Sustainability
The adidas Group must manage wide-ranging commercial and competitive pressures to deliver growth. Simultaneously, we have a responsibility towards our employees and the environment, to ensure decent working conditions and environmental standards are met throughout our global organization and supply chain. We always strive to manage both our own activities and our supply chain responsibly and to reduce our environmental impact. Moreover, we believe that acting as good corporate citizens will improve our corporate reputation and hence our economic value, helping us to be a sustainable company.
Open Dialog and Interaction with Stakeholders
We actively and systematically engage with our numerous stakeholders,
involving them in key social and environmental decisions that shape
day-to-day operations. In this way, we can balance interests, build
consensus and enhance the transparency of our business. We pursue a
policy of open dialog with stakeholders – debating issues and
approaches and, where appropriate, forming partnerships to develop
long-term solutions. We continue to drive and comment on industry best
practice relating to stakeholders through our membership of
organizations such as the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, Business for Social Responsibility, the World Federation
of the Sporting Goods Industry and the Fair Labor Association. This
provides the Group with the opportunity to work closely with top
companies from various sectors to develop sustainable business
approaches and to debate social and environmental topics on a global
level. The adidas Group makes every effort to achieve open and
transparent reporting. Comprehensive information on the Group’s social
and environmental programs is provided on our website under
www.adidas-Group.com/sustainability.
Merging Leading Programs
Both the adidas Group and Reebok have strong track records in
transparent reporting about social and environmental performance and
supporting third-party verification of our programs. With the
acquisition of Reebok, the Group’s ambition is to combine the best of
both programs in a new adidas Group Social and Environmental Affairs
(SEA) team. During 2006, we revised our social and environmental
program to incorporate new standards, guidelines and procedures,
covering supplier guidance, initial factory assessments and compliance
monitoring. Our assessments are now recorded in an industry-wide data
management system (Fair Factory Clearinghouse) that Reebok helped
establish. This facilitates the exchange and increased transparency of
compliance-related information within our industry. The outcome is a
more robust program that will deliver stronger results in improving
social and environmental conditions.
Setting Clear Standards
The adidas Group’s Workplace Standards are based on the International
Labour Organization (ILO) and UN conventions relating to human rights
and employment practices, and follow the World Federation of the
Sporting Goods Industry’s model code of conduct. Our Workplace
Standards contain clear rules of conduct regarding environmentally
sound, safe and healthy working conditions, fair wages and benefits,
freedom of association, prohibition of excessive overtime, forced and
child labor, and protection against harassment and discrimination. The
Standards help us to select business partners that have workplace
standards and business practices consistent with our values and to
reject those that do not. As guiding principles they also help identify
potential problems so that we can work with our business partners to
address issues of concern as they arise.
Encouraging Self-Governance through Management Systems
Good management systems help factories improve their day-to-day
operations and support the process of internalization and
self-governance. Therefore, we support our business partners in
pursuing the opportunity for certification with internationally
recognized standards such as ISO (International Standardization
Organization) 9000 and 14001 for quality and environmental management
and OHSAS (Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series) 18000. By
establishing a certified management system, our suppliers demonstrate
this commitment to continuously improve their performance. We help them
build or improve human resources systems at factories to maintain good
working conditions, including factory grievance systems to routinely
find and fix non-compliance problems. Further, we empower workers to
protect their own rights and take an active role in decisions that
affect their lives. In 2006, there were 35 adidas Group footwear
suppliers’ factories worldwide certified in accordance with OHSAS
18000, ISO 14001 and/or the ISO 9000 series.
