In May 2011, a consultant was commissioned to facilitate and capture key findings from a stakeholder workshop that was held at the adidas Group’s UK subsidiary office in London. The workshop was called ‘Raising the Bar – next steps on the journey towards sustainability in the sports apparel industry’ and focused on how the adidas Group manages labour standards in its supply chain in the context of major sporting events, including the upcoming London 2012 Olympics Games....
In May 2011, a consultant was commissioned to facilitate and capture key findings from a stakeholder workshop that was held at the adidas Group’s UK subsidiary office in London. The workshop was called ‘Raising the Bar – next steps on the journey towards sustainability in the sports apparel industry’ and focused on how the adidas Group manages labour standards in its supply chain in the context of major sporting events, including the upcoming London 2012 Olympics Games.
The workshop attendees were a mixture of experts from non-governmental organisations, investors, trade union bodies, LOCOG, the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, as well as representatives from the adidas Group. On the day, delegates were asked to explain what they wanted to get out of the dialogue. They expressed the following ‘goals’:
- To find out more about the adidas Group’s approach to key issues highlighted by various pieces of research, such as living wages, precarious workers, relationship between factory workers and management and worker migration
- To put across current investor interests
- To learn about how the adidas Group is meeting the demands of the Playfair campaign
- To discuss the adidas Group’s sponsorship role for the London 2012 Olympic Games and how it ensures that fair working conditions are in place for key suppliers.
On the adidas Group’s part, our objectives for hosting the stakeholder dialogue were outlined as follows:
- To inform our broader sustainability strategy and preparation for major events
- To close out misunderstandings and manage expectations
- To broaden our exposure to stakeholder views.
The workshop was split into four interlinked sessions, each starting with a short introduction from the adidas Group followed by an open discussion. See the report describing the feedback from each of these sessions.