Industry Groups Support California Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act 

The American Apparel & Footwear Association, the Accessories Council, The Council of Fashion Designers of America, and Fashion Makes Change, express support for California's proposed Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253), introduced by Senators Scott Wiener, Lena Gonzalez, and Henry Stern.

This bill establishes that corporations with more than $1 billion in gross revenues - that do business in the state of California - must annually and publicly disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 

As stated in today's letter of support, "The timelines and assurance levels required for reporting reflect ambitious, but realistic, science-based understanding of the current difficulty of and evolution pathway for collecting accurate emissions data. The initial direction to enforcing agencies to assess the status and feasibility of assurance levels for Scope 3 reporting shows crucial adjustability and the safe harbor for good faith reporting of Scope 3 emissions demonstrates this legislation is designed to help companies succeed at a difficult task where imperfections are virtually guaranteed. Finally, clear, public reporting requirements make the bill enforceable. ... SB 253 would break new ground on ambitious climate policy, but more importantly, because it is compatible with the THREADS Protocol, we believe the legislation will be effective in meeting its objectives."

In January 2023, these groups released the THREADS Protocol, which provides a rubric for crafting policy that will meaningfully address sustainability and social responsibility issues, showing the industry's commitment to supporting policies that are: Transparently Developed & Enforced; Harmonized Across Jurisdictions & Industries; have Realistic Timelines; are Enforceable, Adjustable, Designed for Success, and Science-Based.

"The continual warming of our planet poses a significant risk to our industry and our communities. We believe it is essential that we work together, pre-competitively, to ensure that the industry plays its part in meeting our climate change targets. AAFA's support for this bill means we are confident the bill meets the THREADS protocol criteria," says AAFA president and CEO Steve Lamar.