Adidas Group

Our Approach to Sustainability

We are striving to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry and this demands that we return strong financial results. But leadership is not only about results, it is also about how success is achieved. It is about striking the balance between business needs and social and environmental demands. Balancing these interests requires strong commitment, strategic direction, efficient and careful execution, as well as regular reflection on the progress made.

The adidas Group’s sustainability strategy is rooted in the Group’s values – performance, passion, integrity and diversity. It is built on the achievements and learning from previous years. It takes into account changes in the societal landscape, global trends and goes hand-in-hand with our overall business strategy. It reflects the feedback that we have captured from our stakeholders and sets clear targets we are striving to achieve.

Overview of our sustainability strategy

The five areas of our strategy are:

• Embedding environmental sustainability in all products, processes and services to significantly improve our environmental impact across our value chain and to positively contribute to our business performance.
• Effectively managing business risks and social compliance in our supply chain, which is expanding, and becoming more complex with multiple relationships and stretched lines of communication and control.
• Extending our engagement internally and externally – partnering with others to embed new thinking and better ways of collaboration within our business and along our supply chain. Working together to make a difference.
• Creating the best and most productive workplace in the industry by becoming a champion in talent and succession management, a world-class recruiter and a Top 10 employer in every key market in which we operate.
• Making a difference in the communities where we operate by supporting programmes that truly meet local needs.

Governance of our sustainability strategy

We are a company that operates globally and outsources most of its production to a multi-tiered supply chain. So it is essential to develop an approach that covers our social and environmental responsibilities both inside and outside the company. In no way can a single corporate unit carry this out. Group Social & Environmental Affairs (SEA) and Group Human Resources (HR) play a critical role in fulfilling our responsibilities in this area.

Group Social and Environmental Affairs (SEA) reports into the General Counsel of the adidas Group and is tasked with:

• Ensuring compliance with the "Workplace Standards" within the supply chain, and with that being part of the Group’s risk and compliance management system.
• Leading, promoting and managing the development and implementation of environmental strategies across the Group's value chain.
• Extending and maturing the engagement and collaboration with others to drive changes in the industry.
• Managing the Community Affairs programme at Group level.
• Managing the Group's corporate sustainability communication and reporting.