Dan Henkle, SVP, Social Responsibility once quoted
“Acting in an ethical way is not only the right thing to do — it also unlocks
new ways for us to do business better”.
At Gap Inc. social responsibly is fundamental to how they do business and the
idea is applied right from the employs getting a fair treatment to there
approach towards addressing issues related to the environment which we all are
a part of.
Focus
They focus there social responsibility work on four areas where they believe
they can make the greatest positive social and environmental impact.
Supply chain
The journey there products travel from fields and factories to there
store is really about the people along the way.
As with most other companies that sell apparel, Gap doesn’t own the garment
factories, but they do share responsibility for the conditions under which
their clothes are made.
There commitments to safe and fair working conditions extends beyond their
employees and stores to include the partners in there supply chain. After
all people who work in a safe and healthy environment not only have a better
quality of life, but they also tend to be more productive In an increasingly
interconnected world, acting responsibly is not just a good feeling — it’s good
business.
Environment
With Around the world efforts going on towards environment friendly
measure how can Gap Inc stay behind, they’re reducing waste, saving energy, and
incorporating sustainable design into everything from products to the stores.
Running a sustainable company that cares for the environment is everyone’s
business at Gap Inc.
It’s a responsibility taken very seriously across the company and supplier
relationships — from the product groups who seek sustainable design solutions
and the denim laundries that meet their wastewater standards to our store
managers who conserve energy and reduce waste.
They see themselves as not just running a company, but also living and working
on a planet that’s under growing stress. And this work is done with a sense of
urgency.
Calculating their environmental footprint through a detailed
assessment of the business operations, which will give them the data to
prioritize the environmental initiatives.
Involving the entire company, their Environmental Council
comprises of some key employees of the company including the board of
directors, who regularly receive updates on their environmental initiatives.
Championing grassroots action across their employee community
through initiatives such as an internal blog (a forum for sharing ideas on how
to improve personal and corporate environmental sustainability) and annual
Earth Week celebrations.
Partnering with external environmental groups such as Ceres
and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to find new opportunities for
progress.
Employees
They want the people of Gap Inc. to thrive, personally and
professionally and discover a work environment that supports their goals and
passions.
With the vision being more than 130,000 people around the world saying proudly
that they work for Gap Inc, It’s their intent to create a workplace culture
that encourages every individual to: “Wear your passion.”
Community investment
Gap Inc believes that their greatest strength lies in having a
dedicated work force of more than 130,000 employees.
Applying business innovation to social challenges
Businesses use innovation every day to solve problems and create
opportunities. At Gap Inc., application of this thinking to community
investment, using innovation to solve social problems thereby creating new
possibilities is done.
Strategy: leveraging company assets and the “virtuous cycle.”
Like most businesses, Gap Inc. has many assets beyond cash that can have a
positive impact on the community. While thinking about the community
investment, they consider their stores, marketing expertise, globally
recognized brands, vendor relationships and, most importantly, the talented
employees.
In addition to leveraging their assets, Gap Inc aims to create a "virtuous
cycle" in everything they do. While investing in community, they intend to
benefit all the stakeholders involved — the employees, customers, shareholders,
vendors and communities. By designing programs that benefit all, they have
shifted their model from one based on charity to one focused on sustainable
investment.
Like all innovation, this work requires thoughtful risk-tasking, an appetite
for learning from there mistakes and a host of supportive partners to make it
happen.
They’re dedicated to improving the world around us and lessening our impact on
the planet. Their commitment to people and the planet is focused on two major
efforts, namely (RED) TM and GREEN.
(RED)
Gap has expanded on Gap Inc.’s commitment to people in developing
countries through its (PRODUCT) RED TM program. This program is devoted to
helping eliminate AIDS in Africa.
Gap has been a proud partner of (PRODUCT) RED since it was launched at the
World Economic Forum in February 2006. Gap’s (PRODUCT) RED program
contributes 50 percent of all profits to the Global Fund to fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria. To date (RED) has generated more than $130 million
for the Global Fund and 100 percent of this money is put to work in
Global Fund-financed grants to help those living with HIV in Africa. No
overhead is taken out.
The Global Fund has dispersed this funding into grants for the African
countries of Ghana, Rwanda, Swaziland and Lesotho. In order to maintain a
constant stream of funding to The Global Fund, Gap is focused on infusing our
(PRODUCT) RED collection with great designs and fresh style. They try creating
more demands for their (PRODUCT) RED so that they can help those living with
HIV and AIDS in Africa.
In 2009, Gap (PRODUCT) RED launched an Artist Edition T-Shirt collection.
This collaboration brings together talented artists to create a limited-edition
collection of T-shirts, with proceeds dedicated to eliminating HIV/AIDS in
Africa.
For this important project, they hand-picked some of the art world’s top
creative minds, including illustrator/designer Mike Perry, illustrator Steve
Wilson, artist Jess Rotter, graphic artist Supermundane (Rob Lowe), and
illustrator Hiroshi Tanabe. These limited-edition T-shirts bring wearable works
of art to their customers while giving them the opportunity to make a
difference in the lives of people affected by AIDS in Africa.
In addition to their work with (PRODUCT) RED, they support the Apparel Lesotho
Alliance to Fight HIV/AIDS (ALAFA) which they helped to launch in 2006. This
initiative seeks to bring workplace-based treatment to workers living with
HIV in Lesotho, an African country where Gap Inc. maintains ongoing
production.
GREEN
Virtually everything we do has an impact on the planet — from the materials we
use in our clothes to the way we ship them to more than 1,000 stores.
The parent company, Gap Inc., assesses the environmental footprint of all its
brands and looks for ways to minimize environmental impact across the company.
They participate in many company-wide environmental initiatives, including the
Denim Clean Water Program. In addition to these company-wide efforts, Gap brand
employees are continually finding new ways to ensure that our business
operations tread lightly on the environment. Sustainability has become a part
of the culture. Across the company, Gap’s employees have developed innovative
programs and groups that are focused on integrating sustainability into the
work.
In 2008, they began to transition their packaging to recycled paper. Among many
other initiatives, they also developed gift cards made of 88 percent recycled
content, and have significantly reduced the amount of cardboard boxes used to
ship their product.
This year, they had launched a campaign to help employees learn waste-reducing
disposal behaviors at their headquarters buildings. In the first four months
alone, the recycling efforts were increased by 61 percent and reduced the
overall waste pick up by 50 percent.
Since the day we were founded 40 years ago, Gap has remained committed to doing
the right thing: for our business, for local communities and for the planet.
Today this passion is still intrinsic to our company culture and guides and
inspires our employees in the work they do every day |
