HIGG Brand and Retail Module scores 2020

Zalando is committed to using our scale and technology to take the lead in building the connections needed to transform the industry. As the Starting Point for Fashion in Europe with almost 49 million customers in 25 markets and more than 6,000 brand partners, we take our role very seriously and we collaborate with a number of partners to gather insight into the steps we can take to improve social and environmental practices within our sector.

As a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, we publish updates on the progress we make towards the alignment and embedding of corporate responsibility strategies into department operations on an annual basis. One of the tools we have started to use is the Brand and Retail Module (BRM) from the Higg Index. The Higg BRM offers companies a comprehensive way to assess and communicate their annual social and environmental performance at corporate level. This tool can be used holistically to evaluate and identify sustainability risks and impacts while enabling users to recognize areas for improvement.

Under the BRM, Zalando has been assessed in five sections: management systems, brand, retailer, stores, operations and logistics. Each section features an Environment Score and a Social Score. The module also provides a total Environment Score out of a possible 100%, and a total Social Score out of a possible 100%. Our verified BRM scores show that we are on the right track but there is still room for improvement. The feedback from the BRM allows us to identify areas in which we can improve over the coming years by setting up specific programs to aid progress.

Zalando is already committed to improving our own score and engaging with our partners to work with the BRM. As part of our overall strategy, we look forward to sharing our progress publicly.