For its 2020 financial year, September 2019 to August 2020, British fashion e-tailer ASOS has reported a 21% year-on-year reduction in operational carbon emissions per order.

Asos reports a 13% reduction in absolute (total) operational carbon emissions throughout the reporting year, referring to emissions created in the operation of its business, such as offices, incoming goods, client deliveries, and returns, in its annual Carbon Report.

As the number of orders fulfilled by Asos increased over time, the percentage decrease in emissions per order (21%) was larger than the total reduction in emissions (13%).

According to Asos, several key projects drove emissions reductions, including the move to more localized fulfillment through the launch of Asos' Atlanta fulfillment center in 2019; prioritizing sea or road freight over air freight for inbound products; switching to renewable energy for 3-quarters of Asos' global electricity consumption footprint across all sites; and further enhancing recycled plastic content in packaging.

Asos also mentions that the progress made in the previous year, after the successful implementation of Asos' Carbon 2020 plan, has resulted in a 45% reduction in emissions per order compared to the 2015 baseline.

Asos chief executive, Nick Beighton, said that they're very pleased with what their teams have accomplished against such adversity. A 21% reduction in operational carbon emissions per orders year over year is a remarkable accomplishment that demonstrates their efforts to decouple their growth from their carbon footprint are paying off. They know there's more work to be done in this area, and they're excited to provide more information about it soon.

Asos pledged to achieve net-zero emissions across its whole supply chain by 2040 when it signed up to the British Retail Consortium's Climate Action Roadmap last year. Beighton stated in the article that Asos will shortly be releasing new, science-based objectives in support of its 2040 promise, ahead of the release of integrated emissions statistics for the company's complete supply chain.