WELCOME TO THE
CIRCULAR
FASHION HUB
ACS is redesigning the future of fashion and providing solutions to the fast fashion crisis
%
of annual GHG emissions are emitted by the fashion industry
worth of clothing sits in UK wardrobes unworn
tonnes of clothing in the UK goes to landfill each year
%
of consumers consider sustainable materials to be a factor in purchasing a fashion item.
(USD) is the predicted net worth of the resale market by 2025
%
of consumers are interested in investing in circular fashion like rental and resale
WE’RE CLOSING THE LOOP ON FASHION
We envision a future where brands and retailers embrace circular fashion, like rental and resale, to decouple economic growth from the extraction of natural resources. Circular fashion encourages extended use of garments and minimises the environmental challenges caused by overproduction of textiles.
Achieving Carbon Neutrality is a huge milestone in our journey towards net-zero by 2025.
By calculating our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions across all areas of business, we have been able to visualise the progress we have made so far and understand the steps we must take next to create a just and sustainable future for the next generations.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY AMBITIONS
Our board conceived and nurtured 10 sustainability ambitions since 2019: 1) VAT Free Sustainable Fashion Products/Services 2) Circular Business 3) Zero Waste to Landfill / Waste to Energy 4) Zero Carbon Emissions 5) 100% Renewables 6) Eco-Friendly Cleaning & Biocidal Systems 7) Good Health & Well-Being for Staff 8) Enhanced Biodiversity 9) Social Accountable benchmark 10) Circular Water Usage Our ultimate success measurement for the immediate future is achieving Net Zero in 2023. Working with our accreditation partner, Climate Partner, we have been measuring and attributing greenhouse gas outcomes to our business operations since 2019, our base year. We measure our emissions monthly and offset them annually – we are a carbon-neutral certified business. We have all but eradicated all Scope 1&2 emissions with only the diesel-fuelled sprinkler system standing in our way. We are measuring the emissions as our raw materials and products travel from manufacturing to customers and back again; and post-use destinations like recycling or upcycling, to increase overall sustainable circularity. This even includes our staff commute to/from work. The success of our business, a 150% increase in orders in 2022, has made our journey to net zero more challenging. However, we still forecast a 40% reduction in carbon emissions in 2022. Our Sustainability Balanced Scorecard provides a framework for measuring progress on our sustainability journey and helps us to plan strategically. The Scorecard KPI’s include topics such as workplace safety, health, training and wellness for staff as well as energy and water consumption. The KPIs contained in the Scorecard are cascaded into our PDR-system ensuring that our staff are committed and focused on managing our triple bottom line: Profits, People and Planet. |
We use the B-Corp certification (and measurement framework) to make balanced business decisions and measure our impact on our staff, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. B-Corp’s impact framework measures Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. B-Corp helps us measure the overall environmental social performance of the business. We are currently being assessed by the B-Corp auditing team.
We apply for sustainability awards annually to benchmark our successes against the best in the country. In addition, we welcome guests to our site, for example, government ministers, other employers, academia and NGO’s to benchmark our progress. We also sit on expert panels, present at conferences receiving feedback on our journey so far.
We publish an annual sustainability report to voluntarily communicate our performance and impact in environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters to our stakeholders. We share our performance against our ambitions and explain what actions we have taken to improve our sustainability performance.
Since 2018, sustainability is no longer an issue of compliance for ACS, it is a strategic and operational imperative with the executives leading the way. Our board have integrated sustainability into our corporate strategy. They have formed and empowered a sustainability organisation; and engage proactively with them. They strategically hold this team responsible for creating measurable impact. They designed a sustainability organisation which has flexibility to adjust as business conditions and requirements change. This gives the company the capabilities required to capture value and manage risks from sustainability in a systematic and even transformational way. The board are ‘mega-sponsors’ of sustainability and have taken to heart the message that the only good strategy is a sustainable one.