ABF's Primark revealed the detail as part of its lates sustainability report, indicating Scope 1 and 2 emissions (market-based) decreased by 21% from 2023 levels and were 52% lower than the baseline established in 2019.
This reduction resulted from energy efficiency improvements in stores and increased procurement of renewable energy sources. Overall, Primark recorded a 1.9% decrease in total carbon emissions since its baseline year of 2019 and an 11.6% decline compared to the previous year.
Elsewhere, in the Sustainability & Ethics Progress Report 2023-2024, Primark revealed almost two-thirds or 66% of its clothing now contains recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, up from 11% over the past year.
Primark has also outlined a roadmap aimed at increasing the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices within its Cotton Project by 2030.
This year, 57% of cotton clothing units sold contained organic, recycled cotton or cotton sourced through the Primark Cotton Project.
The report details the company's advancements in line with its Primark Cares commitments. It also highlights the company's broader efforts in social impact and environmental sustainability, covering its products, stores, and entire supply chain. The company's enhanced focus and investment in new capabilities have enabled it to accelerate progress towards these goals.
In its efforts to promote circularity, Primark has concentrated on enhancing the proportion of garments designed for circular use, particularly in categories such as denim and jersey. Approximately 3% of the clothing sold in the last year met the criteria outlined in Primark’s Circular Product Standard.
Primark introduced its Durability Framework this year to address the notion that durable clothing is more expensive. This initiative responds to the European Union's emphasis on product longevity amidst rising living costs and environmental concerns related to textile waste.
And, to address textile waste, Primark is exploring innovative strategies like its textile donation scheme and other circular business models through partnerships with organisations like WRAP and the Circular Textiles Foundation. So far, 529 employees have completed foundational training in circular design.
Supplier progress
- Primark signed a legally binding agreement with the IndustriALL global union to support collective bargaining for workers in Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector, a key milestone on the path to establishing the first ever collective bargaining agreement in the country, and industry, which is directly supported by brands.
- Primark is working with 36 external partners to support workers in its supply chain across 21 programmes, ranging from building financial resilience to protecting against gender-based violence, harassment and mental health issues.
- Primark’s long-standing worker upskilling programme Sudokkho is now nearly 10 years old and is running in 28 factories in Bangladesh.
- Primark continues to invest in its team and supplier factory efficiency programmes aimed at supporting GHG emission reductions through targeted training, upskilling, and energy-saving projects. It has also launched a new performance metric requiring its top 100 key suppliers to set GHG emission reduction targets within tier one and two of their supply chains.
Primark Cares director Lynne Walker said: “Our sustainability commitments belong to all of us at Primark and we’re starting to see real impact. The progress we’ve made in the three years since we launched our Primark Cares strategy has given us the confidence to be proud of the work we are doing. As a brand for everyone, we know we have a huge responsibility to use our scale for good.
“Taking the lead on durability across the industry and proving that more sustainable and longer-lasting clothing doesn’t have to cost more, has been a significant achievement for us. Continuing to learn as we gather insights and data from across the Primark business and forging meaningful collaboration across the industry will be critical to achieving our 2030 ambitions.”
