Colin Browne, the newly appointed CEO of Cascale, an international nonprofit alliance, has disclosed important discoveries that will allow the industry to approach decarbonization more precisely. Approximately 600 professionals from the textile, apparel, and consumer products industries heard Browne speak at his first annual meeting as CEO. He outlined practical, data-driven solutions, including a renewed emphasis on “industry hotspots” where large reductions might be achieved.
Using data from Cascale’s Higg Index, which is only available on Worldly, Browne presented a new analysis from RESET Carbon, Cascale’s partner. The investigation showed that 80 percent of the carbon emissions from the textile and garment industry come from 1,500 production locations spread across nine countries.
In compliance with the Paris Agreement, Cascale has already set a reduction target of 45% for the textile, apparel, and footwear industries by 2030. Browne called for greater attention to be paid to the crucial areas where the data pointed, since the industry is lagging behind in accomplishing this.
“The truth is that not enough is being done to prevent climate change by the consumer products business. We need to focus effort where it counts most, as new data shows a stark concentration of climate effect. The Industry Strategic Supplier hotspots require our attention. These 1,500 facilities are necessary for us to reach our 45 percent reduction goal, according to Browne.
Cascale is working with RESET Carbon and the Apparel Impact Institute to develop an Industry Decarbonization Roadmap that will help suppliers reduce their emissions more efficiently to expedite data-driven transformation.
It is now mandatory for corporate members to sign up for Cascale’s Decarbonization Program and to establish science-aligned objectives (SATs) or science-based targets (SBTs). Up 28.9% from the previous year, 59.7% of Cascale corporate members in 2023 had either set or begun the process of setting SBTs or SATs.