We integrate sustainability deeply into our business by understanding the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues that matter most to our stakeholders and business. These are our material issues and they guide our ESG strategy and sustainability programs.
We conduct materiality assessments to define these topics and identify the value, risks and opportunities they present for our business. This informs our sustainability commitments and activities and strengthens Gap Inc.’s engagement with external stakeholders.
Building on our 2015 materiality work, we refreshed our materiality assessment in 2021 to align our strategy with the shifting needs and expectations of stakeholders, our business and society, and to adapt to new market developments and trends.
Note: Materiality on this site refers to the identification of material issues that guide our sustainability strategy and programs, and is not the definition of materiality used for filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Materiality Process
We carried out our most recent materiality analysis in 2021 with a third-party sustainability expert consultancy. The process included three stages:
- Research: We identified an initial list of material issues through extensive desk-based research, peer review, sustainability thought leadership, and assessment of international standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the World Economic Forum (WEF), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
- Survey: Through a survey, external and internal stakeholders ranked the issues most material to them.
- Prioritize: At materiality workshops, external and internal stakeholders discussed the results of the survey and finalized the order of Gap Inc.’s material issues, which were reviewed by our executive team.
Materiality Results
Our materiality assessment identified the top 14 material issues to guide our strategy. The ESG areas considered most important were sourcing sustainably; labor practices; supplier responsibility; diversity, equity and inclusion; climate change, sustainable materials and human capital development.
Several new issues were identified in this year’s assessment: women’s empowerment, responsible marketing and sustainable consumer behavior, and product quality and safety.
Although these issues have been placed on a matrix, they are all important to the future success of Gap Inc. Given the interconnectivity of these topics, they should be viewed holistically, rather than individually or in silos. Additional topics that do not appear in our top issues are still important and are reflected in our programming.