Since its founding over 155 years ago, sustainability has been “central” to Schoeller’s DNA for the past dozen decades, give or take, as the international textile company states it has concentrated on making high-quality, long-lasting goods since 1868.
Though a bit late to the game, Schoeller just released its first sustainability report, providing insights into the company’s environmental, social and ethical commitments as well as emphasizing progress made in pursuit of a greener future.
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“Schoeller was instrumental as a co-founder of Bluesign and sees itself as a pioneer in other areas of environmentally friendly production as well,” Joachim Kath, CEO of Schoeller Textil AG, said in the report. “The publication of our first sustainability report marks yet another milestone in our company’s history and highlights our long-standing commitment to responsible action.”
Schoeller’s sustainability strategy is guided by the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), concentrating on the four most relevant to the company: 8, 9, 12 and 13.
The first goal—to end forced labor, child labor and sexual harassment—saw 2024 focus on creating more supply chain transparency by engaging the external ESG platform Worldfavor to “mitigate supply chain risks, comply with legal requirements and accelerate positive impact.” To build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive, sustainable industrialization and foster innovation, as instructs the next goal, Schoeller devised a “crucial” digital manufacturing strategy that will go into effect in 2025.
“By digitizing manufacturing, Schoeller can minimize waste, lower energy consumption and reduce the need for re-work, all of which contribute to a more sustainable operation,” the company said. “Furthermore, digital tools enable more accurate planning and supply chain optimization, ensuring that resources are used efficiently, and that production is more closely aligned with demand, reducing excess inventory and waste.”
Schoeller also widened its sustainable practices and implemented public procurement practices per national policies and priorities, measuring its GHG emissions—for the first time—to identify where to cut the fat. By starting with the base year backdated to 2019 (selected as the most “realistic” baseline due to the next three years being “heavily biased” by the pandemic), the Switzerland-based developer of textile technologies was able to set Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) goals. However, Schoeller must drop its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 46 percent before 2030 to hit those goals.