Blog: Business as a force for good – Anthony Burns, COO, ACS Clothing

28 October 2021

At ACS, we believe in using business as a force for good. We use business to reduce poverty and restore the environment. We are dedicated to creating meaningful work with dignity and purpose. We have redefined success in our business and are building a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

ACS PHILOSOPHY

The following quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu sums up ACS’s philosophy towards ending poverty and protecting our environment:

“DO YOUR LITTLE BIT OF GOOD WHERE YOU ARE; IT’S THOSE LITTLE BITS OF GOOD PUT TOGETHER THAT OVERWHELM THE WORLD”

FASHION INDUSTRY

The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables.

  • Fast Fashion: the second biggest polluter on Earth
  • The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions
  • Up to 85% of textiles go into landfills each year. That’s enough to fill Sydney Harbour annually
  • The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution worldwide
  • Clothing production has roughly doubled since 2000
  • The equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is burned or dumped in landfill every second
  • Fashion industry emissions are more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined

THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS

In 2018, we chose to be different and help change the negative view of our industry. We recognised that the way we work, source, hire, produce, sell and deliver has a major impact on our natural resources; and it can also affect all of us as people, and our ability to advance our lives with dignity.

At the start words were easy but delivering much harder. We were overwhelmed and unsure where to start. We decided to place human rights at the centre of our strategy. We worked out where the most severe risks to people and planet are within our business operations. At the core of our strategy is the premise that we have a moral obligation to pay at least the real Living Wage. We wanted our staff to live a decent life where they can ‘work their way out of poverty’ and have a decent standard of living.

We encourage our suppliers and customers to embrace the real Living Wage citing not only is it the moral thing to do but it will also stimulate consumer spending, help their bottom lines, and grow the economy. We share how it has led to improved productivity, increased staff loyalty, and decreased our costs associated with absent staff, training, and recruitment.

By committing to the real Living Wage, we are now being viewed differently by various stakeholders and have secured a sustainable prosperous future for us all. In fact, if we had not embraced this approach, the impact of the pandemic may have closed us.

COP26

COP26 is set to be the most important climate conference in our lifetime. It’s also a significant opportunity to showcase Scotland as a global leader in sustainable and inclusive economic development and to create opportunities to help refocus Scotland’s economy on a net zero future.

SCOTLAND WAS THE FIRST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO DECLARE A CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND HAS SET A WORLD-LEADING TARGET OF BEING NET ZERO BY 2045

The impact of Covid-19 is unprecedented and has changed the economy and way people live, but it’s also shown what can be done to reduce travel, work remotely and improve local supply chains.

ACS is leading the fashion industry towards a low carbon future by disrupting the current bloated linear Buy-Wear-Replace approach and transforming it into a Zero-Carbon Circular Borrow-Use-Return model. ACS makes it easy for Retailers to offer Clothing as a Service and generate additional revenue. The ACS solution requires zero technical integration and also includes state-of-the-art inventory and garment care systems that will manage cleaning, shipping and receiving from customers. All Retailers will need to do is supply the garments; ACS would do the rest.

The ACS Corporate Carbon Footprint was calculated as 1,339,850 kgCO2e for 2019 with 64.2% of emissions being scope 3. Annual scope 3 emissions are set to be over 95% from 2021 with over 480,000 kgCO2e emissions (40%) reduction forecasted in 2021 alone.

ACS has reduced water consumption by 40% annually by reusing waste laundry water, by using grey water and also using an ozonated laundry system.

ACS has now transitioned 100%-Renewable Energy including a solar roof and even installed LED lighting throughout the business. By introducing a special compound in the heating they are achieving a 20% reduction in energy consumption. ACS are researching the introduction of nanoparticles into the water to significantly reduce the energy required to generate steam. The ozonated laundry system and the installation of smart thermostats and timers for the central heating are also reducing energy consumption.

Zero waste from ACS ends up in landfill, for example, 30% of Clothes not fit for hiring to customers are reused and the remainder are recycled in the UK.

ACS is transforming their site into a ‘Biodiversity Bubble’ with a re-wild landscape, beehives, wormery, insect-hotel, butterfly-house, water feature etc.

Delivering clean growth is at the heart of our strategy with increases in productivity, additional revenues and creating green jobs whilst protecting the climate and supporting the local community.

Hear more from ACS and the importance of paying a real Living Wage in the fashion industry by joining them on Thursday 18 November at 3.30pm: Living Wage, Sustainability, and the Fashion Industry

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