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Solar panels on the roof of a Primark supplier factory, Bangladesh
The Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) has approved Primark’s near-term target to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services respectively by 50% by 2030 from a 2018/19 baseline. These targets also align with the commitments Primark made through reputable third parties, most notably UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action (FICCA) and WRAP’s Textiles 2030 initiative.
Additionally, Primark aims to achieve 100% renewable electricity for Scope 2 emissions by 2030, in line with the FICCA. Its strategy and roadmap to meet this ambition is disclosed in its Climate Transition Plan.
Primark has achieved a year-on-year decrease in market-based emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 compared to the previous year of 12%, this is a 1.9% decrease against its baseline.
Primark recognises the broader climate-related risks associated with climate change, including physical and transition impacts. In line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Primark has collaborated with the ABF Group finance team and CR Hub to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the material Group risks, with the findings detailed in the ABF Annual Report. The business is now broadening its climate risk assessment and actively integrating climate-related responsibilities more deeply into its governance and risk management framework.
Primark is committed to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions through rigorous management of its operations. The business’s Energy Policy, developed in 2018 and updated in 2022, outlines its approach. Primark’s Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions reduced by 21% in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 and were 52% lower than the 2018/19 baseline. This reduction was achieved through energy efficiency measures in its stores and the procurement of renewable and low-carbon electricity. Considering its planned geographical expansion, Primark expects this reduction to fluctuate in the short-term.
This 52% reduction meets the threshold of Primark's SBTi validated Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction target ahead of its 2030 deadline. However, Primark knows that with its growth, and renewable power procurement challenges in some markets, the business may drop below the 50% threshold in the short term. Primark is committed to evolving its programmes and strategies to align with its commitments in this space.
The business has established a network of Energy Champions across its operations, who drive energy efficiency in stores, offices, and distribution centres. Over 99% of Primark sites have achieved certification to ISO 50001, the internationally recognised energy management standard. Primark has upgraded to highly efficient LED lighting in 133 stores across 10 markets and the roll-out will continue to additional stores in 2025.
Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions
(000 tonnes of CO2e)
Primark is dedicated to minimising the environmental impact of its products throughout the supply chain. Although it does not own manufacturing facilities, Primark works closely with suppliers to align their practices with its environmental goals.
Primark's total Scope 3 GHG emissions, which represent the biggest portion of its footprint, reduced by 12% in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 and were 0.6% lower than the 2018/19 baseline. Primark is investing in its Environmental Sustainability Team and in supplier factory efficiency programmes aimed at supporting GHG emission reductions through targeted training, upskilling and energy-saving projects.
Starting this year, Primark now has a requirement for its top 100 suppliers, which includes approximately 79% of its procurement spend for goods for resale for 2023/24, to set science-based GHG emission reduction targets in line with the SBTi and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. By recognising and rewarding supplier efforts, Primark aims to accelerate progress across those suppliers it works with.
Primark actively sources renewable and low-carbon energy in line with the GHG Protocol Standard and RE100. Despite progress, challenges remain, particularly for stores in shopping centres with limited energy procurement control. By the end of 2024, renewable and low carbon energy power contracts were in place in eight countries, covering approximately 64% of Primark’s electricity demand.
Primark is also investing in supplier factory efficiency through targeted training, upskilling and energy-saving projects. This combined approach aims to reduce GHG emissions from both manufacturing and finishing processes.
Primark has recently conducted in-depth energy efficiency assessments of factories in Bangladesh, China and India. Partnering with external consultants, the business has conducted comprehensive audits of energy and water systems across suppliers’ factories. These assessments have identified significant opportunities to reduce resource consumption and carbon emissions. By providing thorough reports and hosting workshops, Primark has been helping factories implement effective, business-driven solutions.
In 2023/24, Primark onboarded and assessed an additional 51 factories. Initial assessments in 29 of the factories onboarded in 2023 indicate that potential water and energy efficiency improvements could be made, with an average projected GHG emissions saving of 32% and a total potential water saving of two million m3 per year for those factories assessed in Bangladesh. The next step involves working with these factories to realise the identified savings. The insights gained from these projects will be scaled up to engage and demonstrate the business case for more factories in efficiency initiatives in the future.
Alongside the work on factory efficiency, Primark is also working to assist suppliers switching to renewable energy. Building on its collaboration with an energy consultant to develop a renewable energy roadmap to 2030, Primark has launched its first initiatives in India this year. The initial project involves factories located in Tamil Nadu collectively purchasing on-site solar panels, offering projected savings of approximately 25% per kWh compared to average grid tariffs. Primark is also exploring collective purchasing of offsite renewable electricity to enable factories to meet their additional energy demands.
