Understanding and respecting planetary boundaries

A woman in a light blue and white striped dress dances with her hands in the air. In the background is the bright blue sky.

The focus of our environmental activities is on climate protection. This is because our climate has already reached its limits. Our supply chain is the most important lever for effectively reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. And not just with our direct partners: many emissions are generated in upstream production steps. Decarbonising our supply chain will therefore be the biggest challenge in the coming years.

Climate targets

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Scientific climate targets by 2031

The Otto Group has had its 2024 climate target, a so-called Science-Based Target (SBT), officially validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi): By 2031, the Group aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 42% in absolute terms and without offsetting compared to 2021 - and not just in relation to its own business activities, but along the entire supply chain, right through to the use and disposal of products.

Scope 3, 2, 1 - countdown for emissions

Our focus is on the transformation of the supply chain

At bonprix, the focus is on greenhouse gas emissions caused by the consumption of raw materials and the manufacture of our products (Scope 3). In addition to the use of raw materials with a lower climate impact, improving the ecological impact of our supply chain partners is therefore crucial to achieving the Science-Based Target (SBT). We are focussing our climate protection measures on transforming the supply chain, including improving energy efficiency and switching to renewable energies.

A woman stands in front of the blue sky, holding a denim jacket with both hands over her head. She is wearing a white wrap-around top and jeans.

Scope 3, 2, 1 - countdown for our emissions

Our emissions data distinguishes between Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol:

Scope 1: Direct emissions from our own operations, e.g. from the combustion of fossil fuels such as petrol in vehicles or oil in boilers. This scope covers far less than 1 % of our emissions.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions in connection with purchased heat, electricity, steam or refrigerants. This scope comprises just under 1 % of our climate emissions.
Our most important lever for reducing Scope 2 emissions is the purchase of green electricity.

Scope 3: Other indirect emissions from our value chain, such as from purchased products and services and transport. At around 99%, this scope comprises the largest proportion of our emissions.

Our Goals

Climate

As part of the Otto Group, we share the climate target of reducing our Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 42% in absolute terms by 2031 (compared to the base year 2021). This target was officially validated by the Scienced Based Targets Initiative 2024.

Chemicals

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Detox for our production

Chemicals are required when dyeing, washing or finishing textiles. The damage to workers, customers and the environment caused by the use and disposal of chemicals is therefore one of the key risk issues in the fashion industry. Inadequate treatment of wastewater in the production countries poses a particular threat to local ecosystems, drinking water reserves and farmland.

Not all chemicals are the same

Our most important tool for eliminating defective chemicals is clear specifications for our suppliers and their upstream stages: The Restricted Substances List (RSL) refers to the end product and lists substances and substance groups that must not be detectable in it or only to a limited extent. The Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) (LINK) names chemicals that are either completely banned in production or are restricted by limit values. Our MRSL complies with the requirements of the Textiles Partnership, which are identical to the MRSL of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) initiative. We completely excluded perfluorinated and polyfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) from the production of our clothing back in 2018.

Our Goals

Chemicals

By the end of the 2031/32 financial year, 100% of our suppliers with wet process units will comply with the ZDHC MRSL standards.

Inventory via App – Bhive®.

The introduction of the BHive® tool significantly increases transparency in chemical management. BHive® enables production facilities to create a digital chemical inventory using smartphone photos of chemical product labels. The comparison with our MRSL takes place automatically. This allows companies to recognise at a glance which chemicals need to be replaced.

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