Here, Cascale team members reflect on their highlights from the year, capturing their shared commitment to sustainability and collective action at scale.
Announcing Our New Strategy & Deepening Engagement
“In 2023, we refined our strategic plan and this past year has been the implementation of that plan, which focuses on combating climate change, fostering decent work for all, and building a nature-positive future. This is our true north. We also took our collaborative efforts to new heights, signing strategic partnerships with the Apparel Impact Institute and Fair Wear and continuing our work with The Industry We Want among many others. The opportunity at hand is to dissolve barriers, speak with our fellow stakeholders across the value chain, take calculated risks, and furthermore – take responsibility and hold each other accountable.”
Executive Pick: Colin Browne, Chief Executive Officer
Facilitating Major Updates to the Higg Index
“With improved data accuracy, stakeholder input, and global standards in mind, we pulled off a series of improvements to the Higg Index last year, including the Higg Brand & Retail Module (BRM) and Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM). All of these enhancements enable a clear pathway forward with actionable intelligence. We look to our community for guidance as we continue to evolve our tool roadmap to drive change.”
Executive Pick: Jeremy Lardeau, Senior Vice President, the Higg Index
Reaching New Milestones on Global Events
“Cascale events offer a vital platform for our diverse and global community to come together in person and online, fostering open dialogue, exchange of best practices, and collaborative solutions. In 2023, the Annual Meeting saw record attendance with our community coming together in Boston under the “Evolution for Impact’’ theme. We also relaunched our Manufacturer Forum series last year, giving a space for manufacturers to address challenges while providing innovative solutions.”
Executive Pick: Lee Green, Senior Director, Communications
Evolving Collaborative Partnerships and Tools Alignment
“The development of a shared perspective of the apparel supply chain tiers will provide clarity to our industry and enhance future communications and tool alignment strategies. We look forward to the continuation and release of this work with our apparel alliance partners [Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), and Textile Exchange].”
Executive Pick: Joël Mertens, Director, Higg Product Tools
Hitting the 300-Member Milestone
“We hit an incredible membership milestone in 2023. Cascale’s membership, for the first time, surpassed 300 global members, including retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, and NGOs. Membership also began to expand beyond textiles and apparel, and into adjacent product categories. Today, Cascale’s membership is growing with representation across apparel, footwear, textiles, home furnishings, outdoor sporting goods, bags and luggage companies.”
Executive Pick: Erlinda Lee, Director, Global Membership Development
Creating the Policy & Public Affairs Team
“With the formation of our Public Affairs department last year, we answered the call to not only meet regulation in stride but anticipate its ripple effect on our industries. With unanimous support from the Board, we assembled our Public Affairs department with technically rich expertise and leadership to guide us into our next era of impact.”
Executive Pick: Andrew Martin, Executive Vice President
Progressing Decarbonization Aims
“In 2023, we saw significant progress in the Decarbonization Program, with over 50 percent of members committed to, or in the process of committing to, Science-Based Targets. Cascale also announced the launch of its Manufacturer Climate Action Program (MCAP) which enabled many suppliers to advance their decarbonization journey by having the access to the support and knowledge in science-aligned target setting.”
Executive Pick: Joyce Tsoi, Senior Director, Decarbonization Program
With much in store in upcoming months, including the 2024 Annual Meeting, the Cascale team is pleased to continue its foray into a new era of impact alongside stakeholders.
