From the Sector

Stahl, an active proponent of responsible chemistry, has been awarded the highest EcoVadis Platinum rating, placing it within the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. The award underlines Stahl’s commitment to collaborating with its partners to reduce its environmental impact and build a more responsible and transparent supply chain.

EcoVadis is a globally recognized evidence-based assessment platform that reviews the performance of more than 90,000 organizations across key sustainability criteria. These include environmental impact, labor and human rights standards, ethics, and sustainable procurement practices. The latest report from EcoVadis highlights Stahl’s positive progress across all these areas and builds on the Gold rating achieved by the company in 2021. Stahl’s 2030 target is to maintain the EcoVadis Platinum rating by working closely with its value-chain partners to help them reduce their environmental impact – including by supporting their transition to renewable feedstocks. In 2021, 80% of Stahl’s total spend on raw materials was supplied by EcoVadis-rated suppliers.
 
The new EcoVadis rating comes as Stahl accelerates its efforts to ensure a more responsible and transparent supply chain. Recent steps toward this goal have included establishing a dedicated Supply Chain Transparency division within the company’s Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) department. The division will be tasked with coordinating a new product development framework that prioritizes the responsible sourcing of raw materials. Furthermore, in July 2022, Stahl submitted a new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target, including a specific commitment regarding the company’s Scope 3 upstream emissions. Stahl aims to reduce these by at least 25% over the next 10 years, compared with the base year (2021). Stahl expects to achieve this reduction primarily by working with its suppliers to replace fossil-based raw materials with lower-carbon alternatives.

• Sustainability Report 2021 combines financial and non-financial performance indicators
• 2011-2021: 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton produced. 51.7% renewable source energy achieved
• ESG criteria (environmental impact (E), social values (S), organizational governance (G)) determine sustainability strategy

The new RadiciGroup Sustainability Report has been published. With the goal of continuous improvement, the 2021 report has a broader reporting boundary compared to prior years and takes into consideration all the Group companies, including sales and service companies. Over 30 sites located across Asia, North America, South America and Europe have provided their 2021 data on economic, social and environmental performance.

Not only indicators of a financial nature but also measures of environmental impact (E), social values (S) and good organizational governance (G): the latter so-called ESG criteria have become a priority for RadiciGroup, which is preparing for the new European Union non-financial reporting directive in order to contribute to the transition towards a fully sustainable economic system and increase the value of its companies.

On the environmental front, the themes of climate change and decarbonization are RadiciGroup priorities and part of a policy aimed at the uncoupling of growth and resource usage. The Group undertakes to lower emissions from production and choose limited-impact energy sources. This commitment is confirmed by the numbers: in the 2011-2021 period, total emissions per metric ton produced were reduced by 60%, while renewable source energy used by the Group reached 51.7%. Specific investments to decrease environmental impact are ongoing: in 2021, EUR 3.1 million were allocated to introduce best available techniques and improve emissions abatement and energy efficiency.

RadiciGroup promotes professional growth by valuing competence and investment in training: Group training hours once again rose after the pandemic period from 36,000 hours in 2020 to 46,000 hours in 2021. The training method was often a hybrid, taking advantage of aspects experimented with during the pandemic, that is, less traveling and use of facilities in favour of higher groupwide attendance, without the need for participation limits. Fifty-five percent of total training hours was dedicated to health and safety, which has yielded positive results based on the related indicators.

Angelo Radici, president of RadiciGroup: “Today, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our main guideline on sustainability issues. It shows us an ambitious scenario and urges us to confront a multitude of challenges that affect our enterprise from every point of view. We try to be quick to react and tenacious, staying faithful to our roots and our style, but expanding our perspective to become increasingly more competitive and proactive in the businesses we are engaged in. From the viewpoint of achieving less environmental impact in the future, we propose to be an enabler and facilitator for our stakeholders on themes such as the circular economy, where we see ourselves as protagonists in ecodesign and recycling, as well as innovation, which we put at the service of anyone who is processing and using our products, so as to offer real sustainability solutions together.”

