Designer Brands

No leading practices were identified in the governance and strategy area.

No leading practices were identified in the ecosystems and biodiversity area.

No leading practices were identified in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Designer Brands discloses no sustainability strategy with nature-related targets and does not report on sustainability accountability within its governance structure.

Stakeholder engagement
Designer Brands does not disclose how it engages with stakeholders, nor the issues it raises during such activities.

Lobbying
Designer Brands does not report on its lobbying and advocacy practices on nature-related issues, nor whether these activities align with its sustainability strategy.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Designer Brands has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
Designer Brands does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding Designer Brands’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding Designer Brands’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
Designer Brands does not disclose relevant information related to water, in its operations or supply chains.

Solid and air pollution
Designer Brands does not disclose relevant information related to pollution in its operations or supply chains.

GHG emissions
Designer Brands does not disclose any greenhouse gas emissions, nor has it set a time-bound reduction target. The company must immediately set a reduction target aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5-degree trajectory.

Invasive species
Designer Brands has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
Designer Brands does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Designer Brands does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

While Designer Brands discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. No evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. While the company discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

Designer Brands has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company discloses that it strive to provide competitive wages and salaries to its employees in most cases, however, it does not disclose if the competitive wage is enough to maintain a decent standard of living for the employee and his/her family. Also, it does not provide a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. The company expects its vendor to pay its workers at least the minimum wage prescribed by local law or the prevailing local industry wage, whichever is higher. However, it does not disclose if minimum wage prescribed by local law is enough to maintain a decent standard of living for employees of its business relationships and their family. Also, it does not disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its business relationships. No evidence that the company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements was found. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

Designer Brands has an opportunity to publish a global tax strategy and should assign responsibility for this strategy to an executive-level individual or body. The company discloses that its international operations exposes them to political, economic, operational, compliance, and other risks which includes compliance with applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption, however, it does not describe the process to identify its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company has a vendor code of conduct in which it prohibits bribery and corruption, however, it is unclear if its supplier contracts/relationships will or could be terminated as a result of breach of the code of conduct or bribery and corruption. The company does not disclose its approach to lobbying and political engagement in a public policy document.