Brand owner: Hermès International
Head office: Paris, France
Sector: Luxury brands
Categories :
Free Tags: High-end, Accessories, Bags
| 1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions? |
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Hermes mentions that since 2003, the Group’s Industrial Department has consistently operated an environmental programme.To reduce the carbon footprint of its business operations is one of its objectives (see p 77). The Bilan Carbone Audit is a way of identifying activities, measuring and calculating the carbon emissions related to its production. | 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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Hermes provides no carbon footprint, but instead the full and detailed results regarding the total energy consumption, also per business unit. According to these results the total energy consumption increased for the reported years (see pages 79&105). | 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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Hermes does not communicate any information on target reductions by at least 20% within the next 5 years for its carbon emissions on its website. | 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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Hermes provides clear information regarding its total engergy consumption but no policy that applies further to product supply chain could be found on its website (see pages 79&105). | Source |
| 1. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials? |
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Hermes mentions various objectives;some of them are: to enhance production processes by choosing the cleanest possible technologies and the most environmentally friendly matarials available (see page 77). However, it does not mention which environmentally 'preferred' raw materials they are using on its website. | Source |
| 2. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 25% of its volume? |
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Hermes mentions environmentally 'preferred' alternatives, but does not give clear percentages on the total of materials used in its production processes. | Source |
| 3. Does the brand (company) use environmentally 'preferred' raw materials for more than 50% of its volume? |
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See remark for environmental policy question 2. | 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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Hermes does not openly communicate a policy to prevent the destruction of rainforest caused by cattle farm expansion for meat and leather production. Sustainability information should be easily accessible for consumers to make responsible choices. | 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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Hermes mentions that the leather shavers undergo thermolysis treatment in order to recover the chromium (see page 112). However, Hermes does not communicate the results (such as the chromium recovery level). | 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 footwear? |
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Hermes does not mention a policy to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures. However, it states that HIW (hazardous industrial waste) is handled by a specialised company that processes each type of waste separately, on the basis of its characteristics (see page 112). | 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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Hermes does not mention a clear target to phase out PVC in their products. | 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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Hermes mentions that an assesment of the atmospheric release of VOC regarding its perfumes production was carried out in 2011. However, details regarding the VOC emissions in the footwear and other leather products are not stated on its website. | Source |
| 9. Does the brand (company) sell footwear or footwear with base materials that have an environmental certification? |
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Hermes does sell products with a quality label, but it is not clear if its an environmental quality label. | Source |
| 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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Almost all Hermes products are made in France with only one production site each in Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland and the United States. This means that for the vast majority of products made, the labour conditions comply with EU regulations. These regulations include all of these labour standards (see page 106). | 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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See remark for labour conditions policy question 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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See remark for labour conditions policy question 1. | 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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Although Hermes claims to follow the Social Accountability International’s SA8000 standards, the company does not refer to the official certification and 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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Hermes produces almost all of its products in the own factories in Europe (see page 106 for the full list). | 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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See remark for labour conditions policy question 1. | 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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See remark for labour conditions policy question 1. | Source |
| 8. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? |
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See remark for labour conditions policy question 1. | 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 labour conditions policy question 1. | Source |