Ralph Lauren Corporation

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

Water
The company discloses its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
Ralph Lauren is reducing the production of hazardous substances through its zero discharge of hazardous chemicals programme. The company commits to eliminating the production of hazardous substances and increasing the production of safer alternatives and reports progress against the targets.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
In its Human Rights disclosure, Ralph Lauren reports it is committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation, or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Ralph discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. Although the company has set targets on sustainability topics such as GHG emissions, it does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. The company reports consistently against all its targets. Moreover, no evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. Ralph Lauren does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
Although Ralph Lauren discloses its material topics, which includes stakeholder engagement, the company does not disclose an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities. It also does not disclose its process for engaging with stakeholder groups beyond its materiality assessment.

Lobbying
Ralph Lauren discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. It does not report misalignments between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company 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
The company 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 Ralph Lauren’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. Furthermore, it does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems, nor the details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding Ralph Lauren’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. Although it discloses its financial contribution to the Soil Health Institute, it is unclear whether the support leads to direct improvements in soil health in its production or sourcing practices. The company does not disclose a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
Although the company is working towards reducing its water withdrawals in its upstream value chain activities, no evidence it reduces water withdrawal across its own operations was found. Ralph Lauren does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas nor does it engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company does not report a decrease in water pollution or its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. Ralph Lauren does not regularly report on water pollution or any targets to reduce water pollution.

Solid and air pollution
Ralph Lauren does not disclose a commitment to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. No evidence that it is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found. No evidence that the company reduces plastic use and waste in its own operations was found. It also does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. Ralph Lauren does not report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants, nor report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
Ralph Lauren is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, across all three scopes. It commits to reducing its absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. Furthermore, it discloses a target to achieving net zero on its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, aligning with a 1.5-degree trajectory. However, no evidence was found regarding its scope 3 target being aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

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

Safe, healthy, clean environment
Ralph Lauren does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. No evidence that the company tracks its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities was found.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
While Ralph Lauren states it supports forest conservation and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ land rights, this does not translate into a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The company does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. While Ralph Lauren states it supports forest conservation and protection of Indigenous Peoples’ land rights, this does not translate into a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. No evidence was found that the company requires its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

While the company discloses that it conducts due diligence as part of its global risk assessment, 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 describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. No evidence that the company describes its process for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues was found. 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 it 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.

Ralph Lauren 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. While Ralph Lauren states its subject to minimum wage requirements, no evidence that the company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage was found. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. The company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers, which includes its Wage Management Strategy. It has an opportunity to disclose the coverage of collective bargaining agreements. Ralph Lauren has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining. 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.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. The company has an opportunity to disclose a policy on bribery and corruption and its processes for identifying and addressing bribery and corruption. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement or policy setting out its lobbying and political engagement approach was found. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.