H&M Supply Chain Case Study

Sustainability & Social Responsibility

Below is the research conducted on H&M's Social Reasonability and Sustainability goals.

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All APA references are located at the bottom of the page

Summary and Analysis

H&M Group, which owns H&M is one of the most detailed and transparent companies surrounding their social responsibility and sustainabilities in the fast fashion space. Their goals are clear and defined by a value and timeline with yearly updates on their progress toward their goals. Each goal is either on track or exceeded past its goal between its timeline deadline. For the one exception that did not reach their goals, it was swiftly changed to a more realistic goal with accountability for not reaching the previous.  

Their progress towards better sustainable practices is also supported by recognized achievements and awards from reputable organizations. Alongside this, H&M Group also lists and links all relevant information from external organizations referencing their visions and practices. 

Their Social Responsibilities are outlined with multiple policies; including the HM Group Social Policies 2023, HM Group Human Rights Policy 2023, HM Group Salient Human Rights Issues 2022, and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights [provided by the United Nations]. These policies contain detailed information about working conditions, social conditions, human rights, gender equality, wages, and purchasing responsibilities. 

Overall, H&M Group has provided information transparently and actively working with Unions and Laws to provide a safe and inclusive environment. There is progress being made in the supply chain sustainability at an impressive rate. However, there could be more statistics under their Fair and Equal goal category, regarding Women's representation in the supply chain. Which seems to be lacking in effort and results in comparison to the data presented on their key production location information.

Below are the research results used to evaluate H&M's Sustainability and Social responsibility.

The Goals

  1. Climate

  2. Circular Design

  3. Materials and Resources

  4. Packaging

  5. Chemicals

  6. Water

  7. Fair and Equal

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Image to the right: (H&M Aims to Become 100 Percent ‘Circular’, 2016)

Awards in 2022-2023 

  • B- Ranking on the Stand.earth Fashion Scorecard - 2023

  • Scored 71% on the Fashion Revolution Fashion Transparency Index - 2023

  • Evaluated in having a 61 of 100 mark on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index  - 2022

  • Placed 4th on the Business of Fashion Sustainability Index - 2022

  • A- in Climate, B- in Water, B- in Cattle Products, B in Timber, and C in Palm Oil by the CDP - 2022

  • Recognized as Advanced in their Supply Chain by  Platform Living Wage Financials Annual Report - 2022

  • Top 3 in "recycled cotton, polyester, polyamide, man-made cellulosic, down and wool" (Awards and Recognitions, 2023) in the 2022 Material Index By Textile Exchange - 2022

All information above was sourced from (Awards and Recognitions, 2023).

Image to the left: (H&M SUSTAINABILITY REPORT, 2019)

The Goals Deep Dive

(IKEA and H&M announce changes..., 2023)

  • BY 2023

    • " Reduce absolute scope 1, 2, and 3 CO2e emissions by 56% against a 2019 baseline" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

    BY 2024

    • Have Net-Zero Emissions

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    Is there progress?

    In 2022 H&M Group stated that they have achieved an "8 % reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023) and a "7% reduction in scope 3 emissions" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

  • Overall Achieve a Circular Design System.

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    Is There Progress?

    In 2022 H&M began to align with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in their vision for Circular Fashion. This is through developing systems and technologies to achieve this goal. One listed product that's been developed is the "circular product development tool and guide, Circulator" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023) in 2021.

  • BY 2025

    • "30% of materials sourced for commercial goods to be certified recycled" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

    BY 2030

    • "100% of materials sourced for commercial goods to be either recycled or other more sustainably sourced" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

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    Is There Progress?

    By 2022 H&M Group reached 23% of its goal and is currently on track to achieve its goal of 100%, with a current 84%.

  • BY 2025

    • "25% reduction in plastic packaging against a 2018 baseline" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

    BY 2030

    • "Make 100% of packaging from recycled or other more sustainably sourced materials, with a preference for post-consumer recycled materials" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

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    Is there Progress?

    H&M Group has passed their goal for 2025 in 2022 by reducing plastic at 44% and closing in on their 100% goals of using recycled or sustainably sourced materials with 85%.

  • By 2030

    Is There Progress?

    This goal is already close to being achieved with 97% of 100% by 2022.

  • BY 2025

    • "Reduce absolute total freshwater use by 10 % against a 2022 baseline." (Goals and Ambitions, 2023)

    BY 2030

    • "Reduce absolute total freshwater use by 30 % against a 2022 baseline."(Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

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    Is There Progress?

    These current goals are a new direction for the H&M Group after failing to achieve their past goal of reducing 25% of their water use in production [only reaching 21%] by 2022. However, they did achieve their goal of using 15% of recycled water in their water consumption by reaching 21%.

    • "Annual increase in % of supervisors in our tier 1 production supply chain that are female" (Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

    • "Annual increase in % of worker representatives in our tier 1 production supply chain that are female"(Goals and Ambitions, 2023).

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    Is There Progress?

    The H&M Group is experiencing small increases in both categories. In 2020 there were 24% of female supervisors in the supply chain [tier 1], which became 28% and currently landed at 27% for 2022. 

    In 2020 there was a 59% increase in female workers in the supply chain [tier 1], building up to a 62% increase by 2021 but fell short in 2022 with a 63% increase.

Social Responsibility 

References

1 / Awards in 2022 - 2023

(n.d.). Awards and Recognitions. HM Group. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/leading-the-change/awards-and-recognitions/

2 / The Goals Deep Dive

(n.d.). Goals and Ambitions. HM Group. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/leading-the-change/goals-and-ambitions/

3/ Additional Citations

(2023, May 3). HM Group Social Policies 2023. H&M Group. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://hmgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HM-Group-Social-Policies-2023.pdf

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(2023, August 29). HM Group Human Rights Policy 2023. H&M Group. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://hmgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/HMGroup_HumanRightsPolicy_2023.pdf

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(n.d.). HM Group Salient Human Rights Issues 2022. H&M Group. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://hmgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/HM-Group-Salient-Human-Rights-Issues-2022.pdf

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(2011, November 4). Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. United Nations. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf

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(2023, March 4). Fair and Equal Wages. United Nations. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://hmgroup.com/sustainability/fair-and-equal/wages/

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(n.d.). HM Way. H&M. Retrieved December 2, 2023, from https://about.hm.com/content/dam/hmgroup/groupsite/documents/en/hm-way/HM%20Way_en.pdf

4/ Images - Top to Bottom

(2016). H&M Aims to Become 100 Percent ‘Circular’ [Photograph]. WWD. https://wwd.com/feature/hm-annual-sustainability-report-10409747/

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(2019). H&M SUSTAINABILITY REPORT [Photograph]. Apparel Magazine New Zealand. https://apparelmagazine.co.nz/blog/hm-sustainability-report/

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(2023). IKEA and H&M announce changes to meet 2023 sustainability goals [Photograph]. Sustainable Future News. https://sustainablefuturenews.com/sustainability/ikea-and-hm-announce-changes-to-meet-2023-sustainability-goals/