Primark is also working on reducing its upstream transportation GHG emissions. While the business primarily transports its products by sea rather than air, upstream transportation still accounts for nearly 2% of its total GHG emissions. Since 2018, Primark has partnered with Maersk to ship its products from factories to depots. Maersk has introduced the ECO Delivery Ocean product, which uses fossil fuel alternatives such as biofuels, and Primark has recently begun to invest in these fuels through Maersk.
Scope 3 GHG emissions
(000 tonnes of CO2e)
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Solar panels on the roof of a Primark supplier factory, Bangladesh
A comprehensive governance system is established at Primark to oversee sustainability and ethics matters, including the delivery of the commitments related to its Primark Cares strategy, which coincides with Primark’s transition plan in the medium term. There has been no change in this position from last year. The Primark Chief Executive and Executive Committee remain responsible and accountable for all decision-making and implementation, and ultimately approve the transition plan. Please refer to Primark’s most recent reporting for a more detailed understanding of its sustainability and ethics governance structure.
In 2021/22 the ABF Group performed an initial assessment of the impact of climate-related risks and opportunities on Primark for which material risks and opportunities underwent scenario analysis. Any identified climate-related risks connected to the implementation of Primark’s transition plan are managed through the governance structure described above. Primark recognises the need to evolve the initial scenario analysis by performing a deeper and more focused assessment of climate-related risks and opportunities across its value chain, ensuring that these get embedded into long-term transition, strategic and financial planning.
In 2021, Primark launched its Primark Cares strategy building on the work of its Ethical Trade and Environmental Sustainability (‘ETES’) programme. Under Primark Cares, the business has set out a number of public commitments up to 2030 with a focus on three areas, Product, Planet and People, which are expected to accelerate its transition to a lower-carbon economy. As such, in the medium term the Primark Cares strategy coincides with Primark’s transition plan.
The strategy includes an overarching objective to halve carbon emissions across Primark’s value chain by 2030, from a base year of 2018/19, which is aligned with Primark’s commitments under the UNFCCC Fashion Charter for Climate Action (FICCA) and, therefore, the 1.5°C Paris Agreement. Under the FICCA, Primark has also pledged to achieve net zero emissions no later than 2050. The organisation is working to define its plan to reach this long-term goal, taking into consideration uncertainties beyond 2030 in technology development and innovation, as well as the political and regulatory global landscape.
At present, Primark has not included carbon offsets in its transition planning.
Primark Cares Commitment |
Protecting Life on the Planet – Primark will halve carbon emissions across its value chain by 2030 |
Project |
Energy efficiency and renewable energy procurement in the supply chain |
Timeline |
2018 – present |
Description |
Primark has been working on a decarbonisation programme with key suppliers, which focuses on improving energy efficiency, reducing the energy intensity of manufacturing goods and moving away from a carbon-intensive fuel mix within manufacturing under tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 of our supply chain. At the same time, Primark has been working to pool some of the factories in its value chain and assisting them in negotiating contracts so they can use their combined purchasing power to access renewable energy. |
Target |
Reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions from ‘purchased goods and services category’ by 50% by 2030 from a 2018/19 base year. |
Metric |
Annual Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services (tCO2e) |
Methodology |
Primark’s Scope 3 calculation methodology has been third-party reviewed by the Carbon Trust. It is not currently public. |
Underlying uncertainties, challenges and assumptions |
Challenge – maturity of renewable energy procurement in specific sourcing regions Challenge – supply chain monitoring and reporting for lower tiers |
Progress to date |
Energy efficiency: Primark keeps scaling up its resource efficiency programme, having now engaged a cumulative total of 108 factories in all key sourcing regions (Bangladesh, India, China, Cambodia) since activities started. Renewable energy procurement: Primark kicked-off activities to support factories with collective renewable power procurement in India, according to the roadmap developed in 2022/23. In particular, a solar power profile was created for all first 39 contributing factories and a collective Request for Proposal (‘RFP’) will be released to local renewable power developers. |
Primark Cares Commitment |
Protecting Life on the Planet – Primark will eliminate single use plastics and all non-clothing waste by 2027 |
|
Project |
Eliminate non-clothing waste – Packaging Centre of Excellence |
|
Timeline |
Early 2019 – present |
|
Description |
