Just over 12 months ago, Speedo and Berghaus parent company Pentland Brands announced its ‘100-1-0’ sustainability strategy as it set a net zero carbon target for its centenary year in 2032. And this week it highlighted the progress the business has made.
The brand house, which also runs Ellesse, Endura, Kickers, Canterbury and Mitre, said last year that it wanted to help 100 million consumers live positive, active, sustainable lifestyles – it also wants to improve the lives of one million people in its communities. It is these targets giving the name to its sustainability strategy.
Pentland Brands said on Tuesday (13 December) that 16 million consumers have already been impacted by its initiatives, with 165,000 people benefiting from important support provide across UK communities.
The last 12 months has also seen the retail group signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative, committing to publish a clear carbon reduction roadmap to reach net zero in alignment with the Paris Agreement.
Moreover, all brand, team and employee personal development plans across the Pentland Brands group now include annual positive business targets, according to the company. This year, the organisation changed its employee annual bonus scheme so that, regardless of the sales revenue and profit targets achieved, bonuses are only triggered if the business first delivers its annual ‘Positive Business’ targets.
Such business-wide alignment towards sustainability strategy is something The Perfume Shop managing director, Gill Smith, talked about as a key greener retailing enabler during a recent interview with Green Retail World.
Sara Brennan, positive business director at Pentland Brands, commented: “While it can sometimes be easy to set ambitious goals, using them as criteria for employee and business success demonstrates we’re taking action in the areas where we can make a genuine impact.
“While we know there’s always more to do, I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and look forward to sharing how we continue to deliver for people and our planet in 2023.”
Examples of Pentland Brands’ sustainability strategy in action
- Berghaus offers a free repairs service called ‘Repairhaus’, which the retailer said has repaired nearly 5,000 items to keep its gear in use and out of landfill.
- Kickers has launched its first 100% vegan ‘Back to School’ collection and it also has a collaboration with pre-loved platform Reskinned, which helps consumers give their footwear a new life by trading them in to be refurbished or recycled.
- The wider group has also promised “significant investments” in tools to support carbon data mapping and tracking in 2023, as Pentland Brands looks to measure its impact and – what it hopes will be – improvements as it approaches its centenary year.
[Image credit: Pentland Brands]
