Beyond creating products more responsibly made, we are working to operate in ways that respect our planet, such as using renewable energy, managing our waste properly and using water sustainably. By adopting practices that help preserve the world’s natural resources, we can be stewards in protecting our environment for generations to come.
Our Protect the Environment focus areas include Climate, Water Stewardship, Waste Management, Chemical Management and Biodiversity.
Climate
Addressing the climate crisis requires significant reductions to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That is why we have created an ambitious roadmap with bold near-term and long-term targets to reduce absolute GHG emissions across our operations and value chain.
Water Stewardship
We are committed to reducing water consumption across our value chain and to replenishing and safeguarding water resources in our communities.
Waste Management
We work to minimize waste in our operations and divert waste from landfill and incineration to donation, reuse and recycling. Our goal is continued improvement as we incorporate zero waste principles throughout our business practices.
Chemical Management
We monitor and reduce hazardous chemical use and discharge to meet our goal to eliminate hazardous chemicals from our product manufacturing and supply chain.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is essential for the health of humans, the environment and the economy. We work to reduce our impact on nature and protect and restore the ecosystems our supply chain relies on.
Case Study
Improving Water Access in Our Communities
Safe drinking water is the most primary of human needs, yet worldwide, one in three people do not have access to this vital resource. To help end this disparity, the Company and the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation (the Foundation) support organizations providing clean water for those in need.
Safe drinking water is the most primary of human needs, yet worldwide, one in three people do not have access to this vital resource. To help end this disparity, the Company and the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation (the Foundation) support organizations providing clean water for those in need.
GiveMeTap – Ghana
In Ghana, we have been working with GiveMeTap to provide drinking water sources in the country’s rural Upper West region since 2018. To date, our partnership has provided 43 water pumps in communities, primary schools and health centers, supplying approximately 43,000 people with access to clean water.
As part of our GiveMeTap partnership, we have conducted awareness and education efforts with our employees and our consumers – donating at least $2 for every Polo-branded GiveMeTap water bottle sold on RalphLauren.com. To date, our partnership has funded 43 water pumps, supplying more than 40,000 Ghanaians with access to safe drinking water.
WaterAid WASH Project - India
In 2022, the Foundation partnered with WaterAid, a nonprofit organization with a focus on supporting water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) access. The project aims to directly improve the current WASH context in 21 villages in Budhni, where there is a high volume of apparel factory workers and their families.
Since establishing the partnership, the Foundation’s grant:
DigDeep Navajo Water Project - United States
In the U.S., the Foundation partners with DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project, a community-managed utility alternative that brings hot and cold running water to homes without access to water or sewer lines. In 2020, the Foundation made a three-year commitment to support the implementation of DigDeep’s Navajo Water Project, which has directly funded 33 Home Water Systems from 2020-2022.
In 2022, supported by commitments like the one made by the Foundation, the Navajo Water Project expanded to serve more communities, bringing Home Water Systems to 200 additional homes and delivering more than one million gallons of water to people across the Navajo Nation.
Case Study
SBTi approval for our 2030 GHG reduction target
Our commitment to lowering our emissions is aligned with the urgency required to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C in accordance with the goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has developed standards for translating this urgency into corporate targets. We have received SBTi approval for our 2030 GHG reduction target and have submitted our net zero target for SBTi approval against its Net Zero Standard.
Our commitment to lowering our emissions is aligned with the urgency required to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C in accordance with the goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has developed standards for translating this urgency into corporate targets. We have received SBTi approval for our 2030 GHG reduction target and have submitted our net zero target for SBTi approval against its Net Zero Standard.
We recognize that achieving these targets will require changes to how our products are made and sold. We have defined key strategies for reducing GHG emissions across our own operations and supply chain. To implement these strategies, we create partnerships and engage on policy issues to accelerate low carbon practices in our industry. Our Net Zero Commitment Statement further details how we will achieve these targets.
Our key decarbonization strategies include:
