Great Britain: ASOS will link its executives’ salaries to the achievement of environmental objectives

On 16 September, the online ready-to-wear retailer Asos announced that starting in 2022 its executive team’s salaries will be dependent on the company’s success in reducing its waste and carbon footprint to zero by 2030. “We are all responsible for creating a sustainable future and companies must lead by example,” Asos CEO Nick Beighton said in introducing the new CSR goals. In addition to ‘green’ commitments, Asos has promised to improve working conditions in subcontracting businesses by publishing an annual report on salaries, modern slavery and gender empowerment, which will be produced by an independent body from 2023. The UK ‘etailing’ group, which employs around 4,000 people, will also diversify its recruitment profile in order to have 50% female managers (compared to 42% today) and 15% of managers from ethnic minorities (compared to 7%) by 2030. These points echo a series of good practices being initiated by the fast-fashion giants in their bid to conquer an environmentally responsible clientele. The Primark group has similarly recently committed to producing greener clothing while assuring that it would “obtain a living wage for workers in subcontracting chains”. In May 2021, the clothing retailer Boohoo aligned executive bonus payments with the achievement of CSR objectives (c.f. article No.12534).