We are proud to share that we have achieved our carbon footprint reduction goal of 8% per square foot, and have achieved a 20% reduction in emissions per square foot. Our home office and Store Associates have been instrumental in helping us achieve this significant result.

Our carbon footprint is calculated using WRI’s GHG Protocol Corporate Standard. Our reporting is inclusive of Scope 1 and 2 of our North American operations, including our home offices, distribution center and stores in both the U.S. and Canada.



We are committed to achieving our new carbon emissions reduction goal of 30% per square foot by 2015 (over a 2008 baseline).

We will continue with our current initiatives, including increased energy conservation efforts, the use of new technologies and a continued focus on behavioral changes.

We are constantly working to increase the energy efficiency of our operations. Since 2008, we have reduced our energy use by 10% per square foot. We achieved this reduction by engaging our Associates through our ACE program and upgrading our lighting systems. In 2012, we installed 50,000 energy efficient LED bulbs in almost 400 stores.



We will continue to drive energy efficiency in our operations to reduce our carbon footprint and to find cost savings. Our Corporate and Store Facilities teams are always looking for more efficient lighting, fixtures and HVAC systems for our offices and stores, and we continue to engage our passionate Associates around these efforts.

At ANN INC., we are deeply committed to Supplier training and have developed strong Supplier relationships to drive compliance. In doing so, we have worked with our strategic Suppliers to share best-in-class practices targeted at some of their biggest challenges. AT CONNECT, our signature compliance program for key Suppliers, is a successful and impactful initiative that drives value for ANN INC., for our Suppliers and for the workers who make our products.

We worked with our AT CONNECT Suppliers’ compliance teams and together we created specialized worker engagement projects for their factories and sustainability programs to reduce their environmental impacts.



We continue to focus on delivering results through our AT CONNECT program and to work closely with our Suppliers to improve compliance outcomes, build Supplier capacity and provide best in class compliance and environmental sustainability solutions.

As we evolve, we will continue to strengthen our relationships with the compliance staff of our Suppliers and expand our efforts to further align compliance with business priorities.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) department reviews all new facilities before they are approved to manufacture our product. We only approve those Suppliers who demonstrate a commitment to social compliance and who are transparent about their performance. This year, we approved 86% of the new factories reviewed, continuing our commitment to only doing business with factories that meet our social and environmental responsibility standards.

Once a factory is approved for production, we review the compliance performance of those factories by using unannounced and independent third-party audits, in-factory training programs, regular progress reporting and visits from our global CSR team. We develop our annual monitoring strategy using various criteria, including a factory’s previous compliance performance. We recognize the performance of factories that consistently demonstrate good results by conducting audits of those factories less frequently. In 2012, we reviewed 90% of the approved factories that make our products.



At ANN INC. we are committed to reporting on our social compliance programs, impacts and challenges. This is an important way to demonstrate accountability to our clients, associates, and other stakeholders who expect ANN INC. to maintain high ethical standards.

We are proud of our performance and will continue to share our achievements and challenges.

We committed to driving joint brand collaboration when reviewing factory compliance. By working with other brands, we offer an opportunity for Suppliers to reduce audits and duplicative remediation requests. This year we are proud that we have increased the percentage of factories we review collaboratively from 20% to 26%. This growth helps fulfill our goal of supporting our Suppliers compliance efforts and helping them to deepen their commitment to upholding positive working conditions.

We encourage our Suppliers to participate in multi-stakeholder industry programs, such as Better Work, which builds best practices, shares knowledge and creates efficiencies for both companies and Suppliers. As such, we actively participate in the Better Work program in Vietnam, Indonesia and Jordan and have been pleased to see compliance improvements from these initiatives.



At ANN INC. we will continue to work towards increased joint brand collaboration to reduce audit and remediation burdens for our Suppliers. We will also continue to provide Suppliers with consistent goals, which will free up time for them to achieve key social compliance objectives such as strengthening their management processes or initiating worker empowerment programs.

As we evolve, we will look for ways to further participate in industry programs which are aligned with ANN INC.’s compliance priorities, while maintaining our current commitment to supporting our Suppliers.