Engagement with Stakeholders

We seek to ensure that we address the topics that are most salient to our business and our stakeholders, and the challenges ahead. To identify these topics, we openly engage with our stakeholders and consider their views and opinions in when making decisions that shape our day-to-day -operations. Our stakeholders are those people or organizations who affect – or are affected by – our operations, including the following: 

• adidas employees 
• Authorizers: governments, trade associations, shareholders and the Executive Board 
• Business partners: suppliers, licensees and service providers 
• Workers in our suppliers’ factories 
• Human rights defenders: such as trade unions and community activists 
• Opinion-formers: journalists, community members and special interest groups 
• Customers: professional athletes, distributors, retailers and consumers

Engaging openly with stakeholders and establishing ways to increase transparency and disclosure has long been central to our approach. The adidas Stakeholder Relations Guideline specifies key principles for the development of stakeholder relations and the different forms of stakeholder engagement.  

adidas participates in a variety of industry associations, multi-stakeholder organizations, and non-profit initiatives. Through these memberships, we work closely with other leading companies from a variety of different sectors to develop sustainable business approaches and to discuss social and environmental topics on both global and local levels. We use collaborations and partnerships to build leverage for systemic change in our industry, such as strengthening chemical management practices and raising standards in the cotton supply chain. In addition, we are building awareness and knowledge of laws and rights among factory management and workers by partnering with leading providers such as the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Better Work program, and the United Nation’s International Organization for Migration, which ensures that the labor rights of foreign and migrant workers are upheld in the adidas supply chain.

When you have a well-developed approach to sustainability, as adidas has, engagement is rarely a one-off event: stakeholder relationships develop over time and, along the way, the nature of the dialogue changes and matures. Where there is a positive and open approach to engagement, perspectives can be shared, differences respected and, at times, new partnerships forged.

Companies do not operate in isolation from society and our stakeholders have a legitimate interest in the way we do business. adidas stakeholders are a diverse group, which translates into a diverse range of engagements, some continuous and spanning many years and some targeted, based on current issues or trends requiring critical feedback. We seek to maintain an active and open dialogue with local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labor rights advocacy groups, human rights advocacy groups, trade unions, investors, analysts, national and international government agencies, as well as academics. adidas also participates in a series of long-term purpose-built fora and multi-stakeholder initiatives, including the Fair Labor Association (FLA), Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (‘Textilbündnis’) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector, among others. 

An analysis of adidas’ current primary stakeholder engagements is maintained on an ongoing basis and reviewed at least annually.

The examples below show how we have been engaging with stakeholders over recent years. They outline the process of the engagements, their conclusions, or results. 

Human rights and labor topics

• Transparency in human rights: adidas has maintained a close relationship with the Business and Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC) since its establishment more than 20 years ago. As an NGO, BHRRC operates a digital platform to broadcast and share human rights allegations and track corporate accountability in the business and human rights space. In addition to offering timely responses to individual allegations raised by civil society, adidas has maintained a high level of transparency by supporting disclosure into BHRRC-managed trackers, for example the protection of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Disclosures to BHRCC are linked to other civil society and investor-backed benchmarks, such as the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and KnowTheChain. We strongly value the transparency afforded by the BHRRC platform in communicating our ongoing efforts to address human rights issues and allegations. We continue to maintain a 100% response rate to all inquiries and requests for comment received from BHRRC.  
• Cotton farming in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan: In 2011, adidas, together with other international brands and retailers, signed a civil society and investor-led Cotton Campaign pledge, calling for the Uzbek government to end forced child labor in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan. In response, the government invited the United Nation’s International Labor Organization (ILO) to develop a dedicated forced labor compliance program for cotton grown in the country.  After many years of engagement and monitoring, in early 2022, the ILO and the Cotton Campaign’s local NGO affiliate, Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, confirmed that there was no longer evidence of government-imposed forced labor in the Uzbekistan cotton sector. As a result, the Cotton Campaign announced an end to its global boycott of Uzbek cotton. However, at present, adidas does not source products, materials or cotton from Uzbekistan. In 2018 adidas had signed a similar pledge with the Cotton Campaign to address forced labor in Turkmen-sourced cotton. While improving the traceability of our material, we have reminded our suppliers that we expect them to ensure, to the best of their knowledge, that none of the cotton or cotton materials used in our products originate from Turkmenistan. Click here to find out more about these pledges.
• Prison labor in Cambodia: adidas joined five other major brands in writing to the Cambodian government to express concern over the reported development of a prison rehabilitation scheme that permits garments to be manufactured by prison labor. In the communications with the government, the international buyers shared their concerns over the need to ensure the integrity of global supply chains and the potential risks that stem from unauthorized subcontracting in the apparel sector in Cambodia. Staff from the ILO’s Better Factories program – which monitors labor conditions in adidas supplier factories in Cambodia – provided us with regular updates on the situation and reached out to the government and other UN agencies, to obtain their perspectives and feedback. Our concerns were formally acknowledged by the Minister of Commerce and were addressed through an inter-ministerial committee, which was formed to examine and safeguard against undisclosed or illegal subcontracting arrangements in the apparel and footwear industry. The Minister of Commerce subsequently made public the government’s efforts in regulating contract supply chains.  
• Trade unions and freedom of association (FOA) in Indonesia: Indonesia is a key sourcing country, with a very active and engaged trade union movement. To support and improve industrial relations in the workplace, we took a leading role in working with local unions and Oxfam Australia to develop an FOA protocol for the country.  The official signing of the protocol took place in Jakarta in June 2011 and was hailed by the international labor rights movement as a "historic agreement" between sportswear brands, suppliers and unions. Since the launch of the protocol, we have seen a marked reduction in misunderstandings between management and union representatives regarding union activities, and greater empowerment of minority unions operating in a multi-union factory setting.  

Environmental topics

• Greenpeace Detox campaign: In 2011, Greenpeace International initiated the 'Detox campaign,' calling for the zero discharge of all hazardous and persistent chemicals at all points in global supply chains: from the cotton fields to the mills and dye houses that make the fabric, up to the garment production. Initially, Greenpeace directed its campaign primarily towards sporting goods companies and well-known apparel brands in the belief that they can act as a catalyst for change for the whole industry. As part of their campaign, Greenpeace demanded that targeted companies publish a formal commitment to support the goal of 'zero discharge' and issued an individual roadmap specifying timelines and steps to meet this goal. From the outset, adidas entered into an in-depth engagement process with Greenpeace. We publicly committed to supporting Greenpeace's goal and have built a comprehensive chemical management program for our supply chain. At the same time, we stressed the fact that the management of chemicals in multi-tiered supply chains is a complex challenge, which requires many actors to play a role in achieving effective and sustainable solutions.  

Sporting Events

Corporate responsibility is an important topic at various sporting events around the world. Our brand is visible all over the world, especially through our presence at major sports events such as the FIFA World Cup. This draws attention to the way we do business, the management of our sponsorships and the conditions under which our products are made. Therefore, adidas is taking a proactive approach in engaging with stakeholders about its corporate responsibility practices, especially related to bigger sporting events where adidas is a sponsor. We have arranged – and actively participated in – several events to raise attention on labor and human rights issues. 

In the lead-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games, we hosted a stakeholder dialogue to capture a broad array of views on adidas' role and responsibilities in relation to sponsoring major sporting events. Labelled as the world's first sustainable Olympics, London 2012 presented new challenges as well as a unique learning opportunity for our company. It was the first Games to include a mandatory sustainable sourcing code and a third-party complaint mechanism for companies supplying goods to the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG). Building on our outreach from this dialogue, we developed and launched our own human rights complaint mechanism in 2012. The London Olympics dialogue also set the foundation for further engagement with the human rights advocacy community and international trade unions over the impacts of mega sporting events, which eventually led to the establishment of Centre for Sport and Human Rights in 2020. 

In 2015, we invited participants from academia, NGOs, UN agencies, and sporting bodies to discuss the human rights impacts of major sporting events and the role of sponsors. The London dialogue focused on exploring the role of corporate sponsors in major sporting events with respect to upholding human rights and addressing the challenge of moving from principles to practice. From 2016 to 2019, we continued to contribute to a broader and deeper discussion around sports and human rights involving sporting bodies, governments, event organizers, broadcasters, civil society and business, organized through the Institute for Human Rights and Business' (IHRB) annual Sporting Chance Forum. The first engagement took place at the US State Department in Washington DC in 2016 (Click here to read the joint statement ‘Diverse Coalition Commits to Making Human Rights Central to the Planning, Delivery and Legacy of Mega-Sporting Events’) and in subsequent years in Geneva, Switzerland.

