Decathlon says it has spent the past two years working with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to bring its design, production and distribution into line with the Paris Agreement on the earth’s climate. It says that its carbon intensity (tCO2e per euro) has declined by 10 percent since 2016. However, its carbon emissions, because of business growth, have increased in absolute terms by 3 percent over the same period.
The French retailer and producer of sporting goods has now set targets for the reduction of its carbon footprint, among them a reduction of 53 percent in carbon intensity. The other targets, which have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTI), are as follows:
- A 90 percent reduction in the absolute value of its carbon emissions (tCO2e) on scopes 1 and 2 from 2016 to 2026
- A 53 percent reduction in carbon intensity (tCO2e per euro of added value) on scopes 1, 2 and 3 from 2016 to 2026
- The use of suppliers that “define their own reduction trajectory” in alignment “with science” for 90 percent of its emissions
Decathlon is now pledging to meet a series of objectives by 2026. It will be taking an “Ecodesign approach,” with environmental labeling, for all products; using only “100% renewable” energy with its suppliers, to the exclusion of coal; and drawing all of its electricity from “renewable sources,” while increasing the energy efficiency of its stores and warehouses. It will also be developing and deploying low-carbon business models, in which:
- 30 percent of products will be “qualified as repairable” and all repairable products willl be repaired by its workshops or customers
- Stores in all the countries will offer second-hand sporting goods
- Stores will offer product rentals and subscriptions
