Solid growth,
not at any price

We have many ideas and are on the lookout for new materials and innovations across the globe. Nowadays, we can offer things that would not have been possible two years ago. Leather is a very sustainable product, after all we make beautiful and long-lasting products from meat production “waste”.

Vegan footwear – that sounds great at first, but it also means that plastics are used that have a questionable eco-balance. Most footwear advertised as vegan is made of plastic. Whether that is better is debatable. Vegan does not mean eco-friendly.

We are working on this challenge. Shoes are very complex products. We hope that our 2025 goal will lead us there. But another aspect is also very important from our point of view when we talk about circularity, namely longevity. One of the best ways to make a product more sustainable is producing a long-lasting product. That is our aspiration at all times.

Safety footwear is a complex product. 200 or even 250 steps are required to make a shoe. The availability of recycled components is a big challenge due to the complexity of the manufacturing. Here, the entire supply industry is still strongly challenged by the need to be able to ensure wide access to sustainable components at marketable prices.

Unfortunately, this is all combined with a lot of research, time and, in particular, raw materials, which comes with a higher price that not everyone is prepared to pay at the moment. We also need better recycling technology. There are more and more initiatives, but most technologies are still in the pilot phase.

What is really exciting is that the industry is facing this challenge together and there is a real exchange between the different stakeholders of the whole value chain, i.e. between brands, suppliers and recycling companies.

A resounding yes. Sustainability is one of PUMA’s defined core values and an integral part of any collaboration. Sustainability is consistently implemented and has been deeply anchored in our core processes and products for many years.

We mainly produce our footwear in Asia, with China being our biggest country of production. However, one part of our safety footwear is manufactured here in Europe – in Romania, to be precise.

We only work with production partners who fulfil our social, environmental, chemical and health and safety requirements, which are set out in our Code of Conduct and PUMA’s sustainability manuals. These requirements apply even if they are stricter than or contradict local standards. We control compliance through our own employees, who are regularly on site, and independent organisations, who audit the factories. In addition, there are regular training sessions and participation in round table meetings to help our partners meet all requirements.

Unfortunately, we are currently not yet able to do this. We are currently establishing our CO2 balance according to the internationally applicable Green House Gas (GHG) Protocol Standard in order to identify significant emission drivers, eliminate them if possible or replace them with carbon-free alternatives. We consciously include the subject of climate protection in our strategic focus and actively set the stage for climate positivity and neutrality on site, in the manufacturing countries and along our value chain. We will report transparently on our progress.

We are working on this challenge together with our suppliers, industry partners and our licensor. Unfortunately, many recycling technologies are still in the pilot phase and not yet so developed. However, there is currently a lot of movement in the industry towards circular business models, which we are working on. Moreover, we hope that our EcoDesign project and our 2025 goals will lead us there.

Sustainable thinking and behaviour are indispensable if we want to preserve our planet and improve the livelihood and quality of life of millions of people. With us, economic growth and sustainability go hand in hand – with profitable products and development that benefits society and reduces environmental impact.

Overall, we have made great progress in recent years and implemented a wide range of sustainability measures.

In the area of “stakeholder dialogue”, i.e. the transparent communication of our sustainability initiatives, we have so far fallen short of expectations. For the future, we have committed to talk about it more actively and to make communication about it one of our strategic priorities. We will report on our sustainability initiatives transparently on our microsite “Better World”, in trade press and on social networks in the future.

We have communicated with restraint for a long time and quietly created a basis. Now we deliberately speak much more actively to engage consumers, employees, suppliers and the public. Here are some significant  highlights of the last two years:

• Covering our relevant production partners through social compliance systems such as accreditation through amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), the Social Accountability International (SAI, Standard SA8000), as well as through the Fair Labor (FLA) accredited PUMA Social Compliance Programme. With this coverage we can guarantee that ninety-nine per cent of our products are manufactured under fair and safe working conditions.
• Increasing the share of certified materials and products with certified sustainable materials such as REPREVE, OEKOTEX, LWG and FSC as well as the renewed increase in the testing scope of our RSL, ReaCh and POP chemical and material tests that we carry out for our whole ALBATROS, FOOTGUARD and PUMA SAFETY range.
• Investment in vacuum tube lifters and electric belt conveyors to relieve our logistics team. Changing our cardboard packaging to FSC-certified paper and the switch to climate-neutral parcel shipping from 2021.
• Development launch of our GREEN HEART capsules for ALBATROS and PUMA SAFETY, in which we made even more conscious use of sustainable or recycled materials and paid even closer attention to the supply chains.
• Initiating the significant reduction (>90%) of our carbon emissions at the Lippstadt site through our investment in a photovoltaic system to generate renewable energy and promote e-mobility