Reducing your footprint with your feet: How Vivobarefoot and Maersk are reducing their climate impact together

Vivobarefoot strives to balance sustainable ambition with strategic ROI across every area of the business. That led the footwear retailer to Maersk – and a forward-thinking partnership built on shared values.

Even so, the organisation remains humble, stating: we don’t make sustainable footwear…yet. But we’re working hard to make that a reality, and then go one step further.

“We’re leading aspects of the industry, but we’re still part of the problem. Sustainability isn’t enough – we need to move to regeneration with a net positive impact across everything we do, from how we make our products to how we innovate with our partners. We’re still in the early stages of our regeneration journey but the strategy is based on three pillars: business, product and community,” says Charlotte.

In addition to its vision of reconnecting people and planet, the business also has ambitions for responsible expansion.

It’s this balance of sustainable ambition and strategic ROI, managed conscientiously, that led Vivobarefoot to Maersk.

Maersk were a cut above the rest because they manage supply chain integration for you. From looking at how you buy stock, how you book, pack and ship containers, to final mile and returns. The fully integrated piece was vital to us,” says Nick.

But any chosen partner had to prioritise decarbonisation just as much as growth. And Maersk has a mission to integrate the world for a better future – “all the way to net zero” – by helping customers to decarbonise their supply chains.

“Logistics isn’t an easy industry to decarbonise, but it’s important. To make Vivobarefoot’s logistics world-class, we wanted to take steps to decarbonise our supply chain,” says Nick. “Our tender had a whole section on sustainability. We didn’t pick Maersk because of price, but because they had the credentials and the same vision about making our corners of the world a better place.”

The warehousing partnership is already expanding, with the recent addition of a new facility in Vivobarefoot’s second largest market: Germany. Decarbonisation continues to be a consideration for both parties, and Maersk has strict guidelines for all new warehouses, from solar panels to efficient energy systems, in line with its goal to reach net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040.

“There is a big element of decarbonisation in the new warehouse, and utilising decarbonisation technologies forms part of our B Corp requirements, so the scope of what could be achieved was really well aligned,” says Charlotte.

Maersk acts as Vivobarefoot’s booking agent for containers in Asia, working directly with factories and suppliers to load containers and carry them to port. Suppliers are able to arrange ocean transportation directly via Maersk’s booking services, which the Vivobarefoot team finds convenient.

“We’re only 150 people, so having that burden taken away… all we do is hand over contact details, it’s easy,” adds Nick.

Vivobarefoot also uses Maersk ECO Delivery. This solution provides a choice to allocate energy from lower GHG emissions fuels* to cover the consumed energy of fossil fuels in the transportation of cargo, thereby lowering your value chain GHG footprint.

Vivobarefoot sees ECO Delivery as a “stepping stone” to eventually using Maersk’s methanol-enabled vessels: a growing fleet of lower-emission ships being launched throughout 2024-25, the first of which are already at sea.

“It’s great to see the level of ambition Maersk has. In volatile economic times, they are willing to put significant amounts of funding behind this technology.” says Charlotte.

“We work with a 3rd party to report on our Scope 1 to 3 emissions and are prioritising collecting primary data as far as possible,” says Charlotte. Maersk’s Emissions Dashboard, which consolidates emissions data across carriers and transport modes to support decarbonisation decisions, could play a role for Vivobarefoot in the future.

“If we were to look at supply chain management at a later phase, then tracking all CO2 end-to-end would be easier with one partner,” adds Nick.

Vivobarefoot will also continue to share its “champagne moments and fantastic failures” transparently as it evolves, and wants to improve with every B Corp recertification. The team also wants to work with other brands on pre-competitive collaboration to encourage “sustainable innovation” across the board.

Maersk acknowledges the unfinished business too, which is why it’s committed to leading the decarbonisation of logistics and taking responsibility for being a part of the solution. Rethinking every aspect of the supply chain – from terminals to warehouses – to create solutions for customers. Maersk’s investment in lower-GHG technology has helped reduce the company’s GHG emissions, but “all the way to zero” remains the goal.

Vivobarefoot mirrors this dedication to investment in every aspect of its business.

“We want to demonstrate that sustainability can be done, not to the detriment of ROI, but to support it. No one has cracked that balance of growth versus sustainability yet, but we’re up for the challenge and we’ve got the right partner,” says Charlotte.

“We have an open dialogue with Maersk. No relationship is perfect, but as long as you work together to get around obstacles, you’re going in the right direction,” explains Nick.

*Maersk defines reduced GHG emissions fuels as fuels with at least 65% reductions in GHG emissions on a lifecycle basis compared to fossil reference fuels with a baseline emission of 94 g CO2e/MJ