Nike, Target Behind SAC’s New Manufacturer Climate Action Program
Nike and Target helped the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) build its new Manufacturer Climate Action Program.
Announced at SAC’s annual meeting in Boston with brands, retailers, manufacturers, government officials, academics and nonprofits, the Manufacturer Climate Action Program represents a key pillar in the group’s Decarbonization Program.
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Target’s Supplier Engagement Program and Nike’s Supplier Climate Action Program (SCAP), developed with suppliers and the World Resource Institute (WRI), helped inform the Manufacturer Climate Action Program.
“Nike’s SCAP was designed to help suppliers take a leadership role in addressing their climate risk,” said Noel Kinder, the Oregon athletic giant’s chief sustainability officer, noting the company’s “responsibility to drive impact,” and share its learnings with the industry. “Working with SAC and Target to develop the [Manufacturer Climate Action Program] program is the next step in scaling impact across NIKE’s supply chain and the industry.”
Accessible to SAC members and non-members, the Manufacturer Climate Action Program enables manufacturers to develop a pathway to decarbonization by helping them implement processes to measure emissions and develop science-aligned targets for their Scope 1 and Scope 2 operations, where they have direct control. The comprehensive platform will help producers assess their impact and risk, benchmark performance, and use these metrics to inform strategic planning.
When it launches, the Manufacturer Climate Action Program won’t include Scope 3, the operations beyond a company’s direct purview. This is because addressing Scope 3 from the get-go can deter some from taking steps to decarbonize and sets goals, according to SAC. By starting with a specific focus, the program aims to create a “manageable starting point” for companies just starting to decarbonize. The Manufacturer Climate Action Program’s long-term objective is to help manufacturers set science-based targets for all scopes of business, and cut costs through energy efficiency.
In order to reduce global emissions by 45 percent by 2030—and zero out emissions by 2050—the industry must take collective action, SAC said. The Manufacturer Climate Action Program will launch with four steps that allow manufacturers to move toward that goal. First, they will set, validate and disclose company-wide emissions goals. Second, they will take on recommendations and training to creating climate-risk assessment processes, including physical and transition risk, and document these risks to be shared across the value chain. Next, they will develop their decarbonization plans with the Manufacturer Climate Action Program, and finally, they will disclose their carbon-cutting progress in annual reports.
“As a convener of the consumer goods industry, we have a unique opportunity to rally our community’s collective strength and drive transformative change to set science-aligned targets, averting the worst climate impacts,” SAC director of collective action programs Joyce Tsoi said.
She added that the Manufacturer Climate Action Program, a “key initiative,” unites “manufacturers globally to accelerate action towards science-aligned emissions targets, significantly reducing global CO2 emissions at scale.”
“By partnering with industry leaders and offering scalable solutions, we can empower our industry to confront emission reductions and instigate the change we need to support low-carbon transition,” Tsoi said.
“Supply chain emissions amount, on average, to more than 70 percent of a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” Liz Cook, WRI executive vice president for governance and development, added. “To set, and achieve, ambitious emissions reduction targets across the value chain, companies need to support their suppliers.” Cook credited Manufacturer Climate Action Program, along with companies like Nike and Target, for helping suppliers “build their capacity to mitigate and become more resilient to climate change.”
SAC, which recently unveiled a new strategic plan, said it’s still gathering interest from manufacturers in the Manufacturer Climate Action Program, and plans a 2024 program rollout. SAC will track and share the program’s progress on its website, including manufacturers participation stats.
