Our two major goals

Tackling Climate Change

In November 2021, Esquel announced the commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

As a responsible manufacturer and service provider, we recognize the need to regulate our reliance on natural resources. Nations around the world have risen to address climate change through international agreements, from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement, which have been vital to emphasizing the enormity of the issue and the importance of working together to affect a real change. Enterprises have a major role to play in realizing such ambitious goals; we play our part by working in collaboration with partners to set greener industry-wide standards, and continually innovate more eco-friendly production processes to minimize our environmental impact. As a world-class total solution provider in textile and apparel, we are committed to achieving Net Zero GHG emissions by 2050. Click + to read more about our Net Zero Roadmap.

Tackling climate change is one of our two main goals under our vision of Making a Difference. By publishing our pledge and roadmap to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality by 2050, we are solidifying our full commitment to drive down emissions within our operations and beyond. Through our voluntary communication of our plans and progress to come, we hope to foster keen exchanges with partners who are working towards similar goals.

Esquel’s Net Zero pledge and roadmap represent commitment by the Group’s top leaders, and is overseen by our Sustainability Council, which is chaired by one of our non-executive board directors. It was first announced by Mr. Edgar Tung, our Chief Executive Officer, at Integral Conversation in November, 2021.

Since 2005, we have been monitoring and setting annual reduction targets against our unit energy consumption, which has come down drastically over the past years. Since 2010, years ahead of the signing of the Paris Agreement, Esquel has been measuring and monitoring GHG emissions at our Foshan Gaoming site: our flagship manufacturing base. We have expanded our emissions tracking to include the group’s other sites from 2018 onward. We measure our Group’s emissions covering all businesses we own and have operational control over.

Esquel has adopted the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (“GHG Protocol”) and ISO 14064 in our internal analyses for a standard rule of measure, enabling easier and more effective collaborations with others.

Esquel’s operations is highly vertically integrated, so the vast majority of Esquel’s GHG emissions are under Scope 1 and Scope 2.

A lot of actions are already underway in the Group. Our GHG emissions in Foshan Gaoming site have recorded a 28% drop since 2010. To hit our ambitious goal of Net Zero by 2050, however, we must take more proactive, holistic and innovative measures.

We have identified seven key action areas where our choices can Make a Difference as a world-class total solution provider for textile and apparel. Taking a holistic approach, we set our steps from looking within our operations to influencing our wider stakeholders.

Eliminating emissions takes priority over offsets. We remove emissions through efficiency gains, conscious consumptions and adoption of clean energy. To make progress beyond Scope 1 and Scope 2, we must work in concert with supply chain partners. We also aspire to extend our influence beyond our scope by driving changes in industry and communities.

The journey to Net Zero will not be a straightforward one for any organization with strong, established presence in industrial activities. According to World Resources Institute’s estimate in their report in November 2021, the apparel sector alone emitted over one gigatonne of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2019, roughly 2% of global total.

We must match our conviction with a roadmap that drives actions and evolves as technology advances. By engaging the full range of our key stakeholders, we make sure our progress towards Net Zero is shared and long-lasting.

We will be excited to share more progress with you as we move forward in this important journey.

Narrowing the Wealth Gap

Everything matters – from competitive compensation to wellness and empowerment.

Over 80% of our 35,000-strong workforce consists of frontline operators at our manufacturing sites. Such roles in the textiles and apparel industry are commonly seen to perpetuate a vicious cycle of poverty, by keeping low-skilled workers in low-paid jobs with no way to grow. Esquel works to change this reputation and make real changes to the local communities we operate in by providing equal job opportunities, decent wages and a platform for employees to gain further qualifications and skills for upward mobility. We create safe and inspirational workspaces that have a level playing field for all, as we continue to innovate employee welfare, development and training. Our host of philanthropic efforts aim to benefit local communities from the ground level up, across all regions we have sites in.