​Condé Nast joins UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Nov 25, 2019

Media giant Condé Nast has become the first media company to sign the United Nations’ Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action.

Created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2018, the charter aims to achieve multiple environmental goals, including a target of reducing greenhouse emissions by 30 per cent before 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

The charter’s goals are aligned with the goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, which aims to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2°C (35.6°F) above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5°C (34.7°F).  

According to a report from the Australian branch of Vogue—one of Condé’s publications, along with titles like GQ, Vanity Fair, Glamour and The New Yorker—Condé will focus on its use of single-use plastic as part of the initiative, particularly plastic used in its magazine packaging.

In a post on the Condé Nast news page, the company said that in 2019, over half of its owned operations began “phasing out fossil-based, non-recyclable plastic wrapping in subscription or newsstand uses, or both, seeking to eliminate the use of plastics altogether or to opt instead for recycled and bio-based alternatives.”

Now, the company has made a more specific goal to eliminate non-recyclable plastic from all products across its owned markets by 2025, and has also signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an initiative launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in October 2018 that aims to create a positive vision of a circular economy for plastics.

In addition, Condé is also making a commitment to promote sustainability and the reuse of clothes, as well as innovative materials and technologies that will help address the environmental impact of fashion, Vogue said. 

To continue the momentum of its pledge, the media giant plans to publish an assessment report on its operations in early 2020, and create a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. 

Other signatories of the UN charter include Nike, American Eagle Outfitters, Farfetch, PVH Corp, The RealReal and VF Corporation, among others.