Top 40 supplier Gildan (asi/56842) has been tracking and sharing its environmental, social and governance (ESG) progress for nearly two full decades. The Montreal-headquartered company just released its 19^th ESG report, highlighting its 2022 performance against key targets and the momentum generated across all global operations in the first year of activating its Next Generation ESG plan.

“Looking back at 2022, I am pleased with our continued commitment to ESG across our operations and our enhanced processes and cross-functional collaboration and accountability,” said Glenn J. Chamandy, president and CEO of Gildan. “ESG is one of the three core pillars of our Gildan Sustainable Growth business strategy, and as we continue our journey toward achieving our 2030 ESG targets, we are committed to delivering and reporting on our progress.”

Among the 2022 highlights, Gildan tied 25% of all senior executives’ strategic objectives to their annual short-term incentive plan to support the advancement of its ESG targets; included sustainability-linked terms in its existing $1 billion revolving credit facility; reduced absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10.9%, compared to a 2018 base year; reduced water intensity by 18.4%, compared to a 2018 base year; and sourced 21.7% of its cotton supply from worldwide cotton certifier Better Cotton and verified U.S.-grown cotton suppliers through the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. The company also achieved 30.3% gender parity in the collective group representing director-level and above employees, an improvement over 26.7% in 2021.

Plus, 14.2% of total SKUs of packaging and trim materials specific to apparel (including carton, polyester, paper and cotton-poly trims) contain recycled materials or have relevant sustainability certifications, according to thefirm.

Gildan noted that it contributed $1.1 million to community initiatives in 2022. The apparel basics supplier wants to increase annual contributions to an amount equal to 1% of its pre-tax earnings by 2026, with a focus on three core areas: quality education, good health and well-being, and protection of natural resources.

Among its accomplishments in 2022, Gildan helped fund a partnership in Bangladesh with Room to Read, which helps girls in grades six through 12 develop education skills and knowledge to address common gender barriers. Since 2017, Gildan has donated over $200,000 to the program, helping nearly 500 girls. In Honduras, Gildan donated more than 3,000 T-shirts to support health awareness and fundraising events. Along with local employees, it raised more than $20,000 for Teleton, a rehabilitation center. Last year, Gildan also launched a three-year, $40,000 partnership with the Santo Domingo Water Fund (FASD) in the Dominican Republic to improve the supply of high-quality water for residents near company operations.

In addition, Gildan published its first stand-alone Climate Change Disclosure Report in 2022.

Gildan also shared some of its more recent 2023 achievements. The Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) validated the firm’s near-term targets to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 from a 2018 base year. SBTi also validated its plan to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 13.5% by 2030, from a 2019 base year. The company also obtained its first ISO 45001 safety certification at one of its sewing facilities in the Dominican Republic.

The company touted the recognition it received for its ESG practices, noting that it was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 10^th consecutive year in 2022, and was named one of the “World’s 100 Most Sustainable Corporations” by Corporate Knights, among other accolades.

Gildan ranked fifth on Counselor’s most recent list of the Top 40 suppliers in the industry, with an estimated North American promotional products revenue of $762.2 million in 2022.

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