VF Highlights Its Objective in a New Environmental and Social Report

So much has modified at VF Corp. over the past yr.

The company mother or father to The North Face, Vans and Supreme swapped out its chief government officer, has been pushed by activist buyers to unload manufacturers and noticed its inventory fall by greater than 50 %.

However within the thick of the extraordinary work of getting again on monitor, the corporate has additionally underscored each its purpose-driven progress and its dedication to a collection of essential environmental, social and governance targets.

The corporate up to date its present standing with a brand new Environmental & Social Accountability Report on Tuesday, which coated largely the yr ended April 1 and consolidated what have been two separate reviews final yr. VF has greater than $11 billion in gross sales and employs greater than 33,000 individuals.

Bracken Darrell, who took the reins as president and CEO in July, mentioned in an announcement: “Within the face of ongoing challenges impacting the worldwide enterprise neighborhood, our staff proceed to reveal resilience and dedication in advancing our goal to energy actions of sustainable and lively life for the betterment of individuals and our planet. I’m impressed with the progress the corporate made in [fiscal year 2023], and we’ll stay targeted on this essential work as a key factor of our general enterprise technique going ahead.”

Not that way back, a brand new CEO within the midst of a significant enterprise turnaround could be anticipated to concentrate on monetary outcomes to the exclusion of just about all the things else. However clearly sustainability and social targets are a minimum of shifting nearer to the guts of enterprise — and getting way more airplay.

“We proceed to make use of our scale, affect and insights to profit the lives of neighborhood members and employees all through our world provide chain,” Darrell mentioned in a letter that kicks off the report. “In FY23 alone, greater than 170,000 individuals throughout seven international locations have been reached by way of VF’s Employee & Group Improvement program, and we proceed to uphold our commitments to basic employee rights and well being and security requirements with product suppliers.”

VF referred to as out quite a lot of highlights from the report, together with:

A rise in illustration with staff who’re Black, Indigenous or individuals of coloration holding 19 % of management positions within the U.S. in fiscal 2023, up from 18.1 % within the prior yr.
The Asia Pacific area launched its first chapter of the corporate’s Satisfaction worker useful resource group, bringing the variety of world VF useful resource group chapters to 23.
The Employee & Group Improvement program has achieved greater than 80 % of its aim to enhance the lives of 1 million employees and their communities by fiscal 2026.
Seven VF manufacturers within the Europe, Center East and Africa area diverted roughly 96,000 kilograms of single-use packaging plastics away from landfills in fiscal 2023.
And VF’s use of recycled polyester elevated to 40 % in 2022, up from 36 % the prior yr, shifting the corporate nearer to its aim of fifty % by fiscal 2026.

VF has been working with individuals from each inside and out of doors its group because it pushes its personal evolution.

“We’ve established significant relationships with a variety of stakeholders to assist us decide the very best approaches to make a constructive affect throughout our enterprise operations,” the corporate mentioned within the report. “In FY23, VF participated in over 100 stakeholder engagements throughout a spectrum of key matters, from ladies’s rights to circularity.

“The stakeholders with whom we collaborate have a vested curiosity in how we function,” VF mentioned. “They’re our staff, buyers, prospects, suppliers, communities, shoppers and others who commonly work together with VF. In addition they embody organizations, resembling nongovernmental organizations, that advocate for a wholesome planet and higher lives.”