Nike Issues Corporate Responsibility Report

13 April, 2005-Nike, Inc. today issued its second corporate responsibility (CR) report highlighting the Nike brand’s CR priorities, programs, progress and challenges relating to workers in contract factories; employees and diversity, community investment and the environment.

Regarding Corporate Environmental Responsibility, the organization’s FY01 report, set long-term environmental goals that included zero toxics, zero waste and 100-percent closed loops. These goals became unified into a single comprehensive objective-the creation of innovative and sustainable products that effect not just the product, but companies business operations and those of suppliers.

According to the FY04 report, the organization reports that through working with suppliers, contract factories and some competitors, Nike has dramatically reduced the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – solvents used in such manufacturing inputs as adhesives, primers and cleaning fluid, used in making footwear – from an average of 340 grams per pair of shoes in 1995 to the current level of 16 grams.

The company reports that it continues to demonstrate its support for the objective of the Kyoto Treaty: reducing human-created emissions that contribute to climate change. This strategy was articulated in a 2001 voluntary agreement defining Nike’s participation in the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers program. Through Climate Savers, Nike committed to reduce combined CO2 emissions from owned facilities and business travel by 13 percent by 2005 from a 1998 baseline. Despite growth in owned operations facilities and an increase in emissions from business travel, the company is on track to achieve its goal through continued energy conservation, green power and offset purchases.

Since the release of its FY01 CR report, Nike has greatly expanded its involvement with a an array of organizations, including the Organic Exchange, the National Recycling Coalition and the Green Blue Sustainable Packaging Coalition. As result of its involvement in the Organic Exchange, 47 percent of Nike-branded cotton garments in FY04 contained a minimum of 5 percent organic cotton, more than double the quantity containing organic cotton five years ago.

Examining environmental impacts through the lifecycle of its products, Nike has focused on the following areas:

1. Promote compliance with environmental standards set by Nike and other organizations.
2. Eliminate waste and toxics across our product lifecycles.
3. Develop capabilities for four key sustainability platforms:
-Use of organic materials such as organic cotton.
-Use of materials determined to contain a significantly lower amount of chemicals deemed to be of concern based on Nike’s toxic chemicals assessment.
-Reprocessing materials or products that can be converted to new products.
-Use of plant-based materials that can be used to manufacture natural or bio-based textile fibers and polymers, such as Polyactic acid (PLA)
4. Reduce the environmental footprint of packaging and shipping of the product, and bring efficiencies to the business. Between 2003-2004, 16 percent of the cardboard was eliminated from an already efficient shoebox and most of the shoeboxes are made from 100-percent recycled content, and 80-percent post-consumer waste.
5. Implement innovative programs that turn waste into business opportunities, such as the Reuse-a-shoe program.

To read the full environmental section of the FY04 Corporate Responsibility report, see:
http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/nikebiz.jhtml?page=29&item=fy04
To learn more about Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program see:
http://www.g-forse.com/archive/news98_e.html

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