2025 was a challenging year for the textile business, but Lenzing Group continued to make headway toward its sustainability goals.
“In 2025, there were many geopolitical uncertainties, volatile markets and intense competitive pressure for us as a commercial company,” Krishna Manda, global head of sustainability at Lenzing, told Sourcing Journal. “Despite all these things, we have succeeded in improving our results, further refining our business model and making the organization more resilient.”
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The Austrian regenerated cellulose manufacturer’s newly released 2025 annual and sustainability report outlines its accomplishments across environmental progress, social impact and corporate governance. Titled “Lead Transformation – Generate Impact,” the report shares how the cellulosic fiber maker is taking action to help the industry lower the footprint of their textile products through the adoption of sustainable inputs and processes. The company is also focused on the value it can bring to the table via premiumization and innovation. Furthermore, Lenzing has received CDP Triple A rating for Climate, Water and Forest areas for its outstanding integration and performance in these areas.
From 2021 to 2025, Lenzing reduced its absolute greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 21 percent. Per Manda, the company is making “steady progress” toward its near-term science-based target by 2030, which is on the way to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Contributing to its footprint reduction, seven of Lenzing’s sites around the globe now run on 100 percent grid-based renewable electricity, the group switched from coal to natural gas for its Chinese facility with an investment of around 30 millions euros and it has recently established a new photovoltaic system at its headquarters in Austria, among many other actions.
Within Scope 3, which also covers Lenzing’s upstream suppliers, the company is monitoring the environmental, human rights and procurement practices of more than 1,000 of its suppliers—representing 68 percent of its total procurement spend—through sustainability ratings and assessments such as EcoVadis. It is also engaging key suppliers on development of green chemicals and raw materials to shrink its Scope 3 impact.
Some concerns remain as Lenzing looks toward future milestones ahead of 2050, particularly within Scope 3 since the manufacturer has less influence and control to shape these indirect emissions than it does Scope 1 and 2. Energy and petrochemical prices have risen amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, which could significantly influence choices made by its upstream suppliers toward fuel selection and feasibility of operations leading to supply chain changes and disruptions. Additionally, reaching the majority of the net-zero goal will require electrification across more of the manufacturing floor and systems, which will necessitate investment in retrofitting or acquiring new machines. Renewable energy switches also represent added costs.
Over the last five years, Lenzing has invested more than 200 million euros into sustainability-related upgrades, ranging from replacing boilers to acquiring pollution abatement equipment and improving wastewater treatment. For both Lenzing and textile manufacturers, costs, risks and investments must be spread across the value chain that includes brands and retailers to make these investments more feasible.
“To ensure the continued scalability and competitiveness of more sustainable fibers, our value chain partners should share costs fairly. Otherwise, it would not be even possible to break-even. Customers must commit to driving the scalability of sustainable materials through concrete actions such as binding agreements and investments,” said Manda. “It’s not sustainable if we can’t cover all the three pillars: people, planet and prosperity.”
Lenzing’s investments also encompass fiber innovation. In 2025, it introduced TENCEL™ Lyocell – HV100, which replicates the texture and matte finish of cultivated natural fibers like cotton through mixed cut lengths, made using what it calls Variocut technology.
Collective action
Sustainability is not a solo endeavor, and Lenzing has taken this to heart. “No single company or team can achieve anything on their own,” said Manda. “Collaboration is the blood that runs through the whole business to make the real progress in the industry.”
Collaboration comes into play internally at Lenzing, as its sustainability team regularly interfaces with a range of departments—from operations and finance to procurement and commercial teams. “When sustainability is part of the core business, functional responsibility and strategy, then you can actually make real progress in the long run,” Manda noted.
Cross-industry collaboration is also critical, particularly as the textile business seeks to scale circularity. Lenzing met its 2025 goal of innovating a new circular business model for post-consumer materials by partnering with 15 supply chain companies to organize post-consumer value chain steps. For instance, Lenzing teamed up with Adidas and the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences to pilot a recycling process, which resulted in a sweater made from recycled lyocell fibers.
Lenzing also has partnerships with Södra for ECOVERO™ Viscose with REFIBRA™ technology containing 20 percent recycled content, and a new alliance with Circ introduced limited-edition TENCEL™ Lyocell with REFIBRA™ technology that has 30 percent recycled inputs. Manda has seen some companies take a wait-and-see approach toward circular materials—holding out for 50 percent content—but he nudged brands to walk before they run and turn commitments into actual sourcing plans by accepting 20 percent recycled content fibers as initial steps, which allow more scalability in the future.
Broader action is also encouraging the use of more sustainable materials. Lenzing participates in CELLFIL, an EU-backed initiative which aims to transition the industry from synthetic fibers to lyocell filament yarn. Manda sees the need for policy to help scale this shift away from fossil-based materials.
Ecological efforts
As a cellulose based fiber company, Lenzing is heavily focused on minimizing the impact tied to its dissolving wood pulp. It sources 100 percent of its wood and pulp from certified or controlled origins, including its direct-operated plantation. These efforts earned the group the top spot in Canopy’s Hot Button Report rankings this past year.
In ecology, Lenzing is generating impact beyond the textile value chain. Following the framework of “reduce, restore, regenerate,” Lenzing works to improve the environment—both in locations where it operates and beyond. The group has sponsored projects in Burundi, Congo, China and Tanzania to plant additional trees in forests, and in its home country of Austria it is restoring peat and wetlands. Its biodiversity efforts also extend to its owned Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified plantation in Brazil, which is home to 300 plant species and 440 animal species, where ecology guides forest management.
“We need to take care of biodiversity because it’s the foundation for our ecosystem services, such as clean air, clean water, rainfall, carbon storage and providing recreational opportunities and generating economic value through raw materials,” said Manda.
To learn more about Lenzing’s work on ESG, read its 2025 Annual and Sustainability Report here and attend its webinar on April 9 at 11 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. GMT / 4 p.m. CET). Register here.
