Letitia Webster, VF Corporation’s Senior Director of Global Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, represented the company this past week during the Conference of Parties (COP) 21 in Paris.
The meeting was a global sustainability forum held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and brought together almost 50,000 representatives from private corporations, environmental groups, activists and NGOs, along with 150 of the world’s leaders, to tackle climate change. Leading up to the events in Paris, VF joined the American Business Act on Climate Pledge and committed to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 at its owned and operated facilities.
“Climate change is the defining issue of our generation,” Webster said. “Our goal as a company has always been to simultaneously improve our performance and the world around us — and they can work in tandem. We are participating in COP 21 because climate change is a real threat to the health of our planet, and we believe it is imperative VF join the cause.”
At the event, Webster participated in a panel discussion, “Leaning in: How Companies can Influence Climate Policy,” presented by Business for Innovate Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP) on Friday, Dec. 4. Webster, along with other executives, discussed how businesses can take action on climate change.
“As a leader, the industry is looking to us to chart a responsible course, and we know our work to build a better planet is never complete,” Webster said. “As a company, we outfit people for the outdoors and recognize how important addressing climate change is to our consumers. It is therefore critical to the viability of our business.”
Since 2013, VF’s waste reduction, reuse and recycling efforts across its U.S. distribution center network have led to more than 20,000 metric tons of waste being diverted from landfills. Globally, VF currently diverts approximately 89 percent of its distribution center waste from landfills and is working to increase this percentage.
VF is also on track to meet its commitment to reduce absolute carbon emissions 5 percent by the end of 2015 (vs. 2009 baseline) while growing global revenues 75 percent during the same period.
“In order to make a difference, governments, businesses and society as a whole must all work together in meaningful ways to address this issue,” Webster said. “We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished to date and look forward to continuing to be an agent for positive change in the world.”