A dedicated team, within Primark’s Packaging Centre of Excellence, manages the delivery of packaging transformation projects. An example of a project is Primark’s durable new plastic clothes hanger design made from a minimum of 90% recycled polypropylene which has been designed for reuse/ to be retained. This design is being phased in for main apparel ranges, with completion due in 2027. Alongside reusing hangers retained in stores, Primark also collects unusable hangers to be recycled and made into new hangers. The move to recycled materials for all hangers is expected to achieve a reduction in Primark’s carbon footprint attributable to hangers by 40%. |
|
Target |
Eliminate single-use plastics by 2027 |
|
Metric |
% reduction in tonnage of single-use plastic (SUP) packaging against 2022 baseline year % of SUP to overall packaging in tonnes |
|
Methodology |
The methodology is publicly available at the Basis of Reporting page of the Primark website |
|
Underlying uncertainties, challenges and assumptions |
Challenge and uncertainty - there are practical limitations, technical constraints and an absence of suitable alternatives that may impact Primark’s goal of complete elimination of SUP by 2027 |
|
Progress to date |
Performance against Primark’s baseline will be reported from 2024/25 onwards Primark’s SUP baseline of 21,797 tonnes represents 19.4% of our total packaging footprint for the baseline year |
Primark Cares Commitment |
Giving Clothes a Longer Life – All Primark clothes will be made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030 |
|
Project |
Clothes made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials. |
|
Timeline |
Early 2021 – present |
|
Description |
Primark has committed to have all Primark clothes made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030. The business works with certification bodies, to certify and validate claims it make on individual materials relevant to these standards. Primark also works hard to ensure that all Primark Cares products containing recycled fibres meet Primark’s quality testing requirements. |
|
Target |
All Primark clothes will be made from recycled or more sustainably sourced materials by 2030 |
|
Metric |
Percentage of Primark’s clothing units sold containing recycled or more sustainably sourced materials Percentage of Primark’s clothing units sold containing cotton that is organic, recycled or sourced from the Primark Cotton Project |
|
Methodology |
The methodology is publicly available at the Basis of Reporting page of the Primark website |
|
Underlying uncertainties, challenges and assumptions |
Challenge – restriction on the handling and trade of recycled materials due to regulatory changes Challenge – some sourcing markets may not have access to all recycled or more sustainable material types Challenge – for some less commonly used fabrics such as elastane, there are currently no sustainable alternatives available |
|
Progress to date |
66% of Primark clothing units sold in 2023/24 contained recycled or more sustainably sourced materials, up from 55% the previous year and 25% in 2021. 57% of Primark cotton clothing units sold in 2023/ 24 contained organic cotton, recycled cotton, or cotton sourced from Primark Cotton Project, up from 46% last year. As our Primark Cares initiatives continue to grow in number, Primark is actively working on training and embedding processes to facilitate the conversion to recycled and more sustainably sourced materials. Building on last year’s training of 286 suppliers, Primark is continuing its efforts to further educate suppliers on the criteria required for products to meet its Cares standards. The business has already hosted six training sessions in February and March 2024, with plans for additional sessions in July 2024. The aim is to provide clarity to suppliers regarding Primark Cares requirements, including minimums, certification, and chain of custody. |
Primark Cares Commitment |
Protecting Life on the Planet – Primark will halve carbon emissions across its value chain by 2030 |
Project |
Energy efficiency and renewable energy procurement in own operations |
Timeline |
Early 2021 – present |
Description |
While significantly smaller than Scope 3, Scope 1 and 2 emissions are areas where the business has the most direct influence. Energy efficiency: Primark uses a system called the Energy Bureau, which allows the business to manage energy consumption remotely by monitoring and modifying environmental parameters, to maintain suitable store conditions in an energy-efficient manner. To further reduce energy consumption, Primark has also been switching to energy-efficient LED lightbulbs in stores globally. Renewable energy: Primark’s ambition is to switch all stores to renewable energy, as well as exploring ways to reduce emissions from on-site heating. |
Target |
Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2018/19 base year. |
Metric |
Annual Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions (tCO2e) |
Methodology |
Annual Scope 1 and 2 emissions are calculated by ABF at Group level |
Underlying uncertainties, challenges and assumptions |
Challenge – Misalignment between lease lifetime of some retail properties and payback period for installing new high-efficient equipment Challenge and uncertainty – Maturity of renewable energy procurement in specific markets |
Progress to date |
