Gap Inc.
September 18, 2019
I’m proud to share the progress we made last year, presented here in our 2018 Global Sustainability report. The report represents a tremendous amount of dedication by our employees and collaboration with our partners around the globe. Together, we’re united by a belief that our business can and should be a force for good.
More than a measure of accomplishments, this report serves as a diagnostic inventory of the critical work ahead and targets where we can most effect change.
We’re continually striving to protect those who make our products, limit our environmental impact, and foster inclusive workplaces where everyone is welcome – from our global offices to our suppliers’ facilities to thousands of stores in communities around the world.
Addressing the dire impacts of climate change is one of our priorities. We are accelerating work to transition our business to a low-carbon economy. We will meet our 2020 goal to halve the carbon footprint of our global owned and operated stores and offices since 2015, and are committed to 100% renewable energy for these facilities by 2030. In addition, we’ll be moving aggressively to partner across the industry to respond to waste and pollution in our supply chains.
Last year our brands expanded efforts to embed sustainability into product design and raw materials selection. In addition to leveraging customer insights and analytics, designers are making informed decisions with the help of new toolkits and courses that deliver the products our customers love, with less impact on the environment. With these resources, teams can create truly sustainable fashion with an unfettered view into the life cycle of our garments, from raw materials to end of life. One example that demonstrates these design decisions at scale is our commitment to sourcing more sustainable cotton. Gap Inc. was recently named one of the “fastest movers of 2018” and ranked 3rd on the Better Cotton Initiative’s global ranking of top companies sourcing by volume.
Connecting our most pressing sustainability efforts is water, a precious natural resource that is essential to our business. From cotton fields to fabric production to manufacturing, the apparel industry is an intense user of water globally. Above all, access to clean, safe water is a vital human right. We’re partnering with organizations to help people who are disproportionately impacted by water insecurity and are innovating with our suppliers to reduce the amount of water used in manufacturing.
We remain focused on advancing human rights, addressing labor issues and supporting the communities globally that are affected by our business. For example, we continue to support the advancement of women in our supply chain through our P.A.C.E. program. In partnership with our suppliers, we’re scaling our trainings on worker-management dialogue and prevention of sexual harassment, expanding our approach to fire, building and electrical safety, and launching a new three-year initiative with the International Labour Organization focused on improving social dialogue and industrial relations in Bangladesh. Underpinning all of these efforts are the continued gains we are making against our goal of only sourcing product from factories that earn a green or yellow rating against our Code of Vendor Conduct.
As we issue this report, we’re also celebrating Gap’s 50th anniversary and undergoing a significant transformation at our company. As we work to separate into two companies, one thing is for certain: the values that shape who we are and what we stand for will not change.
Art Peck
CEO, GAP Inc.
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