Achieving Net Zero Emissions

Our goal to achieve net-zero emissions aligns with the Paris Agreement and demonstrates how we are doing our part to limit the global temperature rise and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. To support our commitment to achieve net-zero emissions, we have a three-pronged strategy to reduce, avoid and offset our carbon emissions. We also continue to use our voice to advocate for responsible climate action.

The first priority of our three-pronged approach to achieve net-zero emissions is to reduce our energy use and emissions through operational efficiency initiatives.

Tiffany operates manufacturing operations, including diamond cutting and polishing workshops, in addition to our retail stores, offices and distribution facilities, which enables us to directly reduce our emissions connected to our core business through energy efficiency projects.

We seek high-impact efficiency improvements when we build new facilities and renovate existing ones. In 2018 and 2019, we earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for five new retail locations in China. By upgrading our retail lighting to LED systems at existing stores, we are able to reduce energy use by an average of 20% year over year. All new retail stores are equipped with LED systems and in 2018, we converted lights at 13 of our retail locations. We are also improving efficiency by incorporating more efficient heating and cooling systems, installing building energy-management systems and upgrading to energy-efficient computers and office equipment. At our New York flagship store, we have installed a modern building energy-management system, which optimizes performance of heating and cooling components such as motors, fans and pumps. In 2019, as we begin renovations to the New York flagship store, we intend to incorporate additional ways to minimize our environmental footprint.

Separate from our purchases of renewable electricity, we held global greenhouse gas emissions flat between 2013 and 2018, even as our global operations grew. By being more energy efficient, we reduced our emissions per square foot by 10% over the same period. We are also taking steps to better understand our carbon footprint outside our direct operations (Scope 3 emissions), including from sourcing, transportation and third-party manufacturing. In 2018, we completed a baseline assessment of our Scope 3 emissions and the next step will be to identify and encourage reductions in accordance with those results.

We use clean, renewable energy in an effort to meet our short-term goal to reduce our emissions by 15% from 2013 to 2020. We aim to ultimately reach 100% renewable electricity globally.

The majority of our renewable electricity is purchased. A significant amount comes from the United States, from Green-e certified Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from a solar project in Utah, a state where much of the gold and silver we purchase is mined. In Fiscal Year 2018, we purchased renewable electricity equivalent to 100% of our electricity use in the U.S. and more than 20 other markets where we operate. Globally, over 80%* of our global electricity use in 2018 came from clean, renewable sources, including purchased renewable energy and solar energy generated at Tiffany & Co. locations. When accounting for this renewable energy use, we’ve reduced emissions associated with our global operations by over 65% from 2013 to 2018.

_{*See the Report of Independent Accountants}

We purchase carbon offsets to account for any operational emissions we are unable to reduce or avoid. Outside of our business, we also look for carbon-saving projects that we believe will deliver additional social, environmental and economic impact beyond the climate benefits.

Beginning in 2017, we invested in an initiative to conserve and restore 4,000 square kilometers of critical forest ecosystem in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills. Located between Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks, the Chyulu Hills are home to more than 140,000 indigenous people who make their living through agriculture and livestock farming. The land also provides a critical habitat for endangered elephants and lions.

As the first major corporate investor to support the Chyulu Hills Conservation Trust project, Tiffany & Co. received credits to offset our carbon emissions and support our climate goals. We selected this REDD+ project (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) because the funds are used in many ways, from teaching farmers about sustainable agriculture to helping entrepreneurs launch their businesses. It also empowers the people of Chyulu Hills to help protect endangered species and sustain the health of their watershed.

We were inspired by the collaborative approach of the trust, which includes community members, government agencies and local NGOs such as the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT). As a technical advisor for the project, Conservation International helps to market and sell the carbon offsets. 

Climate change affects everyone on the planet—exacerbating natural disasters and contributing to more frequent extreme weather events, flooding, fires, warming oceans, unpredictable weather patterns and more. In addition to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, Tiffany & Co. is working to evaluate the risks climate change poses to our business. We focus our risk assessments on key operational areas, including our physical assets, infrastructure and retail locations and our employees, as well as the potential supply chain impacts on the materials we need to conduct our business. Through rigorous and thoughtful planning, we aim to increase our resilience and prepare for unpredictable climate changes that lie ahead. For more information about our climate risks, please reference our 10-K and our CDP report.