Reebok 2009 Annual Report Download - page 109

GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP Sustainability 105
Tackling climate change
Tackling climate change poses a number
of challenges for our company and our
manufacturing partners. We have ana-
lysed the environmental footprint of our
business operations and have focused
our efforts on three primary areas: our
products, our supply chain and our own
sites. A range of activities have been
implemented to reduce our own carbon
footprint. Examples of this are in the
areas of transportation and energy use.
In the transportation of our products,
our policy is to minimise the impacts, in
particular from air freight shipments,
through improved order and production
planning tools. With regard to energy
use, we are implementing environmen-
tal management systems at our major
sites. Furthermore, we have continued
with providing energy workshops for our
manufacturing suppliers and are now
extending our engagement to support
our suppliers to ensure that they achieve
measurable results for energy savings.
In addition, at the end of 2008, we
started the “Green Company” initiative
to further expand our environmental
initiatives throughout all of our opera-
tions. The initiative aims at providing the
supporting framework, guidance and
communication platform in order to help
all Group entities improve their environ-
mental footprint by:
Embedding environmental best prac-
tice in all business operations.
Maximising environmental efficiency
gains.
Supporting and utilising our
employees’ passion for a greener
planet.
In 2009, following a comprehensive
assessment of major sites, “Green
Company” targets were set for the years
2010 – 2015. They encompass targets
related to savings in energy use, car-
bon emissions, water usage and paper.
Further targets have been specified for
waste, purchasing practices and mobility
management.
Environmentally optimised
product concepts
Through the efficient use of resources
in the design and selection of materials,
we strive to minimise the environmental
impact of our products without com-
promising function and quality. In this
respect, our adidas Sport Performance
division has initiated a programme called
“Better Place”, a horizontal concept
featuring selected performance products
with environmentally optimised materials
from all categories. adidas “Better Place”
products were first introduced globally
in spring/summer 2009. The products
feature environmental design, construc-
tion, material composition and packaging
that distinguish them as environmentally
sustainable products. All materials that
are used for “Better Place” have to pass
an in-depth assessment. For example,
one of the fibres adidas already accepts
is recycled polyester. Using recycled poly-
ester helps to protect the environment as
it saves energy and also uses waste that
would otherwise have been burned or
buried in a landfill.
More information regarding other fibres
adidas includes under the “Better Place”
programme – such as Tencel, organic
cotton, recycled fibres – can be found on
the programme’s website www.adidas.
com/better-place.
The quantity of “Better Place” products
sold in 2009 has significantly exceeded
expectations, albeit from a small level,
and has provided a strong base to con-
tinue growing our sustainable business
initiatives. With all sports categories
participating in the programme we will
move forward with more ambitious plans
in the build-up to the 2012 Olympic
Games in London.
Strong sustainability track record
reflected in index memberships
Interest from the financial community
in sustainability management is stead-
ily increasing. We appreciate positive
recognition from international institu-
tions and rating agencies, NGOs and
socially responsible investment (SRI)
analysts. Each year, we respond to
various comprehensive enquiries from
socially responsible investors, fund
managers and financial analysts. They
evaluate our efforts through in-depth
analysis of our social and environmental
programme, including document review
as well as interviews with employees and
management. As a result, adidas AG has
been included in a variety of high-profile
sustainability indices see “adidas AG in
Sustainability Indices”.
ADIDAS AG IN SUSTAINABILITY INDICES
DJSI World (DJSI = Dow Jones Sustainability Index)
DJSI STOXX
DJSI EURO STOXX
FTSE4Good Europe Index
ASPI Eurozone Index
Ethibel Index Excellence Europe
ECPI Ethibel Index EMU
see Our Share, p. 42.