Adidas social responsibility
By: Keagan Giblin Uploaded: September 13, 2020
Adidas is a global sportswear company specializing in shoes, clothing, and accessories for athletes. In 2019 they made over € 23 billion in net sales and produced over 1.1 billion units of product (“Adidas Profile”, 2020). Their mission is to be the best at what they do as a company, and with their reach and large numbers, it shows how they are already massively successful. However, at the root, Adidas claims the purpose of the company is that “through sport, we have the power to change lives” (“Adidas Profile”, 2020). And through their corporate social responsibility, Adidas is doing just that. They are changing lives for the better by taking the initiative to make a positive difference.
The main corporate social responsibility initiative imposed by Adidas is sustainability. Sustainability is highlighted in the menu bar at the top of their company website, and when clicked on, it says clearly at the top of the page, “Our ambition is to be a sustainable company” (“Adidas General Approach”, 2020). Adidas’s website provides a detailed look into their general approach, strategy, progress, and targets. The page goes further to explain why sustainability is an important cause for the company. On the website, they tie back their sustainability goals to their mission as a company. Through research provided, Adidas states that sports have the power to make people “happy and healthy” while creating values and empowering people, deeming such activities to be essential to human life (“Adidas General Approach”, 2020). The company goes on to point out the obvious, that sports will cease to exist if there is nowhere for them to be played—stating, “it [sports] needs a space to exist, a field to play on, an ocean to surf or a mountain to climb – and these spaces are increasingly endangered due to man-made issues including human rights violations, pollution, growing energy consumption and waste” (“Adidas General Approach”, 2020). Adidas does an excellent job of tying its mission and values to its corporate social responsibility. The website pushes that Adidas wants to harness the connection of sport with spaces, and Adidas sees themselves as a global company with the capacity to do so.
There are several examples of the impact that Adidas corporate responsibility initiative has on their cause. On the company’s sustainability webpage, customers can see a timeline of the action that has been taken, going back to 1998 (“Adidas General Approach”, 2020). An example of an initiative imposed by the company with positive beneficiaries is their elimination of plastic bags in stores worldwide. On the website, customers can see that the company took this action in 2016, therefore eliminating the production and waste of tons of plastic per year (“Adidas General Approach”, 2020). But Adidas took this action further to state that as of 2017 they would start to eliminate all plastic sold in stores worldwide, with a majority doing so but not all yet. Adidas committed to eliminating plastic bags, and when they succeeded, they took their goals further. This example shows how they are working to be a sustainable company and shows the real-time benefits in doing so.
Another area in which Adidas succeeds in positively impacting the intended beneficiaries of their corporate social responsibility is their annual “Run for the Oceans” global event. In 2018, Adidas announced it would host an international running event to connect runners and raise money “to support the Parley Ocean School Program, educating and empowering 100,000 youth in affected coastal areas” (“Adidas announces next phase”, 2019). Runners from around the world could join in on the global event by signing up and downloading an app that tracks their distance, and “for every kilometer run, Adidas will contribute $1 to the Parley Ocean School” (“Adidas announces next phase”, 2019). The event in 2018 was a massive success. It was hosted the following year in 2019, and combining the two years, Adidas raised over $2.5 million for the Parley Ocean School Program (“Adidas announces next phase”, 2019). This event hosted by Adidas shows how they are committed to their community of athletes to spark change in environmental behavior while also donating to a cause that is educating future leaders on climate change effects on the oceans. Every aspect of this event ties together the companies, mission, values, audience, and corporate social responsibility.
While Adidas has several strategies in place already and planned for the future to make the company sustainable, I think they lack fashion waste. More specifically, I am referring to trashing clothes that one doesn’t wear anymore or have been damaged. Adidas mentions that in the United Kingdom, having a third party involved that allows customers to return used Adidas merchandise to be disposed of properly and to receive a store credit (“Infinite play: Adidas launches”, 2019). Adidas does not mention any more details about expanding this initiative, but I think it has the potential to do so. Globally, allowing customers to return any Adidas machinate that they were going to throw away to an Adidas store to be either donated or disposed of properly and then grant them a voucher. This initiative will allow Adidas to complete further their mission of making the world more sustainable by ensuring its products are thrown away or appropriately donated and gives customers an incentive to spend money on a new product. They are, therefore, creating a cycle of beneficiaries.
As a potential customer of Adidas, researching their corporate social responsibility influences my purchasing decisions. Learning about their mission and intent to become a fully sustainable global company makes me feel like my purchasing of their merchandise has a positive contribution to the world. That me investing in their company will benefit the future, like a small action taken in the right direction. If posed with the choice of purchasing merchandise from Adidas or a competing company that corporate social responsibility was not concrete or authentic, I could easily see myself choosing Adidas. Adidas is upfront with the consumer about their passion for sustainability, stating, “We truly believe that acting as a responsible business – one which is fully committed to respecting human rights – will contribute to lasting economic success” (“Adidas General Approach”, 2020). Overall, Adidas is positively contributing to the benefits of society as a whole. By implementing its several sustainable initiatives and still setting goals for the future, going all the way to 2050. Adidas is a positive example that represents how corporate social responsibility can lead to global success.
References
Adidas announces next phase in fight for the oceans against marine plastic pollution with upscaled commitment to parley ocean school program. (2019, May 28). Retrieved from https://news.adidas.com/running/adidas-announces-next-phase-in-fight-for-the-oceans-against-marine-plastic-pollution-with-upscaled-c/s/c19b8a9a-ebf0-4970-b27e-ca5121edf665
Adidas General Approach. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.adidas-group.com/en/sustainability/managing-sustainability/general-approach/
Adidas Profile. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/profile/
Infinite play: Adidas launches buy-back platform to combat fashion waste. (2019, October 16). Retrieved from https://www.edie.net/news/12/Infinite-Play--Adidas-launches-buy-back-platform-to-combat-fashion-waste/