As the fashion industry faces rising environmental pressures, the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) has introduced the Energy and Carbon Benchmark, an industry-first tool designed to accelerate decarbonization across the global apparel supply chain.
The benchmarking tool provides detailed insights into energy consumption and carbon emissions at the process level, enabling brands and suppliers to identify inefficiencies and implement targeted sustainability interventions. Unlike existing tools, the new benchmark distinguishes between facilities performing single or multiple textile processing activities on-site, allowing for more accurate comparisons and performance tracking.
Rising Emissions Highlight Urgent Need for Action
According to Aii’s 2025 annual progress update, apparel sector emissions rose nearly 8 percent in 2023 compared with the previous year, accounting for close to 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The increase represents the first significant rise in emissions since Aii began tracking the sector’s climate impact, highlighting the need for coordinated industry-wide action.
The Energy and Carbon Benchmark aims to address this challenge by providing transparent and independent data that allows stakeholders to analyse production processes more effectively across the supply chain.
Process-Level Insights for Textile Manufacturers
The benchmarking tool enables manufacturers and brands to access tailored performance metrics based on:
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Energy sources used in production
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Material types processed
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Specific manufacturing processes
The system also provides factory-wide energy and emissions profiles, departmental data, and long-term performance tracking across different regions and facilities.
“This benchmarking tool helps suppliers to objectively determine where they are in their sustainability journey, which in turn can support further cost-effective interventions, resulting in more effective energy solutions, improved efficiency, and decreased emissions. By communicating supplier performance to brands, Aii’s tool will help the industry to further recognize the importance of suppliers in apparel’s net-zero journey, resulting in additional and effective support and momentum for supplier decarbonization,” said Jimmy Summers, VP of Environment, Health, Safety, & Sustainability of Elevate Textiles.
Industry Collaboration Drives Development
The benchmarking tool was developed through collaboration with multiple industry stakeholders, including manufacturers, technical experts and sustainability partners. It incorporates verified data sources such as the Higg Index, technical assessments and mill-level performance data.
Several major brands and suppliers participated in the pilot phase conducted in late 2025, including H&M Group, AEO Inc, Gap, Target, J.Crew Group and PVH, along with suppliers such as Elevate Textiles and KPI Mills.
“When it comes to industry decarbonization efforts, fashion historically hasn’t been able to clearly define what ‘good’ energy efficiency looks like. Aii’s Benchmark, created in partnership with the apparel sector, establishes those baselines backed by data. The Benchmark is a meaningful tool that accelerates brand and supplier decarbonization with transparency and clarity,” said Henrik Sundberg, Climate Impact Lead with H&M Group.
Supporting Industry-Wide Climate Goals
By measuring the environmental performance of supply chain partners, the Energy and Carbon Benchmark aims to encourage brands and suppliers to invest in decarbonization at the production level. The tool also provides a framework that could enable financial institutions and brands to support suppliers through climate-focused incentives and investment programmes.
“This methodology provides a structured, quantitative and yet simple way for the fashion industry to assess energy use and carbon reduction opportunities. Ultimately, we hope that one day all suppliers, no matter how big or small, see the business value in tracking and communicating their carbon performance using this Benchmark. And in doing so, brands and financial institutions can respond accordingly with commitments and financial incentives to reward top performers and appropriately support those suppliers with significant improvement opportunities,” said Kurt Kipka, Chief Impact Officer, Aii.
Advancing Data-Driven Sustainability
The development of the Benchmark also builds upon the expertise of Aii Climate Solutions Portfolio Advisory Council Member Phil Patterson and insights from industry specialists, ensuring that the tool reflects real manufacturing conditions across global textile supply chains.
By providing a unified measurement framework, the Energy and Carbon Benchmark is expected to help the fashion industry move towards data-driven decarbonization strategies and measurable climate progress.
