Resolved clauseRESOLVED: Shareholders request that TJX issue near- and long-term science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s ambition of limiting global temperature rise to
1.5°C and summarize plans to achieve them. The targets and plan should cover the Company’s full range of operational and supply chain emissions.
Whereas clauseWHEREAS: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has advised that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 in order to limit global warming to 1.5 °C. Every incremental increase in temperature above 1.5 °C will entail increasingly severe physical, transition, and systemic risks for companies and investors.
The TJX Companies, Inc. (“TJX” or “the Company”) acknowledges that its business is subject to physical risk from “severe or unseasonable adverse weather” and regulatory, legal, and compliance risks of emerging climate-related regulations.
Despite these risks, TJX’s disclosures and mitigation strategy continue to fall short of best practice. While the Company has committed to net zero by 2040, this is limited to scopes 1 and 2 – excluding scope 3 emissions, which constitute up 70% of companies’ total emissions footprint on average.1 Furthermore, without third-party validation of the target or a climate transition plan to achieve it, it is challenging for investors to assess the credibility of these efforts.
By 2022, 34% of the global economy had committed to science-based targets, including 272 retail companies and 261 apparel companies.2 Peers Decathalon, Macy’s, Nike, Nordstrom, Target, and VF Corporation have all committed or had their targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. Lastly, TJX may be subject to proposed or implemented regulations from the United States, California, and European Union that may require the Company to report its full emissions footprint and “plans to ensure that its business model and strategy are compatible with... limiting global warming to 1.5 °C.”3
Investors believe TJX should adopt 1.5 °C-aligned science-based emissions reduction targets for its full carbon footprint and publish a climate transition plan – detailing the forward-looking, near-term, and quantitative actions the Company will take to achieve its medium- and long-term sustainability goals. By doing so, the Company may reap benefits from increased efficiency, lower energy costs, more resilient supply chains, and better preparation for climate-related regulations.
Supporting statement
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: In assessing targets, we recommend,
· Considering approaches used by advisory groups like the Science Based Targets initiative;
· Developing a transition plan that shows how the Company plans to meet its goals, considering criteria used by advisory groups such as the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, CDP, Transition Plan Taskforce, and the We Mean Business Coalition;
· Considering supporting targets for renewable energy, energy efficiency, supply chain engagement, fleet electrification, etc. and other measures deemed appropriate by management
1 https://www.unglobalcompact.org.uk/scope-3-emissions/#:~:text=As%20Scope%203%20emissions%20usually,and%20reducing%20Scope%203%20emissions
2 https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/SBTiMonitoringReport2022.pdf
3 https://www.efrag.org/Assets/Download?assetUrl=%2Fsites%2Fwebpublishing%2FSiteAssets%2FED_ESRS_E1.pdf&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1