Reducing Our Carbon Footprint
What to know
We aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 63% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, we’re re-thinking every aspect of Nike.
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, we need to keep global warming below 1.5C - the level at which the most catastrophic impacts of climate change can be averted. 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 raw materials extraction, manufacturing, logistics and retail operations. 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%.
Creating and scaling low-carbon materials throughout NIKE products is a key initiative because raw materials account for approximately 40% of NIKE’s carbon footprint. In footwear, we are focusing our efforts on material conversion to recycled polyester, rubber and leather, as well as exploring bio-based replacement for traditional fossil-based foams. In apparel, we are scaling recycled polyester and recycled and organic cotton in our largest-volume products. We are also supplementing our cotton portfolio with third-party certified cotton and working to increase our closed-loop recycling rates.
Our extended supply chain includes material production, dyeing and finishing, and finished goods manufacturing. It represents the second largest contributor to our emissions, accounting for roughly 30% of our carbon footprint. We work with manufacturing suppliers to increase the efficiency of their facilities as well as through more transformative efforts like increasing the use of onsite and offsite renewable electricity and transitioning to lower carbon thermal energy solutions for heating and cooling. We also support suppliers in setting more ambitious climate goals through our Supplier Climate Action Program (SCAP), by providing climate risk assessments and mitigation tools, and helping them identify strategic opportunities sparked by the shift to a lower carbon economy.
NIKE is working with transportation vendors to scale the use of alternative fuels and are steadily increasing our use of sustainable biofuel in ocean transportation, because the majority of our products travel from suppliers to destination countries using ocean freight. In addition, we are working to scale alternative fuels, especially electrification, for last mile deliveries to stores and customers. For example, in Europe, we launched the “H₂ Barge 1,” the world’s first hydrogen-powered inland container ship.
Air freight on average produces 40 times more greenhouse gas emissions per unit than ocean freight and is also more costly. NIKE is reducing its use of air freight by aligning production schedules with ocean freight transit times and considering where to use smaller distribution centers to get our products closer to consumers. Since 2020, NIKE has reduced the use of air freight from suppliers by nearly 80%.
Throughout our global workspaces we are increasing the use of renewable energy and making spaces more efficient. We purchase renewable electricity for our operations globally and have long-term supply from new, renewable sources at our World Headquarters and in North America and Europe. From NIKE World Headquarters to distribution centers to our Air MI facilities, we are creating and operating spaces that leverage sustainable building design principles and more efficient mechanical and lighting systems to increase energy efficiency.
We believe change is accelerated through precompetitive collaboration. That’s why we work within our industry, across sectors and with governments and nongovernmental organizations (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 U.S. Congress to include long-term climate solutions in future economic recovery plans; supporting the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action; helping to launch the Asia Clean Energy Coalition to align policy advocacy efforts in support of clean energy deployment across the Asia-Pacific region; 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.