adidas Sustainability

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adidas Eco Score

3.8 / 5.0

Advanced Sustainability

April 9, 2024

About adidas

adidas is a multinational sportswear and athletic shoe company headquartered at Adi-Dassler-Str. 1, Herzogenaurach, Bayern, 91074, DE.

Germany

adidas maintains and understands the diverse needs and preferences of its customers. The company positions itself as a versatile brand that offers both high-performance sportswear and fashionable lifestyle products.

adidas Sustainability Rating is 3.8

This means adidas are below average compared to other companies in the Apparel, Accessories & Footwear.

Industry positioning

adidas
Industry averange
5
4
3
2
1
0
Overall
Environmental
Social
Governance

adidas positioning within the Apparel, Accessories & Footwear

The apparel, accessories, and footwear industry faces sustainability challenges related to resource consumption, pollution, carbon emissions, labor practices, fast fashion, supply chain complexity, consumer behaviour, circular economy transition, and regulatory compliance. These challenges stem from the industry's significant environmental and social impacts, requiring collective efforts to achieve greater sustainability.

adidas' unique selling point lies in its ability to seamlessly blend sport performance and style. It offers high-quality athletic gear and footwear that not only enhances performance but also appeals to fashion-conscious consumers. This dual emphasis on functionality and fashion sets adidas apart in the sportswear industry.

adidas Sustainability Rating Breakdown:

adidas Overall Sustainability Rating is 3.8 out of 5.0

In recent years, adidas has been increasingly focusing on sustainability and environmental responsibility in recent years through their purpose that "through sport, we have the power to change lives".

In 2021, adidas developed a roadmap for 2025 containing clear targets to help drive positive impact:

  • By 2025, nine out of ten adidas articles will be sustainable. Articles are defined as sustainable when they show environmental benefits compared to conventional articles due to their differing materials.
  • By 2025, adidas will achieve a GHG emissions reduction of 15% per product, with 2017 as a benchmark.
  • Also, by 2025, adidas will achieve climate neutrality (GHG) in its own operations. adidas also aims to reduce absolute GHG emissions across its entire value chain by 30% by 2030, measured against 2017. Using innovative materials, techniques, and promoting sustainable practices across its entire value chain is how adidas aims to achieve these goals.
  • adidas cares about people and the planet. adidas will increase the scale and application of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) efforts. By 2025, adidas aims to have a system in place to identify and manage high-risk human rights issues across the entirety of their value chain.

adidas Environmental Rating is 4.0 out of 5.0

adidas has an environmental rating score of 4.0, focusing in the following areas:

  • Climate risk (8.7): This score reflects adidas understanding and management of climate-related risks that could impact their operations. A score of 8.7 suggests an excellent awareness and management of these risks.
  • Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions (7.5): This score measures the emissions of greenhouse gases produced by adidas and their efforts to reduce these emissions. A score of 7.5 indicates a strong effort is being put toward reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
  • Energy Management (9.7): This score demonstrates the effective management of energy consumption. s. A score of 9.7 indicates an excellent effort towards using sustainable energy sources.
  • Land Use and Biodiversity (3.9): This score indicates how adidas considers the impact of its operations on land use and biodiversity. A score of 3.9 suggests a weak level of commitment to minimising negative impacts.
  • Materials Sourcing (6.6): Reflecting the sustainability and ethical considerations in sourcing materials for their products, a score of 6.6 suggests a strong effort in responsible sourcing of materials.
  • Pollution Prevention and Management (9.1): This score represents the policies and impact of adidas that aim to prevent and minimise pollution. adidas has an excellent pollution prevention and management score.
  • Waste Hazards and Management (8.2): A score of 8.2 assesses how adidas handles waste and hazardous materials. This indicates an excellent waste management strategies and minimization of hazardous waste are in practice.
  • Water Management (9.1): This score evaluates water usage and conservation efforts. A score of 9.1 suggests adidas makes an excellent effort in water management.
  • Environmental Certifications (9.4): A score of 9.4 reflects an excellent commitment to obtaining environmental certifications, demonstrating adherence to recognized standards and practices in environmental stewardship.
  • Environmental Opportunities (8.8): A score of 8.8 indicates that adidas is excellent at identifying and taking advantage of opportunities to benefit the environment, potentially through innovative practices or sustainable growth strategies.
  • Environmental Compliance (7.9): A score of 7.9 rates the level of compliance with environmental regulations and standards, indicating good adherence to legal and ethical norms in environmental matters.