International technology group ANDRITZ will be presenting its innovative nonwovens production solutions for wipe applications at the international World of Wipes (WOW) 2022 conference in Chicago, USA, from June 27 to 29, 2022.

ANDRITZ’s “We Care” sustainability program combines all ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) initiatives, goals, and achievements under one roof. For many years now, ANDRITZ has been offering various nonwoven processes to produce best and cost-effective wipes, for example spunlace, Wetlace and Wetlace CP. ANDRITZ also accompanies nonwovens producers in the move towards sustainability with the aim of reducing or eliminating plastic components while maintaining the high quality of the desired product properties. This applies to all types of sustainable wipes, such as flushable, biodegradable, bio-sourced, carded-pulp or standard carded wipes. Indeed, hydroentanglement has the advantage of being able to bond any kind of fibers without the use of chemical binders or thermal fusion.

The latest development in this field is the ANDRITZ neXline wetlace CP line, which integrates the card-pulp (CP) process. This is a fully engineered production line combining the benefits of drylaid and wetlaid technologies to produce a new generation of biodegradable wipes.

ANDRITZ has become a member of the board of the Responsible Flushing Alliance (RFA) in the USA. The RFA is an independent, non-profit trade association committed to educating consumers in responsible and smart flushing habits to help reduce damage to the nation's sewage systems. ANDRITZ is deeply involved in this topic with its technologies for 100% dispersible and biodegradable wet wipes and is highly committed to being part of the RFA.

Stahl, an active proponent of responsible chemistry, has published its 2021 Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. The report outlines the company’s sustainable development ambitions and its achievements over the year. It also features Stahl’s ambitious climate mitigation targets for 2030, such as the transition to more renewable feedstocks.

The 2021 Stahl ESG Report is a cornerstone of Stahl’s commitment to reporting transparently on its progress toward a more sustainable chemicals value chain. This acknowledges the important role that industry must play in tackling climate change while enabling a higher quality of life for more people. A key focal point of the new report is a progress update on Stahl’s ESG Roadmap. Introduced last year, this ten-year plan outlines the company’s ESG commitments and targets for 2023 and 2030.
 
Climate action
Stahl is focused on mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all activities over which it has influence. This includes investing in renewable energy and process efficiencies to lower the GHG emissions caused directly by Stahl’s own operations and the energy used to power them. On this point, progress was made toward the 2023 and 2030 targets in 2021, including a reduction in Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions of 15%. Also covered are Stahl’s indirect value-chain impacts, for example, from the raw materials it buys. Looking beyond Stahl’s direct environmental impacts and fostering greater supply-chain transparency will be vital for tackling emissions on a wider scale.

Creating responsible chemistry, together
In 2021, advances were made regarding the company’s diversity and safety targets, which are areas of continuous improvement. Stahl is committed to ensuring a safe working environment, as well as nurturing a diverse and inclusive workplace to continuously improve employee skills.

EcoVadis Gold rating
Fostering ethical behavior through exemplary leadership and governance is key to Stahl’s ambitions. Achieving the EcoVadis Gold rating was an important milestone in this respect. This well-established award reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to supply chain transparency and working with partners to improve the sustainability of its products and operations.

• Unveil UK’s first-ever sustainable Fashtech Innovation Centre, displaying mass customization capabilities empowering designers, apparel brands, and other creatives

Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT), a worldwide market leader in sustainable, on-demand digital fashionx and textile production technologies and Fashion-Enter - a social enteprise, which strives to be a centre of excellence for sampling, grading, production, and for learning and development of skills within the fashion and textiles industry – today announced a first-of-its-kind Fashtech Innovation Centre in London. Aimed at bringing on-demand fashion and textile mass customization back to the UK, and unveiled on March 3rd and 4th, 2022 at Fashion-Enter's state-of-the-art training and manufacturing site, the Centre is fully supported by Kornit Digital's revolutionary, direct-to-fabric and direct-to-garment digital production solutions.

