VEJA
2019’s carbon footprint

CONTEXT

Since 2005, VEJA has been producing trainers differently, with the aim of having a positive impact at every stage of production. This is done with a view to continuously improving their offering and their commitment to offering a sustainable product, while being acutely aware of the associated environmental impacts. For example, in 2019, VEJA wanted to measure its carbon footprint. The objective was clear: to calculate and publish everything, to engage in an exercise in transparency and education, but above all to highlight the unknown consequences of trainer production and reduce the brand’s emissions.

MISSION

UTOPIES worked with VEJA in 2019 to quantify its carbon footprint in France, covering the entire production chain, from raw material sourcing to factories and offices.

In concrete terms, the study involved :

• Mapping the flows of VEJA’s activities and identifying all the emission sources,
• Collecting the data, a long and meticulous task to meet VEJA’s ambition for transparency,
• Calculating the carbon impact of each stage of production, using emissions factors from reference sources (ADEME, Ecoinvent, LOCAL FOOTPRINT®, etc.),
• Proposing reduction scenarios based on the results, in line with scientific scenarios.

RESULTS

This mission enabled us to highlight and quantify the CO2 emissions generated by VEJA’s activity. These figures will contribute to their ongoing efforts to be transparent and exemplary.

VEJA’s carbon footprint in 2019 represents 36,867 tCO2e, equivalent to the electricity of 6,000 homes for one year (traditional energy) or charging 4 billion smartphones for 1 year.

• 71% of these total CO2 emissions are generated by the raw materials sourced by VEJA (organic cotton, Amazonian rubber, leather and innovative materials such as B-Mesh, Hexamesh and Alveomesh).97% of these emissions are due to leather, our approach with VEJA being to take into account the impact generated, from the farms to the tanneries.
• 18% of total emissions are linked to the transport of VEJA trainers, mainly due to air transport, although in 2019 this only concerned 19% of pair shipments.

Our proposals for impact reduction scenarios are essential in the process of change and reducing our customers’ impact.As part of its commitment to producing differently with a positive impact, VEJA is constantly implementing ambitious reduction initiatives. The main ones are as follows

• Reducing the proportion of leather used in VEJA collections (85% in 2014 vs. 60% in 2020) despite a sharp increase in production (95,000 pairs in 2014 vs. 2,000,000 in 2020).
• A 2021 target to ban air shipments of pairs from Brazil to retailers, with already in 2020 a clear drop in the proportion of pairs sent by air (7% vs. 19% in 2019).