By the end of 2023/24, renewable power contracts were in place in 8 countries, covering approximately 64% of Primark’s electricity demand The number of Primark stores fitted with energy-efficient LED lightbulbs significantly increased, from 141 in July 2023 to 274 in July 2024. At the end of 2023, the Energy Bureau covered more than 179 locations across the UK. |
Primark Cares Commitments |
Giving Clothes a Longer Life – Primark clothes will be recyclable by design by 2027. Primark will strengthen the durability of its clothes by 2025. |
|
Project |
Giving Clothes a Longer Life |
|
Timeline |
Late 2021 – present |
|
Description |
Circular design: Since the launch of Primark’s Circular Product Standard (‘CPS’) and its pilot clothing collection designed in line with CPS in April 2023, Primark has focused efforts on: continuing to expand and improve knowledge of circularity within the business via training; scaling up the use of circular design principles in key product categories; investing in additional expertise. The CPS is as an integral and foundational part of Primark’s overarching public ambition to become a more sustainable and more circular business. Durability: Durability to Primark means the amount of wear or use that a customer can get from an item of clothing over a period of time. Clothing is durable if it remains functional and wearable without requiring too much maintenance or repair, when faced with the challenges of normal wash and wear over its lifetime. As part of the Textiles 2030 initiative, Primark is taking part in an durability project led by WRAP. |
|
Target |
Primark clothes will be recyclable by design by 2027 Primark will strengthen the durability of its clothes by 2025 |
|
Metric |
% of all clothing units sales that are circular by design % of clothing which passed the aspirational level of the durability framework |
|
Methodology |
CPS developed in 2023 with support from third-party consultant Will be developed in the next financial year with support from third-party consultant |
|
Underlying uncertainties, challenges and assumptions |
Uncertainty – No industry-wide definition for ‘circularity’ Uncertainty – No recognised standard for durability across the fashion industry
Challenge – Today, many items of clothing are inherently hard or impossible to recycle based on their design, componentry, and fabric composition. For example – elastane is widely used within the fashion industry to ensure that a garment has adequate stretch to function and fit, but it is virtually impossible to recycle today. Primark’s approach to circular design is category specific, and will evolve as textile recycling innovation grows |
|
Progress to date |
Circular design Training: Primark estimates that 80% of product colleagues have completed the foundation course of the Circular Design training by July 2024. This is an increase from 74% last year. Primark’s expert level training was trialled in October/ November 2023. This training will continue its roll-out. Product categories: following from the pilot collection in April, sales from circular clothing products have reached 3% of total clothing units sales (August 2023 – July 2024). For Spring / Summer 2024, Primark has seen major progress in menswear, kidswear and womenswear, with an increasing number of products meeting the CPS. Circularity team: The team has grown from one colleague to four in the past 12 months. Durability Primark has launched its Primark Durability Framework which is guided by the WRAP Clothing Longevity Protocol. Information on the framework is available here As of January 2024, extended wash testing has been implemented on all machine washable products across all product categories (excluding exempted categories of hand wash and dry clean only products) Primark’s extended wash testing methodology has been standardised and aligned across all machine washable products |
Key priority areas for action were identified on the basis of the influence and materiality of emissions categories, assessed from the base year of 2018/19 (see the table below).
These are Primark’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions, where the business has direct ownership, and the most significant Scope 3 categories in terms of absolute emissions (purchased goods and services; upstream transportation; use of sold products).
Primark’s baseline emissions (2018/19) |
|
| Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) | 2.5% |
| Scope 3 | 97.5% |
| Of which: | |
| Purchased goods and services | 74.5% |
| Capital goods | 1.9% |
| Fuel and energy-related activities | 0.5% |
| Upstream transportation | 7.9% |
| Waste generated in operations | 0.1% |
| Business travel | 0.2% |
| Use of sold products | 11.8 |
| End-of-life treatment of sold products | 0.6% |
Short term (present – 2025)
Medium term (2026 – 2030)
Scope 3 emissions
Short term (present – 2025)
Medium term (2026 – 2030)
Primark acknowledges the uncertainties and challenges connected to the implementation of its medium-term plan, which include: supply chain monitoring and reporting for lower tiers; evolving climate policy in operating markets and sourcing regions; technology innovation and costs; consumer sentiment and behaviour. Primark is planning to address these through targeted long-term actions such as policy advocacy, data systems enhancement, supplier engagement and consumer education. Please refer to Primark’s latest reporting for detailed information.
