- H&M commits to reducing its agricultural land footprint by 3.85% by 2030 while scaling recycled materials to 50%
- Targets align with the Science Based Targets Network framework, expanding corporate climate action into biodiversity and land use
- Focus on priority sourcing regions in India and South Africa links supply chain resilience with ecosystem restoration
H&M Group has adopted a new set of science-based targets for land use, aligning its operations with the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) in a move that pushes corporate sustainability beyond carbon and into biodiversity and ecosystem management.
The targets, independently validated under SBTN’s framework, focus on avoiding land conversion, reducing agricultural land use, and supporting regeneration in key sourcing regions. The move reflects a broader shift among global companies to integrate nature-related risks into governance and long-term strategy.
H&M’s approach follows SBTN’s ARRRT framework: Avoid, Reduce, Restore, Regenerate, Transform. The emphasis is on preventing ecosystem degradation at source while reshaping material inputs and supplier practices.
Three Pillars: Conversion, Footprint, Engagement
The company has structured its commitments around three core land targets.
First, a strict “no conversion” goal aims to eliminate exposure to the transformation of natural ecosystems across its upstream supply chain. H&M will work toward 100% sustainably sourced materials by 2030 while tightening risk management processes tied to deforestation and land degradation.
Second, H&M has committed to reducing its absolute agricultural land footprint by 3.85% by 2030, using 2019 as a baseline. This will be driven largely by a shift toward circular materials, including a target to increase recycled content to 50% within the same timeframe.
Third, the company is deepening its engagement in priority landscapes. Current projects include regenerative agriculture initiatives in Central India and the Eastern Cape Drakensberg Grasslands of South Africa, developed in partnership with WWF. These efforts aim to improve soil health, water retention, and biodiversity while strengthening local livelihoods.
Supply Chain Pressure Meets Biodiversity Risk
For apparel companies, land use is emerging as a material risk category, particularly in cotton and wool supply chains. Soil degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss directly affect input stability and long-term cost structures.
H&M has identified priority sourcing regions where these pressures are most acute and where intervention can deliver both environmental and operational benefits. The company plans to expand regenerative agriculture practices and improve grazing management systems to enhance ecosystem services.
Supplier requirements will also tighten. H&M confirmed it will strengthen standards to ensure deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing, a move that aligns with tightening regulatory expectations in Europe and growing investor scrutiny of supply chain transparency.
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Executive Perspective
“The threats and depletion of nature also impact the resources our industry relies on —soil health, water cycles, biodiversity. By committing to SBTN’s land targets, we anchor our decisions in science and strengthen our ability to safeguard ecosystems together with our supply chain, farmers, and communities.”
Leyla Ertur, Chief Sustainability Officer, H&M Group
The company’s targets build on its participation in SBTN’s pilot program during 2023 and 2024, where it helped shape methodologies for land and water target setting from a fashion industry perspective.
From Climate to Nature Accountability
The adoption of land-focused science-based targets reflects a broader evolution in ESG frameworks. While climate targets have become standard across large corporates, biodiversity and land use are now entering the same accountability structures.
“By adopting land science-based targets, H&M Group is taking a measurable, science-driven step toward addressing global nature loss. By engaging with a rigorous framework to reduce land-related pressures and support improved outcomes in priority sourcing landscapes, H&M Group is demonstrating how companies in complex global value chains can translate ambition into a clear, accountable pathway for action.”
Erin Billman, CEO of the Science Based Targets Network
What This Means for Executives and Investors
For C-suite leaders and investors, H&M’s move highlights a structural shift in how sustainability risk is priced and managed. Nature-related disclosures are expected to expand alongside frameworks such as TNFD, with land use becoming a critical dimension of both regulatory compliance and capital allocation.
The integration of biodiversity into core sourcing strategies also signals rising expectations for traceability, supplier engagement, and measurable outcomes beyond emissions.
H&M’s model offers a blueprint for sectors with complex global supply chains. It links material innovation, supplier standards, and on-the-ground ecosystem restoration into a single framework tied to science-based accountability.
As nature loss accelerates and policy frameworks tighten, companies that fail to address land use impacts may face rising costs, disrupted supply chains, and reputational risk. Those that move early, as H&M is attempting, position themselves to secure more resilient sourcing systems in an increasingly resource-constrained global economy.
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