4S PLANET against climate change

From the return of production to Italy to the choice of shipping instead of air transport, from the installation of solar panels to the electrification of processes: the initiatives put in place by fifty Italian companies in the fashion supply chain that have joined the 4S PLANET programme show how the sector is moving from words to deeds in the fight against climate change. ‘Decarbonisation projects are at the heart of the virtuous strategies of many brands and, consequently, of the production companies that are part of their supply chain,’ explains Francesca Rulli, creator of 4sustainability® and administrator of YHub. ‘The first step is to measure the total consumption of the factory, detailing it by process down to the individual stage or machine. By doing so, reduction potential can be identified. It is not just a question of installing photovoltaic panels or switching to green energy: the real challenge is to rethink production processes.

The fashion industry is responsible for a significant share of global emissions, estimated at between 2% and 8% of the total. ‘Today, brands demand very detailed information on environmental aspects, but very few value – also in terms of price – materials produced with a lower impact on the climate,’ concludes Francesca Rulli. ‘There are however positive signs. Some brands have started to measure the contribution of their supply chains to reducing emissions, to enter into more important partnerships with virtuous companies. ‘There is a lot of talk about climate justice, i.e. the concept that everyone should contribute to climate action on the basis of their own responsibility, avoiding that the most vulnerable pay the price. Here, in the fashion industry, this is an example of climate justice’.

The 50 companies that have joined 4S PLANET are implementing actions in four strategic areas:

1. Rethinking sourcing: ‘Some areas may guarantee lower costs in the short term, but be more vulnerable to the impact of the climate crisis, due to water shortages, extreme weather events, extreme temperatures that make production more difficult, etc.’. The company is called upon to assess these trends in the years to come, safeguarding its business continuity,’ Francesca Rulli points out.

2. Innovating machinery and plants: Here, the ability to innovate, invest and manage makes the difference. Sustainability is sometimes still described as a cost, but in reality it is an investment, also because it leads to the optimisation of resources, thus generating a competitive advantage,’ continues Rulli.

3. Converting energy sources: ‘On the one hand we need to act on electrification, replacing methane gas where possible, on the other hand we need to ensure that this energy comes from renewable sources, through the installation of photovoltaic panels and the choice of green energy suppliers.

4. Transforming logistics: ‘The reshoring of production in Italy is positive because the EU has evolved regulations in environmental and social terms. For freight transport, the ship is preferable to the plane, while for corporate mobility, we focus on electric and hybrid models’.