Selfridges Goes Bold With Sweeping Net Zero Commitments, But Are They Realistic?

Critical times demand bold actions and in the case of retailer Selfridges, it means setting their net zero emissions targets 10 years ahead of schedule. In 2020 they set science-based targets (SBTs) for emissions reductions across their stores, offices, and online retail. Their emissions are scoped as follows: Scope 1 is their direct emissions from stores and offices, 2 is their indirect emissions from energy to power their stores and offices, and 3 is emissions generated during the creation and transportation of the products and services they buy, sell and use. Selfridges has committed to net zero emissions across all three scopes by 2040, announcing this goal today in their Project Earth report.

For Selfridges, Scope 3 accounts for 95% of the retailer’s total emissions, yet these emissions are outside of their direct control, deep in the supply chains of the brands and suppliers they buy products from. So how will net zero emissions be achieved from a position of little to no control?

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Influence versus control

During a Project Earth report briefing at the Oxford Street store, I spoke with the company’s Head of Sustainability, Rosie Forsyth, who described Selfridges as an “aggregator and an influencer to inspire sustainable choices”–a sustainability steward, if you like. The retailer resides in between consumers and the suppliers of goods, but can their influence extend into the supply chains of their suppliers, to ensure those third parties set and meet ambitious emissions reduction targets, so that Selfridges can, in turn, meet their own? “Selfridges commits that 10% of our suppliers by emissions covering logistics and capital goods will have SBTs by 2024” states the report, but even if this is achieved, will the SBTs be set and actioned in time for 2030, then 2040 targets? I never knock ambition, but this would require a lot of drastic collaborative action from many independent parties to get close to this target.

Furthermore, if the pressure Selfridges exerts on brands and suppliers does ripple through the supply chain and lead to emissions—reducing activities, how will Selfridges track and measure this? For right now, a ‘black hole’ exists where much of the essential data for such calculations would be. And if the data is there, it is collected by varying methods, in multiple manual and digital formats, and owned by individual stakeholders, who have no obligation (or often, motivation) to share it. Brands have a difficult time accessing this data, so how might Selfridges, who is yet another step removed?

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Measuring material and product impacts

Currently, the only reliable way to assess Scope 3 impacts within the supply chain while at arm’s length is to use globally averaged data that comes with as many assumptions as it does limitations. There is some good news on this front, though. Within Scope 3, experts have concluded that some globally averaged data sets on raw material emissions are reliable due to common technologies and standardized processing methods. Many databases that assess supply chain impacts, including the likes of TrusTrace and GreenStory, use these ‘base data sets’ and then input additional primary data from specific supply chain processes to flesh out accurate impact assessments for a given material or product. Selfridges has made a considerable effort in tracking material impacts through their ‘materiality assessment’ and a subsequent custom-built software solution to digitize the material composition of all the products they buy, use and sell; from paper to meat, to cotton and polyester. In doing this, they have identified and mapped the 9 key materials, by volume, within their product offering.

This is a major and interesting leap, especially as it spans food and fashion, agriculture, and textiles. The material volume data from this tool has informed Selfridges’ environmental and social compliance guidelines, which they are requesting all suppliers and brands to follow in the hope that they reduce their material impacts through better sourcing. In the case of fashion, the highest volume materials are, unsurprisingly, cotton and polyester. But for all the wisdom and endeavor here, there might be a chink in the armor.

Data gaps

Data sets on the impacts of raw materials exist, which Selfridges could draw upon reliably. But the raw material and fiber production stages only account for around 14% of a product’s emissions (based on World Apparel Lifecycle Database findings). Almost 80% of emissions are in the yarn spinning, textile processing, and dyeing phases: areas where data is nigh on impossible to get access to, even when it is recorded. If reducing raw material impacts is Selfridges’ main strategy for achieving Scope 3 targets, the evidence points to net zero being impossible. Hypothetically, even if all of their suppliers managed to source raw materials with half the current emissions impact, that would only reduce Scope 3 emissions by 7%, when Selfridges have committed to “reduce absolute scope 3 greenhouse emissions from purchased goods and services by 30% by 2030”. I have asked for more details about whether the majority of emissions impacts (which are in the fiber and textile processing phases) will be sought, and how the data challenge might be overcome, and will provide updates in due course.

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Well, that got quite deep, quite quickly, given that the starting point was a retail sustainability report on reducing emissions and easing shopper eco-anxiety. During the briefing, Selfridges Managing Director Andrew Keith explained that “80% of our customers care about climate change” and many of them look to Selfridges to help them make ‘more sustainable’ purchasing decisions. Selfridges’ role is clear in this consumer picture, and of course, a for-profit retailer must grow and continue to sell more products. A further question I asked in a follow-up email was whether the business strategy calls for the sale of more products year on year to achieve growth and profitability. Again, I will provide updates as I receive them.

One further goal in the report is that Selfridges aims for 45% of transactions to be from circular products (which they describe as resale (second-hand), rental, repair, refill, or recycled). “Recycled” in this context means containing a minimum of 50% certified recycled materials, as explained by Rosie Forsyth. It’s unclear what this 45% of transaction number equates to in emissions reduction terms, or how it would be measured. But what is clear is the magnitude of the challenge, given that only 1% of sales currently come from ‘circular’ products.

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Selfridges’ progress so far

Selfridges achieved a 13% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2021, and are aiming for a further 51% reduction from 2022-2030, compared to their 2018 baseline year.

For Scope 3, Selfridges has not reported progress to date but commits to reducing absolute emissions from purchased goods and services by 30% by 2030 from a 2018 base year. If this is to be achieved, it looks like a reduction in the emissions generated by yarn and textile processing will be key, but with the previously explained challenges and barriers, the road ahead looks bumpy. One lever could be determining the geographical location of yarn and textile processing for the products in their software mapping tool and making deductions about the energy mix in those countries, to ascertain the renewable energy portion.

Levers and limitations for reducing Scope 3 emissions

The textile manufacturing locations with the highest renewable energy supplies offer immediate and clear impact reduction opportunities, but again, this is in the supply chain and at arm’s length from Selfridges. This is also a risky strategy in terms of cost and social equity because manufacturing countries in the global south struggle to access renewable energy infrastructure, compared to those in the global north; Defecting from manufacturing countries like China, Bangladesh, and India would have a significant impact on the livelihoods of textile and garment workers in those countries, where no doubt many of the products Selfridges sell are made. In Selfridges’ case, it would also be at odds with their cornerstone value to “Lead with Purpose [and] make sustainable decisions that contribute to a better future”.

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The next steps involve “developing a robust methodology for measuring our scope 3 footprint and a roadmap that will get us to net-zero by 2040,” according to the report. But the complexities are many, and where 95% of Selfridges emissions are concerned, the plan of attack is not yet defined or, crucially, in place.