The publication shows that the climate crisis has direct and indirect consequences on people’s health and suggests how the sector can include the lens of Climate Justice in the adoption of comprehensive strategies to address climate change, promoting more resilient and inclusive health systems.
- The notebook indicates that the Fashion & Textile sector accounts for approximately 8% to 10% of global carbon emissions, surpassing sectors such as aviation and maritime transport combined. The document also highlights the need for sector actions to take into account the most vulnerable populations throughout the production chain, promoting environmental sustainability, decent working conditions and social equity.
November 14, 2024 – The Global Compact – Brazil Network, through its Climate and Human Rights platforms, presents two new Business Thematic Notebooks on Climate Justice, produced in technical partnership with the Latin American Climate Lawyers Initiative for Mobilizing Action (LACLIMA). One is about Fashion and Textiles, addressing how the sector connects to the climate crisis, both by being a major emitter of greenhouse gases and by its high vulnerability. To give you an idea, worldwide, the fashion and textile sector accounts for approximately 8% to 10% of global carbon emissions, surpassing sectors such as aviation and maritime transport combined. The other, focused on Health, reveals how the climate crisis directly impacts people’s quality of life and highlights how the sector can contribute to mitigating and adapting to these challenges, in addition to fostering the creation of more resilient and inclusive health systems.
The publications, which were presented at the Global Compact’s side event at COP29 – Business & Climate Ambition, on November 13, provide an in-depth study of the sectors, with successful cases and consistent practical climate justice actions that integrate the strategy and business model of the areas, placing vulnerable people at the center of both environmental and financial decision-making by companies. For this, companies as well as sector associations, regulatory bodies, ministries and federal bodies, specialist civil society organizations and the UN system were consulted and involved in the project’s development. The content is available online for all interested parties:
- Business Thematic Notebook for the Fashion & Textile sector
- Business Thematic Notebook for the Health sector
“All sectors of the economy, some more, some less, contribute to the climate crisis, but they also suffer its effects, directly or indirectly, negatively impacting their businesses. When it affects the most vulnerable populations, climate collapse also has repercussions on the economy and businesses. An example is the increase in cardiovascular diseases as a result of global warming or vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and zika, which overload health systems, both public and private. Thus, our objective with this project is to support companies in meeting the demands of stakeholders and shareholders related to climate justice, developing and implementing actions to reduce their emissions, mitigate the effects and help the most vulnerable populations,” says Danielly Freire, Climate Manager of the Global Compact – Brazil Network.
Each of the notebooks has chapters introducing climate justice, contextualizing the sector and its impacts, analyses of interviews with CEOs, specialists and, finally, practical guidelines for the business sector to mitigate its environmental and social impacts and address climate change.
Proposals to mitigate impacts in the Fashion & Textile sector
The production of the Fashion & Textile Notebook has the technical partnership of the Latin American Climate Lawyers Initiative for Mobilizing Action (LACLIMA), the Malwee Group and Live! as co-leading companies and the support of Azzas 2154, C&A, Capricórnio Têxtil, Pernambucanas and Riachuelo. The publication highlights that climate change has a dual relationship with the sector, since at the same time that its activities contribute significantly to the worsening of the climate situation, accounting for around 8% to 10% of global carbon emissions, climate change can also deeply impact it at multiple levels, affecting both production and consumption.
During interviews with sector representatives, the publication raised several ongoing initiatives to mitigate its environmental impacts and address climate change, including technologies for reusing materials, reducing water use and developing resilient infrastructures. However, challenges such as the lack of adequate regulation and incentives still hinder a more coordinated and robust response.
Among the adaptation and resilience initiatives of the Fashion & Textile sector are, for example, reducing waste and encouraging the repair and reuse of pieces; circular production, with reuse of materials and the development of technologies that allow the creation of new pieces with up to 85% of reused fibers; reducing water consumption; tracking, diversifying and actively engaging with the supply chain; audits, materiality matrices and risk analyses to identify the most vulnerable areas and define more ambitious internal goals aligned with climate science.
Directly linked to climate justice opportunities, the document proposes, among other initiatives, developing policies and strategies aimed at the most vulnerable groups within the sector’s ecosystem, with formalization of jobs and creation of training and development programs for female leaders, historically marginalized.
Impacts of climate change on Health
Produced in technical partnership with the Latin American Climate Lawyers Initiative for Mobilizing Action (LACLIMA) and the support of the Brazilian Israelite Beneficent Society Albert Einstein and Beneficência Portuguesa, the Climate Justice and Health Notebook explores topics such as the effects of the climate crisis on public health and the role that the sector can play in promoting resilience and equity.
With around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is urgent that the sector adopt more sustainable technologies and mitigation practices, the study points out. On the other hand, climate change is already intensifying cardiorespiratory, allergic and vector-borne diseases. And the increased frequency of extreme events, such as heat waves and floods, put pressure on health systems and disproportionately affect vulnerable communities.
During interviews for the project’s production, C-Levels and specialists indicated that the sector must assume a central role in reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions, aligning operations with global scientific goals and adopting practices that reduce environmental impacts. Furthermore, the sector emphasizes that ensuring the continued provision of essential services in the face of a scenario of increasing climate impacts requires a series of strategic measures and preparation for extreme events.
“The health sector, finally, also recognizes its role in leading the mobilization and awareness of the impacts of climate change on people’s lives. Being one of the most affected areas, it has a great responsibility to use its influence to inform and educate the public and other sectors about the consequences of climate change for global health,” highlights the study.
According to the answers collected, to face the challenges posed by climate change, the health sector must explore a series of strategic and innovative actions to strengthen resilience and promote sustainability, such as working together with the government to create public policies that encourage the adoption of sustainable practices; invest in research and development (R&D), in order to provide more effective and sustainable alternatives, helping to mitigate the environmental impact of health operations and, at the same time, improve the provision of services; prioritize the transfer of knowledge to care areas with fewer resources; adapt infrastructures to ensure that physical facilities are resilient in the face of extreme climate events; in addition to preparing institutions to receive greater demand for care related to health problems exacerbated by climate change.
About the UN Global Compact
As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call for companies around the world to align their operations and strategies with ten universal principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption. Launched in 2000, the Global Compact guides and supports the global business community in advancing UN goals and values through responsible corporate practices. It has more than 20,000 participants distributed across 62 networks covering 77 countries, being the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world. There are also 5 Hubs in different regions of the world and 14 regional managers responsible for the implementation process in more than 20 countries. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at www.unglobalcompact.org
The Global Compact – Brazil Network was created in 2003 and is today the second largest local network in the world, with more than 2,000 participants. The more than 60 projects conducted in the country mainly cover the following themes: Water and Sanitation, Food and Agriculture, Energy and Climate, Human Rights and Labor, Anti-Corruption, Engagement and Communication. For more information, follow @pactoglobalonubr on social media and visit our website at www.pactoglobal.org.br