Sportswear giant NIKE is staying true to its sustainability commitments… The retailer has just unveiled its ‘Fiscal Year 2014-15 Sustainable Business Report’, which shows strong progress against the company’s environmental and social targets.
The reports states that the retailer has managed to reduce its carbon emissions by 18 per cent per unit in the review period. In addition, the company increased water efficiency by 18 per cent per unit in apparel materials dyeing and finishing and 43 per cent per unit in footwear manufacturing, surpassing the target of 15 per cent. NIKE focused on delivering products that provide superior performance with a lower environmental impact – 98 per cent of new footwear scored silver or better on NIKE’s product sustainability indices, 80 per cent of new apparel scored bronze or better.
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Not only this, the sportswear retailer is also taking care of its social responsibilities. NIKE is running programmes dedicated to engaging and connecting workers to healthcare, education and finance networks. It is also introducing a new Family Care benefit in the US to back all new parents as well as employees caring for sick family members… An additional eight weeks paid time off will be given to employees who need to care for family members.
The sportswear retailer knows that sustainable innovation is a catalyst for revolutionizing business operations. Keeping this in view, NIKE has set high future goals, where it aims to have zero waste from contracted footwear manufacturing sent to landfill or incineration without energy recovery; to source 100 per cent of products from contract factories; to create products that deliver maximum performance with minimum impact, targeting a 10 per cent decrease in the average environmental footprint by the year 2020. Further encouraging renewable practices to reduce emissions, the company eyeing to reach 100 per cent renewable energy at owned or operated facilities by the end of 2025.