According to Kornit Digital’s Impact and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, 30 percent of textile production is overproduction, while 95 percent of water waste is created as companies globally look towards more sustainable futures with customized, creative, and real-time offerings. Using proprietary streamlined, eco-friendly digital production technologies, Kornit Digital is transforming the fashion industry with more efficient and sustainable processes. According to the same report, by 2026, the Company’s systems will use up to 95 percent less water, 94 percent less energy and produce 83 percent less greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition to highlighting production capabilities that minimize carbon footprint, the Fashtech Innovation Centre serves as a prototype for brands and fulfillers seeking to mitigate logistical complexities, time-to-market, and supply chain risks by bringing production nearer to the end consumer. Eliminating overproduction and producing on demand, this nearshoring model drives profitability even in highly regulated and high-cost markets while contributing to local economies and removing transport-related waste.

Serving as a fulfilment site and academy for training production, the Centre includes both Kornit Presto direct-to-fabric and Kornit Atlas MAX direct-to-garment systems, as well as numerous graphic design and workflow tools and systems to enable cut-and-sew operations for a comprehensive “pixel to parcel to doorstep” cycle. Consolidating the process into a single location helps maintain full visibility and control of operations and products. Taking this one step further for creators and brands, visitors can experience the KornitX Global Fulfilment Network, enabling customers to create both new sales channels and accessibility to enable production on demand. Attendees can see how Kornit’s single-step digital production technology empowers unlimited graphic expression using less floor space, resources, waste, and time—all at higher margins.

“This Innovation Centre makes it possible to capture the full, end-to-end production process in one, single location,” said Jenny Holloway, Chief Executive Officer, Fashion-Enter. “The beauty of having print on demand means there are no minimums, so we can make one garment, or we can make up to 30,000 garments a week from all locations at the same fixed cost. Here, we can also train future generations on the right way of producing garments for today, responsive to demand, with minimal waste—ethical and sustainable. This is the future of fashion and textiles.”

Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) was awarded “Best Sustainability-Linked Transaction & Best ESG-Linked Financing Deal of the Year” for its THB 10 billion Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) issued in November 2021.

The award was announced at the 15th Best Deal & Solution Awards 2021 by Alpha Southeast Asia, an institutional publication focused on investment in Southeast Asia. This recognition marks IVL's commitment to sustainable growth and ESG performance as a global leader in the chemical industry.

Yash Lohia, Chairman of ESG Council at Indorama Ventures, said, "This award reflects our long-standing commitment to sustainability and creating opportunities for investors to take part in the positive transformation of the chemical industry. This award confirms that financial markets value our ambitious sustainability and ESG efforts towards a more sustainable future.”

IVL's THB 10 billion issuance sets a new benchmark as the largest SLB transaction in Thailand and the first offered to both institutions and high-net-worth investors. The financial instrument is linked to the company's sustainability goals of reducing GHG emissions intensity by 10% by 2025, increasing recycling of PET bale input to 750,000 tons per year by 2025, and achieving 25% renewable electricity consumption in 2030.

IVL appointed Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Krungthai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and the Bangkok branch of HSBC as as arrangers and bookrunners for the green transaction.

Stahl, an active proponent of responsible chemistry, today announces that – by the end of Q2 2022 – it will extend its GHG reduction targets to cover Scope 3 emissions. This step underlines Stahl’s commitment to aligning its strategy with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement goals, updated at the recent COP26 in Glasgow.

Between 2015 and 2020 Stahl reduced its Scope 1 and 2 (direct) GHG emissions by 37%, and has committed to a further 2% reduction each year to 2030. Scope 3 emissions cover all the indirect emissions that can occur in a company’s value chain, including raw material acquisition, transportation, and the end-of-life impact of its products. By focusing on Scope 3 emissions, Stahl is committing to de-fossilizing its supply chain and ensuring further accountability for its total environmental impact.

Michael Costello, Stahl Group ESG Director: “Only by focusing on reducing Scope 3 emissions can we accurately align our de-fossilization strategy with the global goal of limiting global average temperature increase to 1.5°C, as agreed at the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and the COP26 in Glasgow. We look forward to working with partners across our industry and value chain to make this happen.”

