Ellesse & sustainability
How sustainable is Ellesse ?
Ellesse sustainability score report
Last edited: 8 May 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 8 May 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 8 May 2013 by Mario
Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions
1 out of 4| 1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions? |
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Pentland (brand owner) has various initiatives to reduce its carbon emissions, such as reducing energy consumption utilising technologies such as video conferencing to reduce business travel. | Source |
| 2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual absolute carbon footprint of its 'own operations' (Scope 1 & 2) and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years? |
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Pentland publishes its carbon footprint of 2011/2012, but only to some extent. Therefore it is not possible to analyze the success of Pentland´s carbon emissions policy measures of last year (see link, page 24). | Source |
| 3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its absolute ‘own operations’ carbon emissions by at least 20% within the next 5 years? |
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Pentland mentions it has a goal to reduce their carbon emissions, but does not specify the target percentage or the target year (see pp.22-24). | Source |
| 4. Does the brand (company) also have a policy to reduce/compensate carbon emissions generated from the product supply chain that is beyond own operations (Scope 3)? |
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Pentland explicitly states that its supply chain’s footprint is much larger than its own footprint and that it has "a role to play in influencing suppliers to make their sites more efficient. However, so far Pentland doesn´t report on implemented policy measures and results. | Source |
Questions about Environmental Policy
0 out of 8| 1. Does the brand (company) have a policy to substitute raw materials such as leather and synthetic rubber with environmentally friendlier materials? |
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Pentland (brand owner) communicates to be investigating the use of materials with a lower environmental impact. However in the company does not mention concrete policies or results (see link, page 18). | Source |
| 2. Does the brand (company) use these environmentally friendlier alternatives for raw materials such as leather and synthetic rubber for more than 25% of the total use of materials? |
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See remark at Environmental policies question 1. | Source |
| 3. Does the brand (company) use these environmentally friendlier alternatives for raw materials such as leather and synthetic rubber for more than 50% of the total use of materials? |
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See remark at Environmental policies question 1. | Source |
| 4. Does the brand have a clear and effective policy to avoid the use of leather that originates from cattle farms in deforestated Amazone areas? |
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Pentland is a member of the LWG (Leather Working Group) and emphasises the need to not use leather with a heavy environmental impact, but does not communicate a clear and effective policy specifically for sourcing skin from Amazone areas. | Source |
| 5. Does the brand (company) have a clear and effective policy to minimize environmental pollution of chromium and other harmful substances from leather tanning processes, e.g. by waste water treatment or by vegetable tanning? |
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Pentland bans the use of Chromium IV, but allows Chromium up to a limit of 3ppm for textiles and 100ppm for leather. No information is found about the prohibition of chromium III (see link, page 5). | Source |
| 6. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures to make the clothing and footwear? |
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Pentland has a policy, standards and guidelines for Managing Restricted Substances for Tier 1 - 3 supplier which also cover wet processes. However, nothing concrete is communicated about results resp. good practice procedures. | Source |
| 7. Does the brand (company) have a clear target to phase out PVC in their products, and has the brand already achieved a PVC phase out level of more than 90%? |
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The use of PVC is not permitted unless there are no practical alternatives and written permission for the use of PVC has been given by a Pentland brand. However, it's not clear if Pentland has given permission to any of its brands (see link, page 7). | Source |
| 8. Has the brand (company) a clear and effective policy to minimize the use of solvents based chemicals in their shoe production, and has the brand already achieved a level of average max. 40 grams of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions per pair of shoes? |
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Pentland mentions solvent based chemicals in the RSL, but the company does not make clear what the current average level of VOC emission is per pair of shoes, nor what the policy for using solvent based chemicals is. | Source |
Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade
5 out of 9| 1. Does the brand (company) have a supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labor, no child labor, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace? |
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All standards are mentioned in Ellesse its Code of Conduct (see link). | Source |
| 2. Does this CoC include at least two of the following workers rights: 1. to have a formally registered employment relationship 2. to have a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary and paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. to have a sufficient living wage? |
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In ETI Base Code: 1. Yes, legally binding employment relationships (see point 9); 2. Yes, maximum workweek of 48 hours, overtime (max 12 hours) is voluntary (point 2); 3. Yes, commitment to implement payment of living wages (point 1). | Source |
| 3. Does this Code of Conduct include the right for workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, the right to facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining? |
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This right is mentioned, with reference to parallel means for the situation of law restrictions (see point 8). | Source |
| 4. Does this labour conditions policy also apply further down the production chains, at least covering the leather production or the animal farms? |
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Pentland does not make clear if the Code of Conduct and consequent labour conditions policy also applies further down the footwear production chain, such as leather tanning or cattle farms. | Source |
| 5. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers, that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume? |
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Neither Ellesse nor Pentland provides a significant list of direct suppliers on its website. Sustainability information should be easily accessible for consumers to make responsible choices. | Source |
| 6. Is the brand (company) a member of a collective initiative that aims to improve labor conditions, or does the brand (company) purchase its supplies from accredited factories with improved labor conditions? |
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Pentland is a member of ETI. | Source |
| 7. Do independent civil society organizations like NGO's and labor unions have a decisive voice in this collective initiative or in these certification schemes? |
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Pentland is a member of ETI, which means that Labour Unions and/or business-independent NGO’s have a formal and co-decisive voice within the initiative and are co-responsible for the integrity and credibility of the initiative. | Source |
| 8. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? |
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Pentland reports generally on ist audit procedures. However, no clear results have been published yet (see link, pages 31-33). | Source |
| 9. Has the brand’s labor conditions policy resulted in a ‘compliance level’ of at least 30% of the purchase volume, or a ‘monitored level' of at least 80%? |
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See remark for labor conditions question 8. | Source |