adidas' overall environmental performance suggests a high level of awareness of environmental sustainability, with some room for improvement in land use, biodiversity, and material sourcing. adidas excels in areas such as energy management, pollution prevention, and water management. It could improve its greenhouse gas emissions across the adidas value chain.

adidas Social Rating is 3.5 out of 5.0

adidas has an overall social score of 3.5, which can be broken down into various components, reflecting the company's performance in relation to social challenges:

  • Social-related Certifications (8.7): This score indicates an excellent level of certifications related to social issues.
  • Community Engagement (9.2): This score assesses a company’s involvement in and contribution to local communities. A score of 9.2 indicates adidas have a strong commitment to community engagement.
  • Corporate Philanthropy (9.6): A score of 9.6 suggests adidas make a significant contributions to philanthropic causes, demonstrating their measure of commitment to social responsibility through charitable endeavours.
  • Data Privacy (5.8): This score is a measure of how vulnerable adidas is to breaches related to personal and customer data. 5.8 indicates moderate adidas Data Privacy protection policies.
  • Products and Services (4.8): This score reflects the social impact of products and services provided by adidas, indicating that they are designed and delivered with a reasonable consideration for social responsibility.
  • Diversity and Inclusion (8.3): This category indicates an excellent commitment level of adidas to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace and culture.
  • Health and Safety (7.2): The health and safety score reflects a strong robustness of the measures in place at adidas to protect the well-being of its employees and customers.
  • Human Rights Abuses (7.0): This score reflects some risk of adidas involvement in or exposure to human rights abuses in company operations.
  • Labour Relations (7.0): This score reflects the company's relationship with its workforce, including aspects like union relations and employee treatment. A score of 7.0 indicates a strong level of performance in this area.
  • Training and Education (9.8): adidas training and education score represents an excellent the level of commitment to employee development through robust training and educational programs.
  • Cyber Risk (0.8): This score assesses exposure to and management of cyber risks that may disrupt business operations. A score of 0.8 suggests a poor preparedness against cyber threats.
  • Product Quality Management (6.9): This score reflects the quality and safety of current and future products and services provided by adidas. A 6.9 indicates a strong standard in managing product quality.
  • Supplier Engagement (6.9): This score assesses how adidas engages with its suppliers on social issues. A score of 6.9 suggests a strong level of engagement and collaboration with suppliers in managing social risks.

adidas' social responsibility performance is moderate, indicating that while the company is making efforts toward tackling social issues, there is still room for improvement. adidas shows good performance in community engagement through philanthropic ventures and community outreach programs. It also excels in employee training and education. Areas where adidas could improve are cyber vulnerabilities, supplier engagement, and data privacy.

adidas Governance Rating is 3.7 out of 5.0

adidas has an overall governance score of 3.7, which encompasses various aspects of its corporate governance practices and structures:

  • Business Resilience and Sustainability (9.3): This score reflects the capacity of adidas to sustain its operations over the long term and adapt to business challenges. 9.3 suggests an excellent strategies for resilience and sustainability in the business model of adidas.
  • Corporate Compliance Behaviours (6.9): This score assesses adherence to laws, regulations, and internal policies. 6.9 shows a strong adidas Corporate Compliance Behaviours.
  • Governance-related Certifications (8.3): A score of 8.3 in this category reflects an excellent level of accountability and adherence to governance-related certifications.
  • Board Accountability (9.1): This excellent score measures the accountability shown by the board of directors at adidas relating to responsible governance, oversight of operations, and commitment to stakeholder interests.
  • Business Ethics (5.8): This score evaluates ethical conduct in business operations. A score of 5.8 indicates a decent standard of ethics.
  • Business Transparency (7.6): This indicates the level of transparency in the business operations and disclosures of adidas, suggesting a good communication with stakeholders and clear reporting of activities and financial information.
  • Shareholder Rights (4.9): This score reflects a reasonable company’s commitment to protecting the rights of shareholders, including ensuring fair treatment and providing appropriate information for shareholder decision-making.

adidas' governance performance is strong but could improve further. Particularly strong areas are adidas' resilience to volatile economic conditions and the accountability measures present in the company's board of directors. Areas in which adidas could improve include commitment to conducting ethical business practices and compliance with regulatory requirements.

adidas Certifications List


adidas Supports These Sustainable Development Goals


So is adidas sustainable?

adidas has embedded its commitment to sustainability in its business practices for over two decades and has set out clear targets in their path to create positive change in environment, social, and governance issues by pushing for more sustainable practices across their entire value chain and always innovating with the materials used to create products.

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