H&M targets 100% recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030
In setting new science-based land targets, H&M Group aims to have all its materials either be recycled or sustainably sourced by 2030. Guided by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), these ambitious new targets include avoiding land conversion, minimising land footprint, and engaging in priority landscapes.
©Angus Burns, WWF South Africa
The core three:
- No conversion of natural ecosystems targets
H&M has set a target for their upstream impacts, with low exposure to the conversion of natural ecosystems in its direct operations.
It plans to achieve this by targeting 100% sustainably sourced material by 2030 and strengthening risk management processes.
- Land Footprint Reduction target
H&M Group has committed to reducing its absolute agricultural land footprint from upstream impacts 3.85% by 2030 from a 2019 base year, by increasing the share of recycled materials to 50% by 2030.
- Landscape Engagement target
The Swedish multinational clothing company is engaged in the Regenerative, Ecologically and Economically Viable Agriculture (REEVA) project in Central India and the Regenerative Wool Project in the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Grasslands of South Africa and will continue to financially support partnership projects with the WWF.
The group’s ambition is for all its materials to either be recycled or sustainably sourced by 2030, with biodiversity and agricultural practices that improve soil health playing an important role.
In this work, H&M Group follows SBTN’s ARRRT framework (Avoid, Reduce, Restore, Regenerate, Transform).
Preventing the conversion of ecosystems from their natural state is a key priority, and the group invests in agriculture projects to counteract biodiversity loss and protect nature, while strengthening communities, supply chains, and its business to become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Long-term resilience
By aligning with SBTN’s framework and validating its work through the Accountability Accelerator, H&M Group aims to clarify its agenda on biodiversity and ecosystems and strengthen the long-term resilience of its materials sourcing and production processes.
Following SBTN’s guidance, H&M Group confirmed priority landscapes, with a focus on cotton and wool, and prioritised supporting the transition to agricultural practices that improve soil health, water retention, and biodiversity.
Two projects in which the group is already engaged through its partnership with WWF have been identified through the SBTN assessment and validated as part of H&M’s suite of land targets.
H&M Group says it will continue to strengthen requirements for its suppliers to ensure deforestation- and conversion-free material sourcing.
The group also expressed its commitment to reducing its agricultural footprint by increasing the share of recycled content in its products, saying it will continue its work with local organisations to restore degraded land and increase the use of regenerative agriculture practices in selected sourcing regions.