H&M Group announced that it has established a series of targets to address its nature-related impacts on land, including goals to avoid land conversion, reduce land footprint and engage in priority landscapes.
The company said that the targets were set under the guidance of the Science Based Targets Network, and have been validated by the SBTN.
Launched in 2019 by founding partners including CDP, World Resources Institute, WWF, United Nations Global Compact and Conservation International, SBTN aims to help businesses and cities operate within the Earth’s limits while meeting societal needs by setting science-based targets (SBTs) across biodiversity, land, freshwater and ocean. The initiative builds on the momentum of the emissions-focused Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), enabling companies to set targets beyond climate.
The initiative was aimed at building on the momentum of the emissions-focused Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to enable companies to set targets beyond climate. H&M participated in an initial 17-company SBTN pilot launched in May 2023 to trial the validation process for nature targets.
Erin Billman, CEO of the Science Based Targets Network, said:
“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.”
H&M Group’s said that its new goals align with the three core land targets defined by the SBTN, which include No Conversion of Natural Ecosystems, Land Footprint Reduction, and Landscape Engagement.
The company’s new goals include targeting 100% sustainably sourced material 2030 and strengthen risk management processes, reducing absolute agricultural land footprint from upstream impacts 3.85% by 2030 from a 2019 base year through increasing the share of recycled materials to 50% by 2030, and continuing to financially support H&M Group and WWF’s partnership projects.
By working toward these targets, the company said that it aims to support ecosystem regeneration through improved agricultural practices and grazing management, strengthen supplier requirements to ensure deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing, and reduce its overall agricultural footprint through increased use of recycled inputs.
H&M Group added that it will continue to strengthen requirements for its suppliers to ensure deforestation- and conversion-free material sourcing, and to reduce its agricultural footprint by increasing the share of recycled content in its products, as well as to work with local organizations to restore degraded land and increase the use of regenerative agriculture practices in selected sourcing regions.
Leyla Ertur, Chief Sustainability Officer at H&M Group, said:
“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.”
