ECCO & sustainability
Sustainability summary
Brand owner: ECCO Sko A/S
Head office: Bredebro, Denmark
Sector: Shoes & footwear
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How sustainable is ECCO ?
ECCO sustainability score report
Last edited: 6 October 2012 by Mario
Last reviewed: 6 October 2012 by Mario
Last reviewed: 6 October 2012 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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ECCO Group has a policy to improve its energy efficiency and to reduce its CO2 emissions. For example in 2010 it upgraded its compressor technology at its headquarters it means that it saved 67,000 kWh energy and 32 tons of CO2 emission annually. | Source |
| 2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual carbon footprint of its 'own operations' and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years? |
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ECCO has published its energy footprint of shoe factories and tanneries for 2009 and 2010, but it is not clear what percentage of reduction has been achieved in the last 5 years. | 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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ECCO does not communicate any information on targets reductions 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? |
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As one of the few brands, ECCO owns and operates the production of leather, the production of shoes and retail stores worldwide. ECCO clearly reports on the carbon emissions from the production units. | Source |
Questions about Environmental Policy
2 out of 8| 1. Does the brand (company) have a policy to substitute leather and synthetic rubber with environmentally friendlier materials? |
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Allthough ECCO has got headquarters and a research and development centre that investigates more environmentally-friendly production methods and develops new and innovative types of leather, the company doesn't mention if more substainable alternatives to leather and synthetic rubber are actually applied. | Source |
| 2. Does the brand (company) use these environmentally friendlier alternatives for leather and synthetic rubber for more than 25% of the total use of footwear materials? |
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See remark on 'Environment' question 2. | Source |
| 3. Does the brand (company) use these environmentally friendlier alternatives for leather and synthetic rubber for more than 50% of the total use of footwear materials? |
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See remark on 'Environment' 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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ECCO imports rawhide from all over the world. ECCO does not mention any policy concerning Brazil cattle farms that may have contributed to deforstation. | 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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The ECCO Group applies the ‘ECCO Criteria for Restricted Chemical Substances in ECCO Products’. ‘Chromium Vl’ is on its List of Restricted Chemical Substances of ECCO. For chromium (lll) and other harmful substances pollution caused by leather tanning processes, ECCO clearly reports on the wastewater treatment at the tanneries. | 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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ECCO claims to 'substitute chemicals with products or systems with less environmental impact wherever possible'. It is not clear if ECCO has a policy to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle of footwear production. | 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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As phthalates are on the ECCO List of Restricted Chemical Substances, it can be assumed that PVC is also banned from ECCO 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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ECCO does not communicate about the use of solvent based chemicals and VOC emissions on the 'chemical' pages on the website, so it is not clear what ECCO's policy is on this issue. | Source |
Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade
2 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 ECCO's Code of Conduct (page 4-5). | 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. Not mentioned; 2. No, legally-set working hours in the country of question are mentioned; 3. No, minimum wage and not living wage is paid (see page 4). | 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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In the CoC of ECCO the freedom of association is mentioned, but nothing found about situations in which this right is restricted by law (page 4). | 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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The CoC of ECCO states that it is essential to ECCO that the Code of Conduct is an integral part of the entire value chain. As ECCO owns the manufacturing sites and tanneries as well, also the leather prodution is covered by this Code of Conduct. | 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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ECCO published a report (see source) where the company gives details about the owned shoe factories and tanneries. The tanneries are good for 85% of ECCO's leather use. There is no list of suppliers published by ECCO. | 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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ECCO does not communicate any information about being part of a collective initiative or purchasing from an accredited supplier, on its website. | 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 on 'Labor conditions / Human rights' question 6. | Source |
| 8. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? |
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ECCO describes their 'Global Audit Programme' for own operations and suppliers. However, the outcomes of the audit programmes are not published. | 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 on 'Labor conditions / Human rights' question 9. | Source |