LRQA is pleased to welcome Dr Siva Pariti, strengthening our capability in apparel and complex supply chain risk management.
With over 20 years’ experience working directly with mills, manufacturers and global brands across the textile, footwear and leather sectors, Siva brings deep expertise in chemicals management, wastewater, process optimisation, traceability and circularity.
He has also contributed to leading industry frameworks including the Fairtrade Textile Standard and ZDHC CMS guidance and has conducted more than 400 audits across global supply chains.
Here, Siva shares his perspective on where the industry is today and what needs to change to deliver real impact at scale.
Siva’s perspective
Over the past two decades, I’ve worked across hundreds of facilities globally. One thing has remained consistent: the same core issues continue to surface – energy, chemicals and water – yet they are still managed separately.
In reality, they are not separate issues. They are interconnected within the same processes, in the same factories, often managed by the same teams. But structurally, they are addressed through different programmes, different datasets and as different priorities, often on different timelines.
The industry has made real progress over the past 15 years. Chemicals management has advanced significantly, wastewater programmes are established, and carbon has rightly become a major focus. There are strong foundations in place.
But in practice, there are still gaps. Data, for example, is being collected, audited and reported, but not always used to drive coordinated, site-level action. Many times, same suppliers are already being prioritised across carbon, chemicals and water programmes at different timelines. The opportunity is to recognise that overlap and act on it in a more holistic and coordinated way.
This matters even more as the regulatory environment continues to slowly shift. Whether the industry is ready or not, compliance is no longer optional - legislation is tightening across markets, and businesses throughout the supply chain will need to respond.
We are not starting from zero. The challenge now is how we connect what already exists and scale what we know works.
At its core, this is an integration challenge. Technology, including AI, has a role to play but only once the fundamentals are in place.
Carbon, chemicals and water are operationally linked, yet still managed separately. In practice, improving chemicals management can reduce water and energy demand and emissions, while better energy management can reduce water consumption.
These are not isolated issues. They sit within the same processes, in the same facilities. Sequencing actions – optimising processes first, followed by carbon and wastewater interventions – can deliver real impact at facility level.
The challenge is that the market is not currently set up to address them in this way. Technical expertise is often split across different disciplines, making it difficult to deliver joined-up solutions at site level.
What’s needed is a more coordinated approach, one that reflects how these challenges exist in reality.
Digital tools, including AI, can support this by helping connect fragmented datasets and identify patterns across large, complex supply chains. But the priority should be practical application: using existing data to drive action where it matters most.
In apparel supply chains, the same suppliers are often already being prioritised across carbon, chemicals and water programmes. The opportunity is to recognise that overlap and act on it in a more integrated way, rather than treating each issue in isolation.
At LRQA, we are bringing this together by combining deep expertise in chemicals and water management with specialist decarbonisation capability, including RESET Carbon, part of LRQA.
This enables a more integrated approach to supply chain risk that reflects how these challenges exist in practice, at site level, and can be delivered at scale across key sourcing regions, particularly in Asia.
The industry has already built a strong foundation. The next phase is about execution – connecting what we know works and applying it consistently at site level.
That is where real impact will come from.