It was finally institutionalized through the signing of the Sporting Chance Principles on sport & human rights and the founding of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights in 2020. From the outset, adidas has acted as a member of the Advisory Council and provided financial and in-kind support. The Centre for Sport and Human Rights aims to share knowledge, build capacity and strengthen the accountability of all those involved in sport through collective action and promotion of those principles.

Although adidas as a sponsor was not involved in the decision to award the World Cup to Qatar, as a sponsor, since 2017 adidas has engaged on a continuous basis with FIFA over the 2022 World Cup and reached out to stakeholders including the Qatari government, the Supreme Committee for the Delivery of the World Cup, international human rights and labor advocacy groups and trade unions. Following the award of the World Cup to Qatar, we called for FIFA to establish an independent Human Rights Advisory Board (HRAB), to inform the development of their human rights program, globally, including the hosting of World Cup events. adidas held a seat on the HRAB from 2017-21 and together with trade unions and human rights advocates, provided FIFA with critical feedback on the implementation of the 2022 World Cup, including workers welfare, migrant labor rights, child safeguarding and LGTBQI rights. For the 2022 World Cup, we have undertaken human rights and environmental due diligence of our supply chain activities and our Qatar partnership programs.  Most recently on the implementation of effective grievance systems for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

In a separate initiative, we are actively supporting the establishment of a Migrant Worker Information Centre in Qatar. The center was proposed by the global building industry union Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), and builds on worker welfare programs first developed for the 2022 World Cup construction sites.

ARCHIVE OF STATEMENTS

adidas Verifies FSC® Certification for Laces adidas unveiled its 'Clean Classics' sustainable footwear collection in September 2020. The sneakers' uppers are made from 70% recycled materials. Renewable and reclaimed rubber is used for the sole. All processed materials, including adhesives and dyes, are free of animal ingredients. The laces are made of paper. adidas intended to source FSC-certified paper for the laces as a sustainable source material for the 'Clean Classics'. Currently, we are not able to fully trace whether this certified paper actually went into the production. We are in close contact with our suppliers and the certifier FSC to clarify this. In addition, we will further expand our cooperation with FSC in the future with regard to the procurement of sustainable raw materials. As an immediate measure, we do not use any reference to FSC certification in the context of product presentation in our online store.

At adidas, our engagement with governments and parliaments around the world is guided by our principles of impartiality, transparency, and compliance. 

We are committed to impartiality. Based on principles laid out in our Compliance Policy and Charitable Giving Guidelines, adidas does not support any local, regional or national political parties, campaigns or candidates. In addition, we are transparent about our political engagement. We disclose our lobbying activities in Germany and the EU regularly in the German Lobby Register and the European Union Transparency Register, including public grants we receive from the German government and the EU. We register our lobbying activities in the United States with the U.S. Congress on a quarterly basis, according to the U.S. Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. These disclosures are published on the official website of the U.S. House of Representatives. 

In our Fair Play Code of Conduct and Compliance Policy, we set clear standards and requirements for interactions with governments, authorities, and public officials. In addition, we have an internal Government Affairs Policy in place that sets clear guardrails for engaging with governments, authorities, and public officials. 

Policy development

As a company, we support human rights and the protection of the environment. Therefore, our concerns over violation of human rights and negative environmental impacts, and the potential risks that these would pose to adidas, require our close engagement with governments in a host of different countries. In addition, adidas is impacted by several policy areas such as trade, intellectual property, and sustainability. Yet, we only join lobbying efforts after careful consideration. Where changes in the relevant policy areas concern us, we engage in the formal decision-making process, such as consultations, primarily through our industry associations and according to our Fair Play Code of Conduct. For major policy issues, we report the amount of money we spent. 

Industry associations

We engage with a selected number of organizations across the globe including national and international chambers of commerce, industry and business associations, and multi-stakeholder initiatives. These associations serve as a platform to collaborate with peers and stakeholders, monitor regulatory and economic developments, and voice policy interests. These organizations focus, amongst others, on advocating free trade, ensuring intellectual property protection, monitoring national legislation, setting sustainability-related industry standards and providing for exchange and networking. Our membership in these associations is guided by our Association Membership Policy, Government Affairs Policy, and Compliance Policy. In addition, memberships are coordinated globally and reviewed on an annual basis.

As we are committed to transparency, we disclose all relevant memberships in the following table, including a brief description of the organization and adidas’ financial contributions to each association. In 2022, our contributions amounted to €1.2 million to all industry associations. Mandatory memberships as well as fees and payments that are subject to confidentiality were not included.