Gildan Publishes 17th Environmental, Social, Governance Report

Gildan Activewear Inc. publishes its 17^th Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report, available here. The 2020 ESG report highlights Gildan’s approach to ESG and its 2020 performance results.

In 2020, the company faced unprecedented times due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and two back-to-back hurricanes in Central America.

“Last year, more than ever, we were able to witness the strength and resiliency of our unique business model and the importance of ESG,” says Glenn Chamandy, president and CEO of Gildan. “While we are pleased with the success and recognition we have achieved, there is still more work to be done, and we are now working on our ‘next generation’ ESG strategy and a new set of long-term goals, which we will announce later this year.”

In 2020, Gildan received some of the following recognition from organizations worldwide for its ESG practices:

• Top 100 Most Sustainability Managed Companies by The Wall Street Journal (ranked 32)
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index (8^th consecutive inclusion)
• CDP’s Climate Change Report (leadership band with an A- score)
• SAM Sustainability Yearbook (8^th consecutive inclusion)
• FUNDAHRSE CSR Seal (13^th consecutive inclusion)
• Fashion Transparency Index (top 25)

Some environmental highlights from the report include:

• 33% of Gildan’s total energy came from renewable sources
• 88% of Gildan’s total waste was recycled or repurposed
• 11.4% reduction in water intensity achieved from 2015 to 2020
• 14% decrease in Gildan’s total waste from 2015 to 2020

Social highlights from the report include:

• Gildan assembled a team to develop and implement stringent biosecurity protocols in its facilities to protect employees during COVID-19
• Humanitarian aid and a disaster relief program were activated to support employees and local communities affected by Hurricanes Eta and Iota
• Employee wages in 100% of Gildan-owned manufacturing facilities were evaluated based on the FLA data-collection tool
• 53% of employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement
• 97% of employees were represented by formal health and safety committees
• 207,000 hours of employee training were dedicated to occupational health and safety
• $1.3M was donated to community projects in regions where Gildan operates

Governance highlights include:

• 9 out of 10 of Gildan’s board of directors were independent
• 40% of Gildan’s board of directors identified as being a member of a “designated group” as defined by the Canadian Employment Equity Act, with three directors identified as being women and one identified as a member of a visible minority group
• Two-thirds of Gildan’s three board-level committees are chaired by women