Ganni installs its first solar panels as part of its carbon insetting scheme

Earlier this year, affordable luxury brand GANNI announced the move from carbon offsetting to insetting, with an aim to take progressive action on reducing their carbon footprint in line with the brand’s 50% absolute carbon reduction target by 2023. Moving from carbon offsetting to carbon insetting will see GANNI directly investing in decarbonizing its own supply chain, instead of buying carbon offsets that reduce emissions elsewhere.

In the spring of 2022, GANNI’s first insetting project kicked off with two of its suppliers based in Portugal. This has resulted in the first solar panels being installed at the premise of the supplier Ramil. The second supplier, Rodrigues, is currently building a new facility where renewable energy and energy reduction are being integrated into the design. Additionally, the brand has been working with both suppliers on protecting and supporting the local biodiversity of the facilities together with biodiversity consultancy Strix.

GANNI has been manufactured in Portugal since its inception and is the home of manufacturing of the brand’s signature certified organic cotton t-shirts. The goal of the insetting strategy is for GANNI to financially invest in its suppliers’ transition to renewable energy.

To help further facilitate GANNI’s decarbonization process and create further transparency on its carbon footprint, GANNI has partnered with Plan. A, a climate action consultancy and software provider. In partnership with Plan A, GANNI is committed to investing in Insetting in the future to create cleaner manufacturing solutions within its own supply chain. With this move, GANNI wants to take a more holistic approach to deal with its environmental footprint as part of a new climate action strategy that aims to future-proof the company by committing to progressive targets and a 50% reduction of absolute total emissions by 2027.

Carbon insetting will not only reduce GANNI’s overall environmental impact but provide long- term contracts to suppliers. Something that is crucial for their development and transition to low-carbon operations, but remains a way of working that is not commonly adopted in the fashion industry.

“We’ve been mapping and off-setting our carbon footprint from 2016-2021 levying our own carbon tax to guide our behaviour - the carbon tax that politicians still today haven’t had the guts to introduce. Whilst it was somewhat progressive at the time, it’s starting to feel more and more abstract. Instead, we’ve moved to carbon insetting, tangibly tackling our carbon footprint head-on by investing directly in our own supply chain which in turn will reduce GANNI’s carbon footprint.”

– Nicolaj Reffstrup, Founder, GANNI