Report - SME Climate Hub

The SME Reporting Tool

The SME Reporting Tool provides a questionnaire for you to answer and report on your emissions, climate action and progress. The tool creates a report summary and a downloadable PDF, which will be published publicly on the Our SMEs page and can be shared with various stakeholders. See the Reporting Q&A for disclosure requirements and answers to more questions.

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The SME Reporting Tool

Introduction *

Commitment and Targets *

Own Emissions *

Value Chain Emissions *

(optional)

Climate Solutions *

(optional)

Governance, Strategy and Climate Risk *

(optional)

Results, Challenges and Outlook *

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1.1 End day of the reporting period*

1.1.1 Reporting year

1.2 Describe your business activities*

ACS Clothing Ltd. is Europe's largest circular fashion company, specialising in rental, reuse, and recycling solutions for garments. The company focuses on offering sustainable alternatives to the traditional linear fashion model, which relies heavily on the production, consumption, and disposal of clothing. By embracing circular economy principles, ACS extends the life cycle of garments through services such as rental, garment cleaning, repair, and refurbishment.

Their core business activities include:

1. Garment Rental: ACS manages the logistics and maintenance of rental garments for fashion brands and retailers. This model allows customers to rent clothing rather than purchase it, reducing the demand for new production and encouraging more sustainable consumer behavior.

2. Take-back & Resale Programs: Through take-back schemes, ACS helps brands collect used garments, which are then cleaned, repaired, and resold. This ensures that clothing is reused multiple times, reducing waste.

3. Garment Care Services: ACS operates large-scale laundry facilities, providing cleaning, mending, and sanitization services to extend the usable life of clothing. The company has integrated water conservation and other eco-friendly practices into its operations to minimise its environmental footprint.

4. Recycling and Upcycling: ACS also engages in garment recycling and upcycling initiatives, repurposing fabrics and materials from end-of-life garments into new products or ensuring that they are recycled responsibly. They work with various industries, including handling specialised projects like the recycling of PPE.

5. Sustainability Consulting: ACS offers expertise and support for brands and retailers looking to adopt circular economy models. This includes consulting on best practices for sustainability, product lifecycle management, and compliance with emerging regulations like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

Through these activities, ACS helps its clients reduce their environmental impact while promoting more sustainable fashion practices, aligning with global sustainability goals.

1.3 Annual revenue in the reporting period*

1.4 Number of employees on the end day of the reporting period*

1.4.1 Full-time equivalent (FTE) or headcounts*

1.5 Is this report being submitted on behalf of a parent company or a subsidiary? If so, please briefly explain the relationship.*

1.5.1 Please explain the relationship*

Commitment and Targets

Describe your net zero and near-term targets. To reach net net zero means that the organisation has reduced its value chain emissions (scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 emissions) following a science-based pathway, with any remaining residual greenhouse gas emissions being fully neutralized by permanent or like-for-like removals exclusively claimed by that organization.

The term ”residual” refers to emissions that remain technically unfeasible to be eliminated. A widely applicable guideline is that such residual emissions shall not exceed 10% of baseline emissions.

Own Emissions

Businesses have the most control over their Scope 1 and 2 emissions, making them the best place to start for measurement and reduction.

These emissions come from use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gases, for instance in boilers, vehicles or refrigeration, and from purchased energy, cooling, heating and steam. ‘Emissions’ include all greenhouse gases, measured in CO2 equivalent (CO2e) - the universal unit of measurement for evaluating the global warming potential of different greenhouse gases.

Energy consumption

3.2 Total energy consumption*

3.3 Total renewable energy consumption *

Scope 1 emissions

3.4 Scope 1 emissions*

Value Chain Emissions

Value chain emissions are key to understanding your emissions, but they are difficult to measure.

The SME Climate Hub expects SMEs to develop value chain emissions reporting over time. Businesses at the start of their climate action journey might report that they are not yet measuring their value chain emissions.

An SME farther along in their climate action journey might be measuring some key value chain emissions categories.

Scope 3 emissions

4.1 Have you measured any of your scope 3 emissions?*

4.2 Have you taken any actions to reduce scope 3 emissions in the reporting period?*

4.2.2 Provide any additional details*

4.3 Have you asked any of your suppliers to set a net zero target (either voluntarily or as a requirement)?*

4.3.1 What percentage of your suppliers have you asked?*

4.4 Have you communicated your commitment and actions to any of your customers?*

4.5 Which tools or methods did you use to calculate your scope 3 emissions?*

Small Business Carbon Calculator

Advanced Business Carbon Calculator

Scope 3 Specific Calculator

Other calculator (please specify)

Own internal calculations

Hired an external consultancy

Other (please specify)

4.5.1 Specify additional details*

Climate Solutions

This section applies to SMEs who provide climate solutions to describe the positive impact their business is making on the climate.

