Today Pentland Brands publishes its Positive Business report, outlining our commitment to take action for people and our planet.
The new report details sustainability initiatives taking place across Pentland and our brands and outlines our new ‘three pillar’ Positive Business strategy – 1. building purpose-led brands, 2. reducing our environmental footprint and 3. promoting circularity and collaboration – setting out how we intend to take action, for people and our planet.
- Purpose-led brands
We have a targeted approach to sustainability to make real, tangible improvements across our business. Our brands lead the way in making a difference, helping us maximise our positive impact.
In 2019, Speedo championed diversity and inclusion in the pool by renewing its sponsorship of Team GB at the Invictus Games. To mark the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Canterbury unveiled its ‘Be Part Of It’ campaign, celebrating togetherness in the rugby community.
To help protect the planet, Endura established its 1 Million Trees initiative – a pledge to plant one million trees each year in a bid to make a difference to global warming. SeaVees released its first almost completely recycled SS20 capsule collection, SeaChange, for which they partner with marine life Charity SeaTrees to regenerate one foot of kelp forest for every pair of shoes sold.
- Owning our footprint
Managing our footprint isn’t just about making sure we’re operating sustainably – it’s about making a positive impact on the world around us and the communities in which we operate.
In 2019, we progressed to level ‘achiever’ with the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), for strengthening our approach to ethical trade. We rolled out training for our factory-facing employees in the UK, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam in using our ‘Everyone’s Business’ app to identify and report indicators of modern slavery.
To celebrate what it means to be a diverse business, we hosted our third Global Inclusion Week to start the conversation about how we can do more to support diversity and inclusion in our workplaces.
- Promoting circularity and collaboration
We recognise that we can make a bigger impact by embedding circular processes into our operations. We package all products purchased via our brands’ websites in boxes made from 80% post-consumer waste, rather than plastic shipping bags. This means that we’ll reduce the amount of plastic we ship by 27 tonnes every year – equivalent to nearly a million plastic bottles.
We support our four charity partners – SportInspired, Panathlon, The British Council and United Purpose – who stand for causes that resonate with us as a business.
We continue to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which address the global challenges we face. These goals underpin our Positive Business strategy to ensure that we’re focusing on the areas where we can make the most significant contribution to people and our planet.
Andy Long, Pentland Brands CEO, says, “Despite the challenging impact of COVID-19, we remain committed to ‘doing the right thing’, which is why we’re taking steps to champion positive business at Pentland Brands and across our brand portfolio.”
“As a brand owner, we’ll use our influence to champion positive change while continuing to learn and improve by being authentic and purposeful in our actions.”
You can view the full report here.