Levi’s, M&S Join Forces on Supplier Renewable Energy

Fashion's renewable-energy transition has a coordination problem.

Levi Strauss & Co. and Marks & Spencer are joining forces on a supplier program designed to pool brands' engagement efforts and help manufacturers navigate energy markets, procurement options and implementation.

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Unveiled Tuesday during Climate Week NYC, the Fashion Renewable Collaborative, or FRC, will offer participating suppliers digital education, market guidance and support in assessing and procuring renewable electricity. Schneider Electric's SE Advisory Services will serve as the initiative's global implementation partner.

The founding companies are inviting other fashion brands to join as sponsors or members.

Unlike programs centered primarily on setting targets or publishing roadmaps, the FRC is intended to help suppliers pursue energy purchases and installations. Its menu includes power purchase agreements, energy attribute certificates, on-site and distributed renewable generation and energy storage.

The companies did not disclose an initial supplier count, geographic scope, funding commitment or renewable-electricity procurement target.

The initiative takes aim at one of fashion's most persistent climate problems: Brands have set emissions targets covering supply chains they do not own, while the mills, dye houses and factories expected to deliver those reductions face varying customer demands and sharply different renewable-energy markets.

The potential payoff is substantial. Textile processing—including the mills and dye houses that consume large amounts of heat and electricity—generates more than half of apparel's emissions, according to the Apparel Impact Institute. In a roadmap produced with the World Resources Institute, renewable electricity accounted for roughly two-thirds of the sector's potential emissions cuts.

But suppliers cannot simply choose clean power from a menu. What is available—and at what price—depends on the market. Some options require specialized knowledge, enough demand to make a deal viable and commitments that can stretch over several years. The difficulty only compounds when the same factory is answering to multiple brands with different requests and reporting requirements.

The collaborative is meant to reduce some of that complexity—and the duplication created when multiple brands separately approach the same manufacturer.

"It's become abundantly clear that the most effective way forward on emissions reduction is working in partnership with suppliers," Jennifer DuBuisson, Levi Strauss & Co.'s senior director of sustainability, said. "The Fashion Renewable Collaborative enables greater support of suppliers that want to access or would like to increase use of renewable electricity but haven't been able to so far, helping facilitate adoption while reducing unnecessary duplication."

The FRC builds on supplier programs already operated by Levi's and M&S. Together, those efforts registered nearly 500 supplier facilities, according to the companies. They did not disclose how many of those facilities subsequently procured renewable electricity, installed generation capacity or reduced their emissions through the programs.

For M&S, the FRC builds on Re, its existing supplier-decarbonization program. The retailer has pledged to reach net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2040 under its wider Plan A strategy.

Katharine Beacham, M&S's head of sustainability and materials in fashion, home and beauty, said the collaboration would provide suppliers with "practical support, resources and greater access to renewable electricity."

Participating suppliers will use Schneider Electric's Resource Advisor+ for Supply Chain platform for onboarding, education, readiness assessments and progress tracking. The consultancy said it manages more than 20 active supply-chain decarbonization initiatives involving upward of 3,100 supplier companies, including 16 renewable-energy cohorts involving multiple buyers.

The technology is meant to create a common experience for brands and manufacturers while guiding suppliers from education to procurement. The program's impact, however, will ultimately depend on how many suppliers move beyond registration and reviews to secure renewable power.

"Many fashion brands have made their individual commitments," said Steve Wilhite, executive vice president of SE Advisory Services. "Now the focus must be on helping suppliers deliver against them."

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