A climate solution is a product or service that meets a need in society, contributes to the reduction of GHG emissions and has significantly lower emissions than business-as-usual options.

Production and consumption of climate solutions is compatible with the global 1.5°C ambition, and will accelerate the transition towards a net zero carbon economy.

5.1 Do any of your existing products and/or services qualify as climate solutions or enabling solutions?*

Have a carbon footprint that is at least 50% lower, than the relevant marketweighted average for the current products/services being replaced.

Fulfil a credible intensity threshold per functional unit for a net zero world, as set out in a robust taxonomy or other science-based paper.

Primary purpose of enabling others to reduce their emissions.

Governance, Strategy and Climate Risk

This section is for SMEs who want to think more about their management and strategy, particularly looking at climate risk.

As these questions are typically asked by larger stakeholders, especially banks, this may be an area that is immediately relevant to you. It can also be an area which you develop over time as you build up your climate strategy.

6.1 What governance processes do you have in place for your climate strategy? Choose as many as are applicable.*

No processes in place

Governance process in place

Person is responsible for climate strategy at board level

Other (please specify)

6.1 Explain*

6.1.1 Please describe their position and responsibility.*

6.1.2 Is this person (or another at executive and board level) also responsible for climate risk?*

6.1.3 Please describe the governance process in place*

6.2 Have you started to identify and assess your companies climate risks and opportunities?*

6.2.1 Where are the climate risks you've identified?*

6.2.1 Explain*

6.2.2 How are you managing these climate risks? Choose as many as are applicable.*

We've not started managing climate risks yet

We've started to prioritise climate risks

We've mapped the impact of our climate risks over time (short, medium and long term horizons)

We've assessed these risks against revenue of the company

We’ve quantified the amount and percentage of assets or businesses activities vulnerable to climate risk

We've Identified plans for adaptation to mitigate these risks

We've Integrated these adaptation plans into business practices

Other (please specify)

6.2.2 Explain*

6.2.3 Provide any additional comments or context on your climate risks:*

6.3 Have you integrated climate and/or nature into your company mission statement or shareholder agreements? If yes, describe how. *

