Creating a Reproducible Model of Annual Emissions Outputs for a Sock Manufacturer’s Supply Chain

Consumer demand for sustainable products is increasingly driving companies to consider the life-cycle carbon emissions of products being sold. Darn Tough, a Vermont-based sock manufacturer, aims to continue their reputation of environmental stewardship through aligning its operations with the 2030 carbon mitigation target set by its largest retailer, Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). Specifically, this target is to achieve a 55% reduction in total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a 2019 baseline level by 2030. However, Darn Tough's current method built on Microsoft Excel for calculating emissions is difficult to track and reproduce, greatly hindering their ability to both perform the calculation and derive meaningful insights to plan based on. Therefore, this project streamlines the calculation process with an improved computational method and builds an interactive visualization dashboard that allows the company to calculate yearly emissions and analyze the potential GHG impacts of changes in different fiber types for sock manufacturing.

Acknowledgments

Darn Tough Vermont: Kristen Graf, Global Director of Environmental and Social Responsibility

Bren School: Carmen Galaz-García, Assistant Teaching Professor; Enze Jin, Postdoctoral Researcher; Samantha Csik, Data Training Coordinator; Allie Caughman, PhD Student; Eric Masanet, Professor; Sarah Anderson, Professor