Shein’s Weilong Zhaoqing Logistics Park in China has achieved carbon neutrality for 2024 by reducing the majority of its emissions at source.

The facility has also achieved a Zero Waste to Landfill certification that verifies its waste management processes effectively divert all operational waste from landfills through reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery.

This project is one of the steps Shein is taking in order to achieve its near-term target of reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030, a target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The entire process, from the greenhouse gas inventory to the carbon neutrality verification, has been conducted in accordance with two ISO standards and independently verified by Bureau Veritas.

Approximately 98% of the total reduction effort was accomplished through direct emissions reductions by way of renewable energy deployment and energy efficiency upgrades. The remaining 2% (587.24 tons) was offset through verified carbon credits registered with Verra, a nonprofit carbon credit registry that manages the Verified Carbon Standard, in line with the ISO 14068-1:2023 standard.

The park’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality prioritised direct, measurable emission reductions, which have been calculated to the amount of 32,661.79 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). These have included the installation of on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems which generated 1.3 million kWh of solar-powered electricity in 2024, the purchase of 58,952 MWh of renewable electricity certificates and the implementation of a comprehensive programme that included upgrading to more energy-efficient lighting and air-conditioning systems and installing motion-sensor technology to reduce energy consumption at source.

“By building our strategy around direct abatement, we are working towards the creation of a scalable model for our other facilities that is operationally achievable and provides us with a strong foundation for our other targets ahead on our net-zero journey,” said Mustan Lalani, head of sustainability at Shein.

Earlier this year, the SBTi validated Shein’s net-zero science-based target for 2050 and approved its near and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets, including its near-term goal of reducing its absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions by 25% by 2030.

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