Pandora to be carbon neutral by 2025

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 31, 2020

Danish jeweller Pandora has added its name to the growing list of companies aiming to decarbonise their operations in a bid to stave off the worst consequences of climate change.

Pandora has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2025, a promise that will be achieved through a number of energy-saving measures and increased use of renewable energy. The emissions it can’t eliminate from its supply chain, estimated to account for 5% of the total, will be countered through carbon offsets.

A detailed plan to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement will be published before the end of next year, but Pandora has already revealed its first steps. By the end of this year, it will source 100% renewable electricity at its two crafting facilities in Thailand from verified solar energy providers. And in the future, the company plans to increase its own production of solar power and engage directly in developing renewable energy projects, for example through power purchase agreements.

A policy for purchasing green power for all stores will also be introduced.

Reducing emissions from suppliers

The carbon neutrality commitment applies to the company’s full supply chain, including emissions that occur outside of the company’s own operations. According to a statement, more than 90% of its greenhouse gas emissions fall into this category, with most of them coming from the procurement of raw materials. It will also look at emissions stemming from the manufacture of jewellery parts, packaging, franchise stores and transportation.

“To reduce emissions in our supply chain, we have committed to set a science-based target. In 2020, we will conduct new research to further our understanding of the carbon footprint across our different suppliers, and we will work with them to find the right scalable opportunities to reduce the carbon footprint,” said Mads Twomey-Madsen, vice president for sustainability.

Pandora is in a good position to achieve neutrality compared to fine jewellers like Cartier or Bvlgari. The brand primarily uses recycled metals and man-made stones to make its affordable jewellery collections, and these materials have a significantly lower environmental footprint than mined metals and stones.