South Korea-based apparel manufacturer Sae-A Trading Co. Ltd. has joined the Science Based Target initiatives (SBTi).
SBTi helps guide companies toward carbon reduction goals, in line with the Paris climate agreement’s understanding that the average global temperature rise has to be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius to ensure less lasting damage to the environment. Sch40 Galvanized Pipe
Though companies like Levi’s, Interloop and SanMar Corporation have worked to set SBTs this year, a recent report cast doubt on the feasibility of SBTi because it may shift the burden of decarbonizing a highly pollutive industry to suppliers alone.
Some supply chain partners, like Sae-A, seem to be up for the challenge.
“Stopping the climate change cannot be done without upstream and downstream suppliers’ participation,” a spokesperson for Sae-A told Sourcing Journal. “Climate crises [are] irreversible, thus it [is] a part of our duty to take action in sustainability for our next generation in [the] apparel and textile industry.”
The Target supplier plans to reduce its direct and indirect, or Scope 1 and Scope 2, greenhouse gas emissions by 42 percent by 2030. It has also set a goal to achieve net-zero Scope 3 emissions by 2050.
A company executive said SBTi validation legitimizes much of the work it has pledged to do. Related Stories Sustainability New Alliance: LVMH, Chanel Link on Sustainability Topics Seed2Shirt Sows the Future for Black Cotton Farmers on Two Continents
“With ESG management emerging as a necessity worldwide, participating in the SBTi with the aim of carbon neutrality is significant in that it objectively verifies a company’s greenhouse gas emission reduction endeavors and builds credibility,” a Sae-A executive said in a release.
The company joins roughly 400 other apparel companies in joining the verification process purveyed by the climate action advocate.
Though emission reduction initiatives remain at the crux of what companies submit to the SBTi, many have other sustainability-related initiatives in place for the coming years.
Raw materials can play a major role in sustainability transitions, and Sae-A notes in the release that the company has set targets to use 100 percent sustainable cotton and 50 percent recycled polyester by 2025.
Ahead of its link to SBTi, the South Korean manufacturing giant has focused on its emissions and footprint.
To date, Sae-A Trading has installed a total of 3.25MW of solar power generation facilities in its locations in Nicaragua, Indonesia and Vietnam, the spokesperson said.
Facilities in Indonesia have been leading the way for better environmental practices. In 2022 alone, Sae-A’s locations in the manufacturing-heavy country saved a total of 5,600 tons of carbon. And Win Textile, one of Sae-A’s fabric manufacturing subsidiaries in Indonesia, has explored another way of producing cleaner energy: converting sewage sludge into fuel.
The company hopes to see similar results in other countries and noted in the release it has considered souping up its solar power capabilities in its Vietnam locations.
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