6.4 Have you taken actions this year outside of your emissions to accelerate climate progress? *

7.1 Provide any additional comments or context on your annual results and progress from previous years.*

Specify other challenges*

7.3 Has there been any third party validation of the data submitted in this report? *

To achieve its goal of net-zero emissions by 2030, ACS Clothing Ltd. implemented a range of systems and processes to effectively monitor and track emissions across all Scope 1, 2, and 3 categories. These systems are essential for understanding the company's carbon footprint, making data-driven decisions, and ensuring progress toward sustainability goals. Below are the key systems and processes ACS put in place:
1.	Carbon Footprint Assessments
•	Partnership with ClimatePartner: ACS partnered with ClimatePartner to conduct regular, comprehensive carbon footprint assessments. ClimatePartner's tools allow ACS to accurately measure and monitor emissions across all scopes, including direct emissions (Scope 1) from operations, indirect energy-related emissions (Scope 2), and supply chain and value chain emissions (Scope 3). This partnership ensures that ACS has access to precise and up-to-date data.
•	Annual Emissions Reporting: ACS undertakes annual emissions reporting based on its carbon footprint assessments. This process helps the company identify key areas of improvement, assess progress toward reduction targets, and transparently report emissions data to stakeholders.
2.	Sustainability Software Solutions
•	Normative and Worldfavor: ACS uses advanced sustainability management platforms such as Normative and Worldfavor to track and monitor emissions in real-time. These tools provide granular insights into emissions data across different areas of the business, enabling the company to track progress, identify inefficiencies, and make adjustments as needed.
•	Data Integration: These software platforms integrate data from multiple sources, including energy usage, transportation, procurement, and supplier data. This ensures that all aspects of ACS’s operations are considered, providing a holistic view of the company’s emissions footprint.
3.	Scope 1 & 2 Emissions Monitoring
•	Energy Management Systems: ACS implemented energy management systems across its facilities to track and optimize energy consumption. These systems monitor electricity usage, heating, and cooling in real-time, providing insights into where energy efficiency improvements can be made. The data from these systems is fed into the company’s carbon footprint calculations.
•	Smart Metering and Automation: The company introduced smart meters and automated controls for lighting, heating, and cooling systems. These meters provide detailed reports on energy consumption and allow ACS to identify patterns, inefficiencies, and opportunities to reduce energy use.
•	Tracking Fleet Emissions: ACS monitored fuel consumption and emissions from its fleet of vehicles, particularly those used for logistics and transportation. This data helped ACS optimise routes, reduce fuel use, and track emissions reductions related to their green fleet transition and electric vehicle (EV) integration.
4.	Scope 3 Emissions Monitoring
•	Supplier Emissions Reporting: ACS requires key suppliers to track and report their emissions as part of their supplier engagement strategy. Suppliers provide data on their carbon footprints, including emissions from manufacturing, transportation, and raw materials sourcing. This data is crucial for measuring Scope 3 emissions and ensuring that suppliers align with ACS’s sustainability goals.
•	Supply Chain Collaboration: ACS works closely with suppliers to gather emissions data, encouraging them to adopt monitoring systems that track energy usage, waste, and carbon emissions. This collaboration ensures that ACS can accurately assess Scope 3 emissions across the supply chain.
•	Tracking Emissions from Procurement and Packaging: The company tracks emissions related to the procurement of consumables and packaging materials, especially after transitioning to reusable packaging and biodegradable alternatives. This process ensures that ACS can monitor the carbon impact of these materials and adjust procurement strategies accordingly.
5.	Real-Time Emissions Monitoring
•	IoT and Smart Technology: ACS has adopted Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and smart systems to monitor emissions in real-time. These technologies track resource consumption, such as water and energy use, in garment cleaning and processing, providing data that can be used to optimize operations and reduce emissions.
•	AI-Powered Defect Detection: ACS uses AI-powered defect detection systems to optimize garment renewal processes. By ensuring that garments are processed efficiently and with minimal waste, these systems reduce water, energy, and chemical usage, which are all tracked as part of ACS’s emissions monitoring.
6.	Emissions Scorecards and Dashboards
•	Sustainability Scorecard: ACS uses a sustainability scorecard to monitor and track key metrics related to emissions reductions. The scorecard covers various aspects of the business, including energy efficiency, transportation emissions, supplier compliance, and circular economy initiatives. The scorecard is reviewed regularly by senior management to ensure that the company is on track to meet its sustainability goals.
•	Real-Time Dashboards: The company employs real-time dashboards that provide visual representations of emissions data across different departments and areas of operations. These dashboards allow for quick identification of areas with high emissions and enable swift decision-making to mitigate carbon impacts.
7.	Third-Party Audits and Verification
•	Third-Party Verification: ACS engages third-party organisations like ClimatePartner and Normative to verify emissions data. These external audits ensure accuracy and credibility in emissions reporting, giving stakeholders confidence in ACS’s sustainability performance.
•	Certification Standards: ACS aligns its emissions monitoring with global certification standards, such as the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and ISO 14064 standards for greenhouse gas accounting and verification. These certifications provide a structured approach to tracking and reducing emissions.
8.	Regular Review and Adjustment
•	Weekly Sustainability Meetings: ACS’s board of directors holds weekly meetings focused on sustainability and emissions reduction. These meetings involve reviewing data from the emissions tracking systems, discussing progress toward net-zero goals, and making adjustments to strategies where necessary.
•	Continuous Improvement: ACS follows a process of continuous improvement by regularly evaluating its emissions monitoring processes. By reviewing data trends, ACS can identify new opportunities for further emissions reductions and adjust policies or investments accordingly.
9.	Employee Engagement in Monitoring
•	Training Employees in Data Collection: ACS engages its employees in the emissions monitoring process by training them to collect data related to energy use, waste reduction, and other key sustainability metrics. This ensures that data collection is accurate and that employees understand their role in contributing to the company’s carbon reduction efforts.
•	Sustainability Champions: ACS has established Sustainability Champions within departments who are responsible for tracking progress on emissions reductions and reporting data for their specific areas. These champions play a vital role in ensuring that emissions monitoring is an ongoing priority throughout the company.
