Nike Outlines Global Strategy for Creating a More Sustainable Business

NIKE released its fiscal 2007 to 2009 Corporate Responsibility (CR) report, which outlines the next evolution of its CR strategy from a risk management, philanthropic and compliance model to a long-term strategy focused on innovation, collaboration, transparency and advocacy to prepare the company to thrive in a sustainable economy.

The company's increased focus on Sustainable Business and Innovation (SB&I) will be more seamlessly integrated across Nike's business strategies, creating a more sustainable approach aimed at providing greater returns to its business, communities, factory workers, consumers and the planet.

"Sustainability is key to Nike's growth and innovation," said Mark Parker, NIKE, Inc.'s President and CEO. "Making our business more sustainable benefits our consumers who expect products and experiences with low environmental impact, contract factory workers who will gain from more sustainable manufacturing and our employees and shareholders who will be rewarded by a company that is prepared for the future."



Recognizing the impacts of declining natural resources and the need to move to a low-carbon economy, Nike also uses the report to share its vision of reaching a closed-loop business model where the goal is to achieve zero waste in the supply chain and have products and materials that can be continuously reused - no pre- or post-consumer waste. This vision is designed to drive innovative and sustainable business processes and models.

"The link between sustainability and Nike as a growth company has never been clearer," said Hannah Jones, Vice President, SB&I. "There are serious potential impacts of social, environmental and economic shifts on labor forces, youth sport, supply chains and products. This gives Nike the opportunity to use our power of innovation and our commitment to transparency and collaboration to tackle these complex issues."

The CR report outlines some important initiatives for the company including:

Considered Design
Considered Design combines sustainability principles and innovative performance products for athletes by reducing or eliminating toxics and waste and increasing the use of environmentally preferred materials.

GreenXchange (GX)
GX is a web-based marketplace designed to share intellectual property which can lead to new sustainability business models and innovation. It is a system for capturing, sharing and licensing patents that, when used by someone else, could lead to unlimited innovation in helping solve current obstacles to sustainability issues. By making private intellectual property visible and usable, the aim is to accelerate the development of green innovation.

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