Administration offices
Most of our sourcing offices, sales subsidiaries, warehouses and administration sites have less environmental impact than the environmental effects of manufacturing products in factories. HSE activities are managed by designated HSE coordinators or the respective facility management.
Nonetheless, besides adhering to specific local laws, Corporate Guidelines for Health, Safety and Environment have been produced to support facility managers and HSE coordinators. These guidelines provide best practice advice for workplace ergonomics, eco-purchasing of office materials and resource savings through ordering chlorine-free print and copy paper, collecting and recycling/refilling printer cartridges and using energy-saving printers and lighting.
Building in environmental efficiencies
We consider environmental issues whenever we design new buildings or refurbish existing ones. For example, a range of building projects at the World of Sports HQ site in Herzogenaurach was begun in 2007 and will be completed over the next three-year period. Comprehensive environmental reviews were conducted by environmental consultants to ensure that environmental considerations were included in the design and planning phases.
The World of Sports, adidas Group HQ in Herzogenaurach, Germany – environmental activities
The World of Sports offers unique surroundings for the corporate headquarters of the adidas Group. Conceived as a campus, the area covers 39 hectares in the northern part of Herzogenaurach. Besides office buildings, it features sports and outdoor areas, state-of-the-art exhibition halls and an award-winning staff restaurant located on the banks of an artificial lake. The comb-shaped office buildings house the majority of the Herzogenaurach-based adidas Group employees. The World of Sports area was developed by considering best practice environmental techniques. For example, the employee restaurant Stripes was built based on an innovative ecological climate concept which eliminates the need for energy-intensive air-conditioning equipment. In 2007, there were around 1,400 employees from more than 50 nations working at the World of Sports.
In the course of 2007, the Facilities and Services department refined its systems for monitoring environmental data to create more specific indicators such as KWh per employee or KWh per m². Since the Group’s HQ is always being developed and 2007 saw the start of several new construction projects, data for the year is difficult to compare with previous years.
In November 2007, a comprehensive environmental review of the existing facilities and their operations was begun. The goal of this project is to identify further opportunities to gain energy and resource efficiencies at the site. The results of the environmental review will be published mid-2008.
adidas North America Headquarters in Portland, USA – environmental activities
Beginning in 1999, adidas America consolidated and rebuilt a former medical centre into its North America Headquarters – ‘adidas Village’. Two office buildings, a gym facility, football field, tennis court, parking garage, visitor surface lot and a public park were built. In 2002 the ‘Village’ was opened for its employees.
One of the primary goals of the adidas Village project was to make it as energy efficient as possible and to minimise the environmental impact of the building materials used. To this end, adidas enlisted the assistance of the Portland General Electric’s Earth Advantage programme to certify that the Village project has met the programme’s standards for energy efficiency, quality indoor environment, environmental responsibility and resource efficiency. Within this project the following requirements were met:
- Significant energy efficiency compared to the former medical buildings
- Reuse of most of the building components instead of complete demolition
- Use of certified sustainable wood flooring – Eco Timber – in the main entry and adjoining hallways
- Use of natural daylight
- Design of environmentally appropriate landscaping.
Salmon-Safe Certification – in 2006, Salmon-Safe conducted an in-depth assessment of the overall land management policies and operations at adidas in Portland that directly and indirectly affect water quality and fish habitat.
Salmon-Safe is an independent non-profit organisation devoted to restoring agricultural and urban watersheds so that salmon can spawn and thrive. Salmon-Safe land management involves conservation practices that benefit the watershed where the farm or other site is located.
In 2007 an extensive evaluation of the drainage systems, irrigation and landscape practices took place. This assessed the quality of the screening of storm water run-off, which has the potential to pollute the nearby river and harm the fish habitat there. A very positive report was received, and the Portland facilities were awarded with the Salmon-Safe Certificate.
Boiler Plant Study – after completing an engineering assessment of the heating plant, it was decided to replace two heating boilers. The new high-efficiency units were installed in 2007 and are directly controlled by the energy management system. They have ultra-low emissions and consume 20% less natural gas than the old boilers.
Recycling programmes – in close co-operation with the local janitorial service and waste contractor, the recycling programmes have been significantly expanded to include glass, aluminium, paper, corrugated card, batteries, solvents and compact discs.
Employee communication – in close co-operation with the marketing team, an employee communication programme about the on-site environmental programmes was begun in 2007, and will be further developed in 2008.
Reebok Headquarters in Canton, USA – environmental activities
The Headquarters of Reebok International Ltd, located in Canton, Massachusetts, USA, is set within 42 acres of landscaped grounds. The site incorporates the headquarters building, extensive indoor and outdoor athletic/fitness facilities and an on-site child care facility.
This facility, operating since 1999, went through an environmental re-engineering process in 2003/2004, which also covered the linked distribution centres. Systematic upgrades for the heating, cooling and lighting equipment have resulted in an annual saving of nearly 2 million KWh per year.
An ongoing office paper-recycling programme has been established and the scope of recycling activities was enlarged to cover mobile phones, batteries, business DVDs, copier toner cartridges and kitchen service material. This led to recycled volumes growing from an average of 4.7 tonnes/month in 2006 to 6.8 tonnes/month in 2007. The site also runs transportation awareness events and Bike to Work days as well as facilitating employee volunteering efforts such as the car-pool sharing database. In 2006, a shuttle bus to the local public transport hub was set up.
In 2007, an Earth Day took place, which introduced eco-friendly energy systems (solar, wind power) to interested employees, as well as show potential for energy saving and water conserving measurements. Under the ‘Reduce your use initiative’, employees received training in November and December 2007 about using computers and office equipment in an energy-efficient way.
- Employee restaurant Stripes, adidas Group HQ, Germany
- Reebok HQ, Canton, USA
- We adopt a systems-based approach to managing environmental impacts in our own production facilities and in the supply chain.