GUESS 2022-2023 ESG report highlights sustainability progress, future commitments 

08 / 07 / 2023

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GUESS’ 2022-2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report – under the theme of “Our Best Today, Better Tomorrow” – details the company’s approach to sustainability, recent achievements, and ambitions for the future.

Guess aligns with SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 12 Responsible Production and Consumption and SDG 13 Climate Action of the UN 2030 Agenda. “We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint through a sciencebased approach, and by incorporating climate risks into our strategic thinking; we place great focus on circularity and the sourcing of responsible materials for our collections; we maintain a strong commitment to water-saving practices in our production; and we are increasing our efforts to protect nature and preserve biodiversity,” the report said.

“Sustainability is weaved into everything we do at GUESS – making fashion that doesn’t compromise our people or our planet. We are proud of our entire business when these efforts are recognized externally,” the report added.

“The majority of environmental impact occurs in the supply chain process, and one of the most effective ways we can reduce our footprint is through our choice of materials. This is why at GUESS, we consciously choose materials produced with less water usage, fewer chemicals, and that are sustainably sourced,” the report added.

“GUESS recognizes the impact the fashion industry has on the environment and climate change. We are committed to addressing that impact by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our operations and supply chain, working with suppliers, and identifying our climate risks and opportunities,” the report said.

“In our FY2020-2021 Sustainability Report, we announced that our greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets were approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) that recognizes our commitment to reducing our absolute emissions by 50% across Scope 1 and 2 and by 30% in Scope 3 (Category 1 – Purchased Goods and Services) by 2030 from our FY2019 baseline. Our previous goal on Scope 1 and 2 energy intensity reduction of 15% from baseline FY2016 was achieved in FY2021 and therefore no longer put forth again. Our SBTi goals are now based on FY2019 baseline. The base year was chosen in accordance with the GHG Protocol guidance for tracking emissions over time as Management believes FY2019 provides an accurate reflection of our overall emissions profile, boundaries and current methodology. The Scope 2 indirect emissions for the base year were calculated using the market-based methodology,” the report said.

“We are proud to be a Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign member and a signatory of the Fashion Industry Charter on Climate Action, part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Charter is guided by its vision to drive the fashion industry to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050 with the aim of keeping global warming below 1.5°C. Since FY2019, we have reduced our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions (market based) by 50% by making our stores more energy-efficient while increasing our use of renewable energy through the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs),” the report said.

“In fact, from FY2022, GUESS partnered with an external provider to purchase renewable energy attribute certificates across multiple markets to reduce our Scope 2 emissions. As a part of setting our new roadmap to achieve our SBTs, we are continuing to develop our renewable energy purchasing strategy in FY2024, which we will share publicly next year. This strategy will set out our plans to reduce the number of credits we buy, and plans to implement a thoughtful and impactful renewable energy purchasing strategy. Focusing on our apparel Purchased Goods and Services, we have committed to reducing Scope 3 emissions by 30% against our FY2019 baseline by 2030 as part of our SBTs,” the report added.

“Many of the decisions we make on a day to day basis can impact Scope 3 emissions, so we will continue to make educated choices in terms of the materials we use, sustainable product design, and increased durability for our products. In FY2022 GUESS saw its Scope 3 (Category 1 – Purchased Goods and Services) emissions increase proportionally with the increase in production and sales during that same fiscal year. For FY2023, to evaluate their impact, we took into consideration the switch to environmentally preferred materials on our Scope 3 emissions. A more detailed and thoughtful strategy will be disclosed in 2024,” according to the report.

“At GUESS, we firmly believe that advancing our purpose-driven sustainability commitments is integral to the wellbeing of our people, the health of our planet, and the ongoing success of our business. We are pleased to share our FY2022–2023 ESG Report, which details our approach to sustainability, our recent achievements, and our ambitions for the future. For well over a decade, GUESS has embedded environmental, social and governance priorities into all aspects of our business – and we couldn’t be prouder of the progress we have made as a result,” Carlos Alberini, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Guess, said in his message in the report.

“While the past two years have been defined by unprecedented crises and formidable challenges, our commitment to our stakeholders has been unwavering. Now more than ever, it is critical that we work with urgency to combat the far-reaching effects of the pandemic, the climate crisis and human rights issues across our world. GUESS has long prioritized and invested in policies and practices to address these head on, and as we look ahead, we are confident that our Company remains poised to pioneer new industry best practices in sustainable apparel,” he added.

“We continue to anticipate a more heavily regulated environment for ESG practices, with an increased focus on transparency, integrity and accuracy in reporting ESG data. GUESS has fully embraced this industry-wide call for continued improvement and growth in sustainability and the opportunity to enhance our reporting. In this report, we are excited to highlight the outcomes of our first-ever “double materiality assessment”, our ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions, our commitment to using sustainable materials, and our dedication to fair treatment and pay parity. We know that today’s consumers want to both look good and feel good about what they’re buying. That’s why we’re proactively expanding both our eco-collection and new upcycled line to give GUESS customers a wider range of exciting, sustainable options to choose from,” he said.