Throughout 2021, delivering on our sustainability targets remained a top priority for us. This can be seen in our second standalone Sustainability Progress Report 2021 where we share our learnings and insights with the progress we’ve made over the last two years.
In 2019, we outlined our vision to become a fashion platform with a net-positive impact for people and the planet in our sustainability strategy, do.MORE.
At the core of the strategy are measurable and science-aligned goals across the categories of planet, product, and people, which we have set out to complete between 2023 and 2025.
We’ve built important foundations regarding some dimensions like carbon footprint, packaging, ethical standards, skilling, circularity, and assortment, while we’re still in testing mode on others. Our goal is to lead change and move the fashion industry forward.
When it comes to social sustainability, we believe that preparing the workforce for a changing world and changing business needs, within or outside Zalando, is important. The OECD estimates that up to 1 billion people need to be reskilled by 2030 to match changing demands for skills. We talked to our goal sponsor, Reza Moussavian, VP People Products, and Anne Meincke, Principal Program Manager, about the up- and reskilling initiatives their team is working on.
As a sponsor of “Preparing Our Workforce for the Future”, which achievement are you most proud of and why?
Throughout 2020 and 2021, we’ve provided over 2,770 people with upskilling opportunities, which is quite an achievement. This includes digital and financial literacy training for factory workers in Bangladesh through to certified logistics programs for people in our European warehouses. I’m proud of all of our current and planned initiatives which are helping us reach our ambitious goal of providing skilling opportunities to 10,000 people by the end of 2023.
It’s vital that we do this because digitalization is accelerating changes across the globe fast. In fact, in 2020 the OECD published a statistic forecasting that almost 1 in 3 jobs worldwide are likely to be transformed by technology in the next decade. At Zalando, we want to do our part in helping our workforce and the general workforce ecosystem make this transition seamlessly. That’s why we’ve already invested tens of thousands of hours in training people and it’s why upskilling is an important part of our sustainability strategy.
As the VP of People Product, what is your team currently working on to contribute to the overarching goal?
We’re about to start our Women in Tech Reskilling Program, which will provide women without a tech background an opportunity to start a new career in software engineering. At the same time, we’re exploring development options for Future Zalents, people who are just starting or changing their careers. In the background, we are systematically assessing Zalando’s future skilling needs as the backbone for the development of additional initiatives that we should have in place.
As we see it, the trends point to people needing to develop skills in two key areas:
1. Technology. More and more, our processes are being digitally automated. For example, within our warehouses, we’re training people to set up different types of robots and automated processes. We’re also focussing on tech training with our Bangladesh project.
2. Soft skills. Machines and algorithms will never be able to replace the soft skills that make us human. That’s why boosting people’s development in that area is also vital. For instance, training people to collaborate more effectively.
What next milestone are you the most excited about?
I’m most excited about kicking off another set of skilling initiatives in the summer and seeing the impact they have on our people and our business. I’m looking forward to seeing the results of our Women in Tech Reskilling Program and following the development of our supply factory workers in Bangladesh.
Going forward, I would love Zalando to be a lighthouse in this whole area of continuing adult education — so that other organizations not only learn from us but also copy us. I really believe, if the public and private sector work together, we can make up- and reskilling for the future a positive experience for everyone.
If you enjoyed this interview and feel inspired to learn more, then please find our 2021 Sustainability Progress Report here.
You can also visit our Sustainability hub here and check out open positions on our careers site here.
