The North Face 2011 Sustainability Report

GRI Content Index  

Standard Disclosures

Only “C” Disclosures are listed. Additional disclosures were not addressed and are not listed.

1.1

Statement from the most senior decision-maker of the organization. See “Basecamp: Letter from the President” and  “Fair Labor: CEO Letter.”

2.1 – 2.7

Organization Profile. See “Company Overview.”

Contact information:
The North Face, 2013 Farallon Drive San Leandro, CA 94577 United States
510-618-3500.
www.thenorthface.com

2.8

Scale of reporting organization. See “Company Overview” and “Building a Great Team.”

2.9

Significant changes during the reporting period regarding size, structure, or ownership. See mention of new retail stores in “Company Overview” and increase in employees in “Building a Great Team.”

2.10

Awards received in the reporting period.

3.1

Reporting period. The report covers calendar year 2010.

3.2

Date of most recent previous report.  This is our first public sustainability report.

3.3

Reporting cycle.

We anticipate that our next report will cover two years and will be released in 2013.

3.4

Contact point for questions regarding the report or its contents.  

We invite feedback on this report at expeditionsustainability@vfc.com.

3.5

Process for defining report content. See “Focus Areas,” “Stakeholder Engagement,” and “Reporting.”

3.6 and 3.7

Report Boundary and Limitations. While the report aims to provide a comprehensive picture of sustainability commitments across our global operations, many of the GRI reporting metrics are only reported for our United States operations. The North Face Asia-Pacific and The North Face EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) operate more closely with and are physically housed with other VF Outdoor Coalition brands, creating difficulties in extracting metrics exclusively related to The North Face in those locations. Therefore, for the purposes of reporting against the GRI guidelines, our reporting boundary is defined by our U.S. operations. Regarding energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission initiatives, we worked closely with the former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Climate Leaders Program to develop our GHG reduction goal and strategies. Thus, the reporting boundary for our energy and GHG work is our U.S. operations. We have provided global information throughout the report, wherever possible, to provide a clearer picture of our work and our brand commitments.  We plan to provide a global report in 2012.

3.8

Basis for reporting on joint ventures, subsidiaries, leased facilities, outsourced operations, and other entities that can significantly affect comparability of the indicators and other information in the report.We noted our plans to move our headquarters to a new location in 2012, which will affect comparability of energy data. We add retail locations annually and note the number of these new facilities.

3.10

Explanation of any re-statements of information provided in earlier reports, and the reasons for such re-statement. None.

3.11

Significant changes from previous reporting period. None.

3.12

GRI Content Index. This is contained in this section.

4.1–4.4

Governance.  See “Company Overview.”

4.13

Memberships (optional disclosure for C-level report)

Memberships

The North Face supports and partners with dozens of organizations that share our goals of improving the environmental and social responsibility of our industry or that support our mission to enable outdoor exploration. The organizations that we support through membership are listed below. Also see "Giving Back."

4.14 and 4.15

Stakeholder engagement. See “Stakeholder Engagement.”

Performance Indicators

A “C” level GRI report must report on a minimum of ten Performance Indicators, including at least one from each of: social, economic, and environment.

EC2

Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organization’s activities due to climate change.

Risks: Climate change-related cost increases due to Cap and Trade schemes and energy and fuel taxes could affect transportation, fertilizer, fuel and petroleum ingredients (such as for polyester). Climate change-related regulations and the French requirement for Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)will likely result in increased operational costs for environmental life cycle assessments and other required product studies.

The North Face is addressing regulatory risks associated with cap and trade through our membership and participation in Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), a project of Ceres. This organization works to design and introduce climate and energy policy that will prepare businesses for the risks associated with climate change. We have studied the life cycle environmental impacts of some of our products to identify areas where we can reduce our impact. We also have a greenhouse gas emission goal for our U.S. operations as well as other strategies to help us reduce our energy use and thus our vulnerability to cost increases.

Physical changes due to climate change may also present risks for The North Face. Changing precipitation patterns could affect the yield, quality, and price of cotton, which we use in a small number of styles. Changes in precipitation could also affect the tourism industry. Winter apparel and gear comprise a significant category of our product portfolio. If climate change results in less snow or warmer winters (i.e. shorter snow skiing seasons), we could see a decreased demand for our products. Sea-level rise also presents concerns as many of our suppliers, such as those in Taiwan and Bangladesh, are located close to sea level and their operations could be disrupted.  Ports used for ocean shipping and distribution may also be affected by sea level rise, which could add disruptions in our supply chain.

Our products are designed for the outdoor consumer who is increasingly concerned with the environmental impacts of the products they use and the environmental responsibility of the companies from which they purchase goods. If we fail to address our greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, it could damage our reputation with our consumers. The North Face has conducted studies to better understand how our customers and audience perceive our brand and our relationship to sustainability, and how environmental aspects are considered in their purchasing decisions. These studies have identified actions that we are now taking to protect our brand and to meet or exceed customer expectations. This sustainability report is one way that we are conveying our sustainability work to a variety of audiences.

Opportunities: Climate change may also present some opportunities for our business. The North Face sells outdoor apparel that can be used by our customers to adapt to various extreme weather circumstances (cold, heat, rain, snow, etc.). If climate change causes an increase in extreme weather throughout the globe, this could increase demand for our outdoor apparel.  We believe that changes in consumer preference towards more environmentally responsible products present an opportunity for us to develop a competitive advantage. Much of the work we describe in this report illustrates our commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our products and holding ourselves to the highest standards of corporate responsibility. We have also been proactive in contributing to the development of sustainable apparel protocols and indices for use in improving the environmental impact of apparel as well as the quality and consistency of reporting environmental metrics associated with products. In the event that regulations require product environmental labeling, we expect that many of our products will compare favorably with our competitors’ products based on our work to date.

EN2

Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials. See “Recycled Content.”

EN18

Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved. See “Climate”.

EN22

Total weight of waste by weight and disposal method.  See “Waste.”

EN 23

Total number and volume of significant spills.  None.

EN 26

Initiatives to mitigate environmental impacts of products and services, and extent of impact mitigation.  See “Product.”

EN 28

Monetary value of significant fines and total number of non-monetary sanctions for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations. The North Face paid $207,500 in 2010 to settle a claim by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that shoes advertised to kill bacteria were never tested. While disputing the EPA’s assertions, The North Face immediately ceased making the marketing claims in question when EPA first raised the issue in 2008. The EPA claimed that although the shoes contained substances categorized as registered pesticides, they were never tested and so the health claims were unsubstantiated.

LA1

Total number and rate of employee turnover by age group, gender, and region.

LA10

Average hours of training per year per employee by employee category. See “Building a Great Team.”

LA13

Composition of governance bodies and breakdown of employees per category according to gender, age group, minority group membership and other indicators of diversity.  See “Company Overview” and “Building a Great Team.”  LA1, above, addresses diversity among United States associates.

HR1

Percentage and total number of significant investment agreements that include human rights clauses or that have undergone human rights screening. 100% of our suppliers agreed to16 Global Compliance Principles, which contain human rights principles. See “Fair Labor.”