Our two major goals

Tackling Climate Change

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

As a knowledge-based innovation company, 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. 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 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, chaired by one of our non-executive board directors. It was first announced at the Integral Conversation in November 2021.

We have identified seven key action areas where our choices can Make a Difference as a world-class knowledge-based innovation company. Taking a holistic approach, we set our steps from looking within our operations to influencing our wider stakeholders.

As of 2022, we have reduced GHG emissions by 47% compared to our baseline year of 2018. While this significant step towards our 2035 goal is partially the result of continued improvements in energy efficiency and investment into cleaner energy, it is essential to acknowledge the impact that the pandemic and geopolitical climate have played.

We recognize our progress, but we also understand that this rate of decrease in emissions is not sustainable. As the global economy recovers and our business grows over the next few years, we expect to see a rebound in emissions before resuming steady progress towards our goal. In anticipation of this, we intend to strengthen our efforts in the seven action areas, building on our work from the past year.

We have thus far implemented measures to optimize energy efficiency through process improvements and equipment upgrades estimated at achieving annual savings of 985,600 kWh. Moreover, we are leveraging smart technologies to develop an energy and GHG tracking system that can provide accurate, real-time GHG data, enabling us to make informed decisions towards efficiently. Additionally, our efforts to promote responsible material consumption have led to the conservation of over 140,000 yards of fabrics during production and eliminated its associated carbon cost.

Promoting the use of clean energy has also been one of our key focuses. We have invested heavily in solar power by installing solar PV panels in all our sites and are currently conducting feasibility studies to further increase coverage. Our solar PV panel projects are projected to yield 12.97 million kWh per year. In combination with the renewable energy composition of the state grid, there is capacity for renewable energy to comprise up to 55% of all electricity consumption in some of our sites.

However, an effective Net Zero future cannot be achieved alone. We have been actively working to influence our wider stakeholders and engage them towards this shared goal.

We encourage our employees to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle through the organization of regular activities such as sharings and workshops on sustainable living. These activities aim to foster sustainable habits in our employees' work and personal lives.

We also look outside the company and are actively collaborating with major suppliers to foster greener ESG practices towards a sustainable value chain. Furthermore, we engage with international and regional-level sustainability networks such as the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and its associated networks, and partner with various research and academic institutions to drive sustainable development.

Together, we strive towards a brighter, greener future.

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.