Gildan making progress in environmental goals: report

Gildan Activewear has released its 2016 environmental responsibility report demonstrating good progress towards its 2020 goals of a 10 per cent reduction in energy, water, GHG emissions and landfill waste intensity. The report is aligned with the new Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.

The report, released on the company’s CSR website genuinegildan.com, offered a comprehensive online review on the progress of Gildan’s commitments to people, communities, environment and products.

“As one of the world’s largest manufacturers of apparel and socks, we understand that operating responsibly and integrating sustainable solutions drives our success and enables our future growth. Providing good working conditions for our employees, improving the communities where we operate and pursuing continuous improvements to reduce our impacts on future generations is at the foundation of our commitment,” said Glenn Chamandy, president and CEO, Gildan.

As a large scale vertically-integrated manufacturer, Gildan maintained strict control over the conditions under which its products are manufactured. Close to 90 per cent of Gildan’s revenues are derived from products that are manufactured in company-owned and operated facilities.

“Gildan was founded on the vision that owning its factories, investing in technology and pursuing continuous improvements was the best way to operate and to make better products,” said Glenn Chamandy.

“Our continued investments in our vertical integration are at the foundation of our business strategy and the key to our ability to positively influence every part of the overall production process including all activities across our four CSR pillars: people, environment, community and product,” he added.

In 2016, Gildan demonstrated good progress towards its 2020 environmental goals which call for a 10 per cent reduction in energy, water, GHG emissions and landfill waste intensity, per kilogram of product, from owned operations, when compared to the 2015 baseline year.

In 2016, Gildan’s efficiency initiatives resulted in a reduction of its energy intensity by 10 per cent and water intensity by five per cent. The company increased its industrial and domestic recycling programmes globally to now recycle or repurpose 86 per cent of total waste.

Additionally, the company powered 32 per cent of its energy needs by renewable resources.
The company is continuing to integrate manufacturing capacity from recent acquisitions and is firmly committed to meeting its 2020 GHG goal, by pursuing various initiatives including increasing its use of renewable resources such as biomass. The company has a number of projects in research and development that hold promise to help meet its 2020 goals, and propel it along the next phase of its environmental journey.

As part of its commitment to Making Apparel Better, Gildan contributed close to $2 million towards projects in local communities in the US, Canada and Latin America in 2016. Some of these projects include construction of a new infant ward for the Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in Honduras which provides care and services to more than 3,000 infants annually, and a partnership with World Vision Honduras for the “Building Safe and Healthy Environments for Children” programme. Gildan also made a commitment with the ministry of education to sponsor renovation projects for 10 schools in the Sula Valley, improving the school conditions for approximately 4,000 children.

The company provided over 450 scholarships to Gildan employees and community members to attend professional and vocational schools in Canada, the US and Latin America. It also provided relief to communities in need due to several weather-related disasters that created difficult situations for residents.

In recognition of Gildan’s efforts to distinguish itself in the apparel industry through its CSR efforts, Gildan was included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World Index) for the fourth consecutive year. The company remains the only North American company in the textiles, apparel and luxury goods industry group listed in the DJSI World Index.