Fashion brands including Adidas, Decathlon, Inditex, and H&M have pledged to follow a new industry-specific guide to science-based targets for nature.

Developed in a partnership between the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, the Fashion Pact, and Conservation International, a new primer was launched last week as part of a two-year initiative – Transforming the Fashion Sector with Nature, reports edie.

The new guide offers the fashion industry insight into establishing tangible and measurable nature targets. It can be downloaded here.

It features suggestions such as assessing the impacts of industry practices on nature throughout operations and value chains; identifying data gaps and addressing them; tracing material sourcing to specific regions, farms, or sites for at least one product or unit; and actively participating in collaborative initiatives such as the Science Based Targets Network Corporate Engagement Programme and Business for Nature.

“This primer offers the fashion sector clear guidance on what it needs to do – an essential tool for one of the industries most reliant on and engaged with natural systems, said CISL’s chief systems change officer, Eliot Whittington.

“We hope this paves the way for a transformation of the fashion, textiles, and apparel industry and that other sectors will swiftly follow suit.”

The Fashion Pact’s co-chair and H&M chief executive officer, Helena Helmersson, said: “Thanks to the SBTN programme, companies now have the chance of aligning biodiversity strategies with the latest available science and guidelines.

“As part of the pilot, we will continue providing industry-wide input to the development of the SBTN guidance to reduce the impact of our entire sector, and we hope this work will inspire many others to follow.”

The Fashion Pact includes one third of the global fashion industry and aims to address climate change, biodiversity restoration, and ocean protection. Its SBTN targets cover ensuring 25% of key raw materials have lower climate impact by 2025; achieving 100% renewable energy across all operations by 2030; and supporting zero deforestation by 2025.

Eva von Alvensleben, executive director and secretary general of The Fashion Pact, said: “Reaching net zero is not possible without nature. And nature is fast declining. The fashion industry is uniquely dependent on natural ecosystems for its materials and operations. Understanding the industry’s environmental impacts and enabling businesses to take actioanable and measurable strategies on nature are critical first steps to system change.

“Today, we are thrilled to announce the release of a fashion sector primer on the first science-based targets for nature, providing a way forward for the industry towards setting up biodiversity targets and showing that action is possible.”