We can’t solve the climate crisis on our own, but we can put our business to work to be part of the solution.  Patagonia is responding to the climate crisis with every part of our business, because every part of our business is implicated. Three things need to happen: Clean up where we are most complicit, help communities kick oil, and gas and defend nature to protect our home planet.  

As of September 2022, Patagonia is owned by a nonprofit and a purpose trust, a novel approach we pursued so we could find more money to fight the environmental crisis without jeopardizing the company’s values or employees through a sale or public offering. Every dollar not reinvested back into our business goes to communities on the frontlines of climate change, conservation efforts, grassroots organizing and protecting and restoring ecosystems.  

Reinvesting profits doesn’t mean skipping over our core operations. Patagonia, a maker of stuff, has to clean up our own act. As a company, we need to manufacture our products from existing and fewer resources, and do so while minimizing damage to the planet. Our end game? Patagonia transitioning away from fossil fuels and the world getting into the business of doing the same. See also, a livable home planet. 

Here’s where it starts:

MEASURING OUR MESS

Fiscal year 2023 Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions = 200,119 MT CO2e

What these categories mean:

  • Global owned and operated: the stores, campuses and distribution centers we own and operate.  

  • Finished goods manufacturing: final product assembly, cutting/sewing and garment processing like washing and printing.

  • Transportation: all our finished goods getting from here to there. Transportation of our raw materials is included in the Raw Materials Manufacturing category.  

  • Raw Materials Manufacturing: all the steps from source to finishing, the origin of the fiber (farm/recycler), yarn spinner and fabric maker, including any dyeing and finishing of the fabric.

To hold ourselves accountable, we have set goals aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Globally, keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius may not be feasible, but we’ll follow the science where it takes us. And where our R&D can help us pick up the pace, we’ll do it. While our targets may change over time, our commitment to staying aligned with the latest science, and our ambition and focus on cutting emissions, will not. Our targets:

Near-Term – FY2030:

·         Reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions 80%.

·         Reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, business travel and downstream transportation and distribution 55%. 

Long-Term – FY2040:

·         Reduce absolute emissions 90% across our value chain.

·         Reach Net Zero emissions across our value chain. 

Additional notes:

  • SBTi has a robust target-setting and validation process that our company underwent, giving us confidence that our targets align with the latest science and the 2015 Paris Agreement’s commitment to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

  • All targets are from a fiscal year 2017 baseline.

  • Purchased Goods and Services: this scope 3 category includes our GHG emissions associated with Finished Goods Manufacturing and Raw Materials Manufacturing.