Reducing Our Carbon Footprint
Nike Forward’s creation process requires fewer steps than traditional Nike knits or wovens, which means a 75% reduction in the material’s carbon footprint compared to traditional Nike knit fleece.
To help protect the future for athletes* everywhere, everyone needs to do their part to keep global warming below 1.5C. That means collectively cutting the world’s GHG emissions in half this decade, and reaching net zero by 2050.
At NIKE’s size, these aims are ambitious so we’re getting after them across our entire business, from what we make and how we make it to how we operate. We have set bold, ambitious Science-Based Targets to reduce our carbon footprint by 2030, with an absolute reduction of Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 65% and Scope 3 emissions by 30%.N
Creating and scaling low-carbon materials throughout NIKE products is a key initiative because materials account for approximately 70% of NIKE’s carbon footprint. In footwear, we are focused on sourcing better alternatives and innovating around recycled options for polyester, rubber and leather. In apparel, we are scaling recycled polyester and 100% of the cotton we use is certified organic, recycled, or Better Cotton-sourced through the Better Cotton Initiative.
Our extended value chain includes material production, manufacturing and finishing, and finished goods manufacturing. It represents the largest part of our carbon footprint. We work with manufacturing suppliers to increase the efficiency of their facilities through efforts like increased use of onsite and offsite renewable energy and eliminating coal in Tier 2 suppliers. We also support suppliers in setting more ambitious climate goals through our Supplier Climate Action Program (SCAP), by providing climate risk assessment and mitigation tools, and helping them identify strategic opportunities sparked by the shift to a lower carbon economy.
Nike is working with transportation partners to scale the use of alternative fuels. Though the alternative fuel market is still limited across regions and all modes of transportation, it is starting to mature due to this kind of collective action, early adopters and customer demand. In particular, we’re scaling our use of biofuels in ocean transportation because the majority of our product travels from factories to destination countries via ocean freight. We’re also working to scale alternative fuels, especially electrification, for last mile deliveries. Until alternative fuels are widely available, we continue to offset 100% of the carbon impact of shipping e-commerce orders in the U.S. and Europe through innovative forestry engagements with the Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM) in the U.S. and WeForest in Europe.
Nike is reducing its use of air freight by aligning production schedules with ocean freight departures and considering where to use smaller distribution centers to get product closer to consumers. This is critical work because air freight produces 42X more carbon emissions than ocean freight. In 2021, Nike added no-rush shipping as an option athletes* can select at digital check-out.
Throughout our global workspaces we are increasing the use of renewable energy and making spaces more efficient. In Europe, Canada and the US, renewable sources provide all energy at NIKE owned and operated facilities. From Nike headquarters to distribution centers to our Air MI facilities, we are creating and operating spaces that leverage sustainable building design principles to increase energy efficiency, and maximize use of existing, recycled, and sustainable building materials, furniture, and fixtures.
We believe change is accelerated through collective action. We partner within our industry, across sectors and with governments and NGOs to build initiatives and advocate for policies that help mitigate climate change. Examples of our work include: helping found Transform to Net Zero, a cross-sector initiative to accelerate the transition to a net zero global economy; joining 330 companies in 2020 to call on the US Congress to include long-term climate solutions in future economic recovery plans; supporting the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action; and our continued collaboration with the USAID Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program (V-LEEP) to assist with advocating for policy supporting the Vietnamese Government’s renewable energy Direct Power Purchase Agreement (DPPA) pilot.