Levi's & sustainability
How sustainable is Levi's ?
Levi's sustainability score report
Last edited: 2 April 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 2 April 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 2 April 2013 by Mario
Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions
2 out of 4| 1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions?? |
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Levi Strauss & Co (brand owner of Levi's) has several policy measures to achieve carbon neutrality by reducing its energy consumption and moving to the use of 100 percent renewable energy. | 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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Levi Strauss & Co has emitted 86213 metric tonnes of CO2e in 2011. Compared to 2007 (85393 metric tonnes CO2e) this entails an increase of around 1% of CO2e emissions. | Source |
| 3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce the carbon footprint of its 'own operations' by at least 20% within the next 5 years? |
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Levi Strauss & Co has set a target to reduce only 25% of their greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 2011. | 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? |
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Levi's reduced fuel usage and therefore carbon emissions on US inbound logistics, they also have an information management system that supplies and track their suppliers energy use data. Moreover, they have some programs to reduce their carbon footprint across the supply chain with several NGOs. | Source |
Questions about Environmental Policy
1 out of 4| 1. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 5% of its volume? |
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95% of the raw materials in Levi's supply chain are from cotton. Levi's is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), which means that cotton is produced with restricted pesticides, fertilizers and water use. However, it is unclear what percentage of the total volume the "better cotton" represent. | Source |
| 2. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 10% of its volume? |
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See remark for environmental policy question 1. | Source |
| 3. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 25% of its volume? |
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See remark for environmental policy question 1. | Source |
| 4. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures? |
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Levi Strauss & Co joined the Joint Roadmap Towards Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals. Companies that signed this document promise to 'eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures that are associated with the making and using of company's products, by 2020'. | Source |
Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade
4 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 aspects are mentioned in Levi Strauss & Co Social and Environmental Sustainability Guidebook (see pages 5-8,26-27 & 37-86). | 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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1. “Work performed must be on the basis of recognized employment relationships” (p 19) ; 2. Maximum working week is 60 hours, hours of overtime is not defined though overtime is voluntary (see pages 7, 17-18); 3. No, mentioning of minimum, legal and industry wage, not living wage (see pages 19-21). | 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 pages 22-25). | Source |
| 4. 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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This list covers all active Levi Strauss & Co suppliers and is effective by December 2012 (see link). | Source |
| 5. 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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Levi Strauss & Co cooperates with several multi-stakeholder initiatives but it seems that none of them is a partner that assists with improving labour conditions world wide. | Source |
| 6. 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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See remark for labor conditions policy question 5. | Source |
| 7. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? |
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Levi's hire factory assessors to conduct regular assessments of every factory contracted to manufacture its products. However, no report has been published. | Source |
| 8. 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 policy question 7. | Source |
| 9. Does the brand (company) have a clear and effective health and safety policy for the workers in the finishing process of jeans, at least covering the ban on sandblasting? |
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Levi's openly communicates about a commitment to ban sandblasting on its website. | Source |