BUSINESS: Going Green Bollé Safety Launches New Sustainable Development Report By Staff Thursday, December 14, 2023 8:10 AM CARLSBAD, Calif.—Bollé Safety, the leading global brand in the PPE eyewear market with over 20 million wearers across the world, has unveiled the results of its latest ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) report. This is the first progress report since the announcement of the Bollé Brands Group new ESG strategy in early 2023. The business has made significant progress in recent months to future-proof the organization in a number of areas including reducing its environmental footprint, the development of eco-friendly versions of its top selling and new products underpinned by a robust biodiversity footprint assessment and a comprehensive set of social and governance initiatives throughout their operations, the company announced.In an important move toward environmental accountability, Bollé Safety has brought a groundbreaking addition to its ESG report for 2023—a comprehensive biodiversity footprint assessment. This assessment lays the groundwork for targeted strategies to address historical and current impact on biodiversity and the company has set a bold target: to reduce its impact on biodiversity by 5 percent across all scopes by 2027. To achieve this goal, Bollé Safety has identified two key levers to minimize the impact of its products and packaging: Reducing CO2 emissions: The company is committed to a 35 percent reduction in CO2 emissions per product by 2027, a target officially recognized and certified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Bolstered by recent efforts, Bollé Safety is poised to achieve this goal, having already reduced emissions per product by up to 8 percent compared to 2021 metrics, highlighting the company's dedication to a more sustainable approach to their portfolio and supply chain. This milestone is primarily attributed to a deliberate reduction in air freight across operations and will be followed by a robust action plan to ensure meeting the 35 percent reduction per product by 2027.Embracing eco-packaging: Bolle safety is striving to adopt 95 percent eco-packaging by 2024, primarily utilizing recycled or FSC-certified paper and cardboard. This commitment underscores Bollé Safety's drive to minimize its environmental footprint and align packaging materials with sustainable practices.These strategic initiatives represent a significant commitment by Bollé Safety to proactively address biodiversity reduction. Through these initiatives, the company reaffirms its dedication to environmental stewardship and responsible corporate citizenship, the company stated. Expanding its focus beyond environmental commitments, Bollé Safety is deeply invested in enhancing social and ethical practices, aiming to make positive impacts throughout its entire value chain. Noteworthy initiatives include:Ethical Supply Chain Practices: Embracing the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, Bollé Safety has achieved significant milestones in ethical supply chain practices. As of March 2023, nearly all (96 percent) suppliers within the value chain have endorsed the Bollé Safety Code of Conduct, setting high industry standards for strategic business partnerships. The company diligently assesses compliance through a robust ethical supplier control program. The goal is to achieve 100 percent supplier commitment to the Code of Conduct by the end of 2023. Moreover, Bollé Safety's recent receipt of the prestigious EcoVadis Gold Medal for its European division, places the organization among the top 5 percent of companies assessed by EcoVadis in more than 175 countries worldwide, and underscores Bollé Safety's dedication to sustainability and responsible business practices.ESG culture development: Recognizing the pivotal role of its workforce, Bollé Safety is committed to cultivating an ESG-focused culture within the company. With a pledge to provide ESG training to 100 percent of its employees by 2024, the company is reinforcing the importance of Environmental, Social and Governance principles. Additionally, the appointment of 15 ESG ambassadors reflects the dedication to fostering this culture across the organization on a global scale.Commenting on the publication of the report, Peter Smith, CEO of Bollé Brands and president of Bollé Safety said, “As a company we’re extremely proud of our long-standing heritage, but also have a very deep-felt sense of responsibility for our future. We are committed to leading our industry when it comes to sustainability and are proud to have set an ambitious new standard for ourselves and for our peers as we continue this journey. “Our efforts are not only focused on reducing our impact on the environment, but also on taking things a step further to ensure sustainability is a core value at all levels of our business, our work, our industry and our supply chain. We’re constantly looking for new opportunities to create value. I’m proud of our team who show up every day committed to make these efforts a reality, and the advances shown on this year’s report are a testament to their work,” Smith said. Anne-Sophie Francois, vice president of Brand for Bollé Safety added, “At Bollé Safety, sustainability is woven into the fabric of our organization—looking to deliver on our trademark combination for performance, fit and comfort through an increasingly future-focused and sustainable imperative in all that we do. Our new sustainability report truly highlights our team’s drive and commitment to be beyond the standards set by our industry and our peers, taking efforts one step further to truly make a positive impact for future generations. “It is great to see the huge advancements we have made throughout these last months come to life in this latest report, and also important to remember the road we still have ahead to keep driving sustainable innovation forward. I’m very much looking forward to the exciting announcements we have coming up as we continue to lead the way into the future toward a greener, more sustainable protective eyewear industry,” Francois said. Quentin Chapelain, ESG manager at Bollé Brands Group noted, "Our sustainability efforts over the last years evidence our commitment to a comprehensive, ambitious but action-led and achievable strategy that wishes to promote real change across our business, our industry and our supply chain. At Bollé Safety we know that for these efforts to be concrete, we must be able to measure and track our footprint and our progress scientifically, which this report can attest to. “We also know that for change to be significant it must be led by every single employee in the business, which is why culture and training are key aspects of our ESG strategy. I’m delighted to see such positive, significant results throughout these last few months, and I’m excited to look to the years ahead. We know the sustainability challenges we face as a society are massive, so we will continue to do our part as a business to deepen our action to meet these challenges," Chapelain said. Looking forward, sustainability remains a key priority for Bollé Safety. Anticipating a series of significant announcements, the company is in the midst of a transformative phase, redefining product ideation, development and distribution strategies with sustainability as a core element. The fiscal year 2023 marked a crucial phase in the company's ESG journey, aligning with its ambition to achieve B Corp certification in 2024. The full report can be accessed here.