts. We examined the emissions associated with all JAG-controlled facilities. We analyzed CO2 and fugitive refrigerant hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs) emissions. The inventory accounted for all the fuel and electricity directly consumed by our business (Scope 1 and 2 emissions)1, sometimes relying on estimates and model extrapolations for
calculation. Whenever possible, we followed the
internationally-recognized Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol).
In addition to segmenting the footprint into electricity and direct fuel use, we broke down our Scope 1 and 2 footprints into relevant categories of emissions sources: retail stores, distribution centers, and offices/other facilities to better understand our emissions profile and identify reduction opportunities.
Energy Reduction in the Distribution Centers and Retail Locations
We have been exploring innovative ways to reduce costs while obtaining environmental benefits. We implemented a lighting retrofit solution in an effort to reduce energy use at our West Deptford, N.J., distribution centers, which was completed in May 2008. The West Deptford pre-project vs. post-project power meter readings showed a reduction in kilowatt use, yielding a reduction in the electricity costs. Additionally, we are improving lighting at our retail store locations. Lighting retrofits and replacements of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are reducing not only energy use, but financial costs as well. In retail stores, the new lighting fixtures generate less heat, decreasing HVAC energy use. Based on the results of these projects, we are committed to exploring similar opportunities in other distribution centers and retail stores.
Scope 3 Inventory
JAG inventoried GHG emissions from a number of Scope 3 emissions sources1, including third-party logistics. We calculated all logistics footprints by including emissions from multiple greenhouse gases: CO2, CH4, and N2O. The inventory accounted for all inbound and outbound logistics, sometimes relying on estimates and model extrapolations for calculation. For logistics emissions calculations, we used the U.S. EPA Climate Leaders’ Greenhouse Gas Module for Commuting, Business Travel, and Product Transport.
Estimating the Life Cycle Impacts of Our Products
With the goal of better understanding our products and their impacts, we are beginning to assess the carbon, water and toxics impact of our products across various stages of their life cycle. We are looking at raw materials production, product manufacturing, product logistics, retail sales, and consumer use and care. We are studying these impacts at both the Company and divisional levels
III. Material Reduction
Reduce the Use
Our REDUCE THE USE campaign has been put in place to create awareness, to decrease our use of paper and other supplies and to lower the overall costs of paper products. Additional initiatives to control costs and reduce consumption are in process or under consideration, including converting to recycled materials wherever cost-feasible. Additionally, we have formalized the Company’s recycling procedures to ensure proper and consistent execution in all locations.
Green Collateral and Packaging Initiative
The goal and mission of the JAGreen Printed Materials & Packaging Group is to evaluate the current use of paper as it relates to our hangtags, shoeboxes, shopping bags and printed collateral to begin to move toward more significant use of recycled, renewable and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) rated materials without increases in costs. Additionally, we are working with other industry leaders to develop environmentally-friendly hangers.
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JAG plans to continue to expand its current sustainability efforts. We are working towards further understanding, reducing, and reporting on our carbon footprint. We will continue to look across the value chain for opportunities to improve our environmental performance.
1According to the World Resource Institute/World Business Council for Sustainability Development’s (WRI/WBCSD) Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions are defined as follows:
*Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions are emissions that occur from sources owned or controlled by the company (for example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces or vehicles).
*Scope 2: Electricity indirect GHG emissions account for GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by the company. Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated.
*Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions are an optional reporting category that allows for the treatment of all other indirect emissions. Scope 3 emissions are a consequence of the activities of the company, but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company. Some examples of Scope 3 activities are extraction and production of purchased materials, transportation of purchased goods and use of sold products and services. Scope 1 and Scope 2 together comprise a company’s direct responsibility for GHG measurement.
