GIZ and Decathlon partners to improve environmental performance in Vietnam

The German Development Cooperation Agency GIZ and Decathlon, a French network of innovative retail chains and brands, have joined forces to improve the environmental performance of Vietnam’s garment and textile supply chain.

Two GIZ initiatives will cooperate with Decathlon Vietnam this year as part of a recently announced agreement to boost the company’s suppliers in terms of climate action, water use, energy efficiency, and chemical management.

Climate Protection via Sustainable Bioenergy Markets in Vietnam (BEM) and ‘Fostering and Advancing Sustainable Business and Responsible Industrial Practices in the Clothing Industry in Asia’ (FABRIC) are two GIZ projects now underway.

The worldwide textile supply chain contributes to climate change by emitting greenhouse gasses during manufacturing, but the sector is also affected by it.

Current and future concerns include disruptions in supply chain production and transportation, as well as increasing input costs as a result of rising energy and water prices, all while customer and corporate demand for environmentally friendly products grow.

Furthermore, global commitments and European legislation, such as the German Due Diligence Act, which will take effect in 2023, are adding to the pressure by requiring multinational companies to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for environmental and social risks throughout their supply chains. As a result, major brands and manufacturers have established climate and environmental goals.

GIZ will give factory training in collaboration with Decathlon to address industrial difficulties in Vietnam’s supply chain.

Through atingi.org, the GIZ FABRIC project will provide free e-learning courses such as Climate Action Training and Chemical Management Training. To train its brands and suppliers, FABRIC uses a combination of capacity-building measures and advisory services.

The Climate Action Training, produced in partnership with the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and 13 businesses, including Decathlon, gives basic knowledge on climate change, greenhouse gas accounting, and reduction options in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Chemical Management Training will assist factories in developing and implementing long-term chemical management systems.

The unique e-learning courses, which are tutored by professionals, are well-suited to the manufacturing employees’ learning demands and result in a cost-effective implementation.

Meanwhile, the GIZ BEM initiative will collaborate with Decathlon to replace coal with sustainable biomass at Decathlon’s Vietnamese suppliers.

BEM will provide technical assistance to Decathlon in order to improve industrial boiler efficiency, identify sustainable biomass supply solutions, provide manufacturers with access to biomass markets, and map out a feasible biomass resource supply.

Marc Beckmann, director of GIZ FABRIC, said that tackling climate change needs engagement with multinational brands to collaboratively improve the circumstances on the suppliers’ side, where most of the emissions and environmental impacts occur. This is why their collaboration is crucial and urgent.

Beckmann added that these unique training methodologies will assist suppliers in improving their environmental performance. As a result, they can establish themselves as competitive players in global supply networks. The lessons learned as a result of this collaboration will help the sector both locally and globally.

GIZ FABRIC will share the lessons learned with key decision-makers and promote the expansion of the program to other countries, while the digital training is already available on Atingi and are free to use.

Nathan Moore, director of GIZ BEM said that their initiative intends to improve the preconditions for sustainable use of biomass for electricity and heat generation in Vietnam. Since 2019, the BEM project has collaborated with Decathlon Vietnam to organize a series of activities aimed at promoting awareness and assisting with the green energy transition.

According to him, the formalization of this cooperative endeavor by BEM, FABRIC, and Decathlon would act as a springboard for growing commitments to maximize biomass energy in Vietnam, helping the country achieve its long-term development and climate goals.

Decathlon will provide training to its suppliers’ factories to expand the use of bioenergy and other renewable energy sources, as well as fund research into the biomass supply chain.

Decathlon will later disseminate the lessons learned from this partnership with GIZ to other national and global brands at related forums to multiply the impact. Featuring different production processes with more than 100 suppliers’ factories covering garment, textile, footwear, and accessories in Vietnam, Decathlon will later disseminate the lessons learned from this partnership with GIZ to other national and global brands at related forums to multiply the impact.

Jérémie Piolet, the sustainability leader of Decathlon Vietnam, said that Decathlon is one of over 120 fashion brands and retailers that have signed the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, which lays out a global vision for the industry to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. By 2025, they expect to be able to solely rely on biomass for their industrial heat or electricity supply, and to be a pathfinder in the sustainable use of biomass in the textile and garment sector, thanks to their collaboration with the BEM and FABRIC.

The collaboration is part of GIZ’s Programme for Improving Factory Environmental Performance in Asia. GIZ has worked with a range of companies as part of the FABRIC project, and it plans to expand similar collaboration to other nations with the big garment and textile industries, such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.