Environmental, Social and Governance Goals

As a purpose-driven company, it’s important for A&F Co. to align its business practices and priorities with our values. To begin to do this with greater transparency and impact, in 2022, and in partnership with an experienced third-party, we conducted our first materiality assessment to identify the environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics that are most important to our stakeholders and our long-term business success.

From this assessment, we refreshed our existing 2019 sustainability goals and added new goals related to other social and governance priorities. Our updated ESG goals listed below align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Impact AreasGoalsPrimary SDG Impact
Waste Management
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Reduce waste at Global Home Office by 50% by 2025 compared to 2019
material-and-traceability
Raw Materials & Eco-Friendly Sourcing
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Trace bovine leather and strive to source deforestation/conversion free according to 3rd party standards by 2030
material-and-traceability

Source 30% of cotton as Better Cotton by 2024		material-and-traceability

Source 25% recycled polyester by 2025
material-and-traceability
Source 100% virgin wool through Responsible Wool Standard by 2025material-and-traceability

Source 100% manmade cellulosic fiber (MMCF) from non-endangered or ancient forests or 50% Canopy-supported Next Generation MMCF		material-and-traceability
Sustainable Packaging
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Mailers and polybags minimum of 50% recycled content by 2023 material-and-traceability
100% of mailers in APAC, EMEA, and USA are recyclable by 2023material-and-traceability
Tracking percentage of  third-party certified packaging materials by 2023 material-and-traceability
100% of polybags in USA are recyclable by 2023 material-and-traceability
GHG Emissions & Energy Efficiency
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Reduce total Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 47% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline
Water Management
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30% reduction in water intensity in denim production by 2028
50% use of recycled water by 2028
Suppliers Environmental Assessment
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100% of Tier 1 and 2 suppliers to complete environmental self-assessment annually by 2025
80% of Tier 1 and 2 suppliers to verify environmental self-assessment by 2025
Chemical Management
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< 3% of product failures due to chemical non-compliance by 2024 
Impact AreasGoalsPrimary Impact
Human Rights and Labor Conditions
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Continue 100 % of Tier 1 and logoed suppliers participate in A&F’s social audit program
100% of laundries to complete Higg Index Facility Social & Labor Module (“FSLM”) or Social & Labor Convergence Program (“SLCP”) by 2025 
100% top producing fabric mills (i.e. 80% production volume) complete Higg Index FSLM or SLCP by 2025  
100% Better Work (“BW”) factories with employees trained on gender-based violence prevention and response by 2025 
Human Rights and Labor Conditions
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50,000 access to worker well-being and empowerment programs by 2027 
Talent Management
Execute a listening strategy across the end-to-end associate experience to drive actionable insights across performance, retention, development and engagement
Investment in Community and Volunteerism
Invest $4M in donations and 20,000 volunteer hours per year across a portfolio of global community partners
Mental Health and Well-Being  
Integrate mental health & well-being offerings across the associate experience
Invest $2M per year in community organizations with a focus on mental health & well-being
Health and Safety
Maintain low annual rate of worker accidents and injuries of 2-3% (industry standard)
Inclusion and Diversity
Reflect the diversity of the communities we serve around the world by maintaining 60% or greater female representation as a total company (global) by 2026
Reflect the diversity of the communities we serve around the world by maintaining 60% or greater of Underrepresented Communities (URC) representation as a total company (U.S.) by 2026
Reflect the diversity of the communities we serve around the world by achieving 30% URC representation at our Global Home Office (U.S.) by 2026
Committed to an inclusive leadership team and board, representative of our workforce with 50% or more of external hires identifying as URC at Director level and above (U.S.)
Involve a third party that allows for annual pay analysis to further develop strategies to ensure total pay equity.
Expand our training, learning & development to promote inclusivity and belonging by developing a core curriculum for associates and trainings to upskill our Leadership.
Impact AreasGoalsPrimary Impact
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
Perform one or more risk and control assessments to validate reasonable security practices are in place to protect sensitive information in line with the organization’s risk tolerances
Maintain secure payment technology to protect customer payment information in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards 

Note: When we refer to “materiality” and our “materiality assessment”, we are referring to the identification of material issues for purposes of guiding our ESG strategies, goals, and programs, and we are not using the definition of materiality for purposes of our financial statements or other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).