By implementing these comprehensive monitoring systems and processes, ACS ensures that it can accurately track its emissions, make informed decisions about emissions reductions, and stay on course to achieve net-zero emissions by 2025. This combination of technology, data-driven insights, and collaborative supplier engagement ensures that ACS maintains a high level of transparency and accountability throughout its sustainability journey.
ACS Clothing Ltd. uses a variety of frameworks and standards to guide its sustainability reporting and ensure that its efforts toward net-zero emissions are transparent, credible, and aligned with global best practices. These frameworks help ACS structure its reporting, measure progress, and communicate its sustainability initiatives to stakeholders. The key frameworks and standards ACS uses include:
1.	Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
-	Alignment with the Paris Agreement: ACS’s sustainability goals, particularly its net-zero emissions by 2025 target, are aligned with the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi provides a globally recognised framework for setting emissions reduction targets that are consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. This ensures that ACS’s emissions reduction targets are grounded in the latest climate science and contribute meaningfully to global climate action.
2.	Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol)
-	Comprehensive Carbon Accounting: ACS follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for measuring and managing its greenhouse gas emissions across all Scope 1, 2, and 3 categories. The GHG Protocol is the most widely used international accounting tool for government and business leaders to understand, quantify, and manage greenhouse gas emissions. It provides the framework for ACS to calculate its emissions in a transparent and standardised way.
3.	UN Global Compact
-	Ten Principles for Sustainability: As a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, ACS aligns its sustainability reporting with the Ten Principles of the Compact, covering human rights, labour, environmental, and anti-corruption standards. By participating in this initiative, ACS commits to advancing sustainable business practices in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13: Climate Action and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
4.	The Climate Pledge
-	Commitment to Early Net-Zero: ACS is a signatory of The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism. The Pledge calls for organisations to meet the Paris Agreement goals 10 years early, achieving net-zero carbon by 2040 or sooner. ACS reports its progress toward net-zero emissions by 2025 as part of its commitment to this global framework, ensuring that its sustainability efforts align with the ambitious timelines set out by The Climate Pledge.
5.	UN Race to Zero Campaign
•	Net-Zero Leadership: ACS is part of the UN Race to Zero campaign, a global initiative aimed at rallying leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery. By participating, ACS commits to reducing emissions in line with the 1.5°C target and reports its progress within this global campaign.
6.	Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
•	Climate Risk and Opportunities: ACS is integrating the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) into its sustainability reporting. TCFD provides a framework for reporting on climate-related risks and opportunities, ensuring that ACS communicates the financial impacts of climate change to investors and stakeholders. This standard helps ACS identify, assess, and disclose how climate risks might affect the business, as well as how it is managing those risks.
7.	Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
•	Sustainability Reporting Standards: ACS aligns with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a widely used international standard for sustainability reporting. The GRI framework provides guidance on reporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, ensuring that ACS’s sustainability efforts are comprehensive, transparent, and comparable across industries. GRI helps ACS structure its reports to cover the full range of sustainability topics, including emissions reduction, resource management, and social impact.
8.	ISO 14064: Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Verification
•	Emissions Verification: ACS follows the guidelines of ISO 14064, an internationally recognised standard for greenhouse gas accounting and verification. This standard ensures that ACS’s emissions reporting is accurate, consistent, and credible. ISO 14064 helps ACS track and report emissions reductions, providing third-party verification of its carbon accounting practices.
9.	B Corp Certification
•	Comprehensive Sustainability Commitment: ACS is a certified B Corporation, meaning that it meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. As part of the B Corp framework, ACS regularly reports on its sustainability performance, including its efforts to reduce emissions, promote a circular economy, and engage with disadvantaged communities. B Corp certification ensures that ACS is held accountable for creating a positive impact on society and the environment.
10.	SDG Impact Standards and UN Women's Empowerment Principles
•	Social Sustainability and Gender Equality: ACS aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Impact Standards and has signed the UN Women's Empowerment Principles. These frameworks guide ACS’s broader sustainability reporting, ensuring that it addresses social and economic factors, including gender equality and diversity, alongside its environmental efforts.
2.	Carbon Offsetting Standards (VCS and Gold Standard)
•	High-Quality Carbon Offsets: For emissions that cannot be eliminated, ACS invests in carbon offset projects that adhere to recognised standards such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) and Gold Standard. These standards ensure that ACS’s offset investments contribute to credible and effective carbon reductions, such as through reforestation, renewable energy projects, and biodiversity conservation.
3.	Normative & Worldfavor Platforms
•	Sustainability Management and Reporting Tools: ACS uses platforms such as Normative and Worldfavor for **sustainability management and reporting. These tools help track carbon emissions, resource use, and energy efficiency, allowing ACS to align its reporting with global standards and communicate its progress effectively. These platforms ensure transparency and provide detailed insights into ACS’s emissions data.
By utilising a combination of globally recognised frameworks and standards such as SBTi, GHG Protocol, GRI, TCFD, and the UN Global Compact, ACS ensures that its sustainability reporting is credible, transparent, and aligned with international best practices. These frameworks provide a robust foundation for measuring progress, managing risks, and communicating the company’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2030.

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If you require additional time to gather necessary data and finalize your report, you have the option to request a six-month extension to April 1, 2027 for submitting your report.

We understand the importance of thorough and accurate reporting, and we're committed to providing flexibility to ensure that you can fulfill your reporting requirements effectively.

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The SME Reporting Tool

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