Following a thorough assessment by rating agency S&P adidas’ sustainability performance has received an outstanding evaluation. Assessed across Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) dimensions, adidas was awarded with an ESG Profile Score of 79 out of 100. Combined with a strong Preparedness Score (+6), the company’s overall ESG Evaluation Score amounts to 85, placing adidas sixth in the entire S&P Global Rating Universe.

In its assessment, S&P emphasizes adidas’ industry-leading approach to innovation, supply chain management and consumer engagement. In particular, credit is given to adidas’ ambitions to scale the use of sustainable materials, to expand circular services and to deliver against ambitious net-zero emission targets. In addition to adidas’ strong control mechanisms over its supply chain ensuring fair and safe labor practices, the analysis also calls out the integration of a sustainability target into the compensation system of the Executive Board. The close interaction between the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board is seen as exemplary and supportive of the overall strategy execution.

Denim ingredient brand ISKO™ announces R-TWO™50+. Part of Responsible Innovation™, R-TWO™50+ creates high-quality denim that is less harmful to the natural world.

R-TWO™50+ reduces carbon emissions by as much as 45% and water usage by as much as 65%. An exclusive yarn spinning technology, patented by ISKO, uses a minimum of 50% recycled materials to reduce reliance on natural resources.

The fabrics are stronger and more durable, and have a good shape recovery, a soft cotton hand feel and dry up to 20% more quickly.
R-TWO50+ fabrics also have the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) certification, which provides standardised verification for recycled materials.

ISKO is also one of the first in the fashion market to achieve an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scoring, which measures companies’ sustainability and societal impact.

Kornit Digital Ltd., a worldwide market leader in digital textile production technologies, released its 2020 Impact and Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) Report. This inaugural report affirms Kornit’s commitment to achieving specific ESG goals. This includes the way Kornit conducts business, creates meaningful impact in local communities, and achieves environmental sustainability, in addition to how Kornit will continue to build a diverse and inclusive company culture, foster employee growth and development, and empower fair and safe labor practices globally.
 
In addition to enabling eco-friendly production processes with technology and consumables that use less water, reduce waste, and minimize the carbon footprint, Kornit technology solutions enable sustainable production on demand, which eliminates overproduction of apparel and other textile goods. A 2021 Life Cycle Assessment conducted on two flagship products, the Kornit Atlas MAX and Kornit Presto S, demonstrated that relative to traditional analog processes, Kornit’s digital production systems used up to 95% less water and 94% less energy, and produced up to 83% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the Presto S system and up to 93% less water and 66% less energy, and produced up to 82% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the Atlas MAX system.

Based on this study, in addition to past sustainability performance results and strategic projections for business growth and market expansion, by 2026 Kornit Digital’s sustainable on-demand solutions are expected to enable the production of approximately 2.5 billion apparel items in a responsible manner to deliver:

• Zero overproduction: By moving the industry to on-demand manufacturing, Kornit will help eliminate the estimated 1.1 billion apparel items overproduced using traditional production methods, based on an industry average of 30% overproduction. This is about 1 apparel item for each and every person living in Europe and North America – saved.
• Zero water waste: In addition to eliminating overstocks, Kornit-enabled production on demand will support saving an estimated 4.3 trillion liters (1.1 trillion gallons) of water. This is the estimated amount of drinking water needed for the entire U.S. population for 11 years.
• Reduced CO2 emissions: By enabling sustainable on-demand production, consuming less energy, and generating less waste, Kornit will prevent an estimated 17.2 billion kilograms (37.9 billion pounds) of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to traditional manufacturing methods. This is equivalent to the estimated amount of carbon dioxide emitted from circumnavigating the entire planet with a car nearly 2,400 times.

Furthermore, the report outlines Kornit’s commitment to achieving KPIs that address waste, chemicals, GHG emissions, energy, product development, employee training, diversity and inclusion, and the company’s supply chain.