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How sustainable is New Balance ?

New Balance & sustainability


New Balance

7 out of 21

Sustainability summary

Brand owner: New Balance
Head office: Boston, USA
Sector: Sport & outdoor - clothing & shoes
Categories : Male, Female, Kids
Free Tags: New Balance, Bags, Caps, Shirts, Pullover, Jackets, Shoes, Boots

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What's your sustainability news about New Balance?

New Balance sustainability score report

Last edited: 6 May 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 6 May 2013 by Mario

Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions

1 out of 4
1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions? New Balance has various policy measures to reduce carbon emissions such as the use of renewable energy (See link, page 51) or assessing the life cycle impacts of the company's products in order to move forward with lighter footprints (See link, page 47). Source
2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual absolute carbon footprint of its 'own operations' (Scope 1 & 2) and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years? New Balance disclosed the annual carbon footprint of its own operations (Scope 1& 2) at the New England facilities. The company's GHG emissions increased by 7,8% percent from 7,605,226 kg CO2e in 2009 to 8,248,459 kg CO2e in 2010 (See link, page 51). Source
3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its absolute ‘own operations’ carbon emissions by at least 20% within the next 5 years? According to New Balance's 2020 vision, the company set the target of reducing the average kg CO2e per pair of shoes manufactured by less than 4. However, it is unclear what % this represent in terms of the company's total operations (See link, page 49). Source
4. Does the brand (company) also have a policy to reduce/compensate carbon emissions generated from the product supply chain that is beyond own operations (Scope 3)? New Balance mentions not to have tracked Scope 3 emissions, but claims to be engaged to establish tracking and reporting systems in manufacturing facilities. However, no clear policy's are reported yet by New Balance (See link, page 51). Source

Questions about Environmental Policy

2 out of 8
1. Does the brand (company) have a policy to substitute raw materials such as leather and synthetic rubber with environmentally friendlier materials? New Balance uses environmentally preferred materials (EPM's) such as recycled polyester, recycled content, recycled fibers and reduced-impact synthetics (See link, page 27-28). Source
2. Does the brand (company) use these environmentally friendlier alternatives for raw materials such as leather and synthetic rubber for more than 25% of the total use of materials? New Balance mentions that in 2010 the 25% target was achieved 65% of the time. The company aims to achieve a use of 75% of environmentally prefered materials by 2020. However, it is not clear what the overall percentage for the reported year actually was (See link, page 26). Source
3. Does the brand (company) use these environmentally friendlier alternatives for raw materials such as leather and synthetic rubber for more than 50% of the total use of materials? See remark for environmental policy question 2. Source
4. Does the brand have a clear and effective policy to avoid the use of leather that originates from cattle farms in deforestated Amazone areas? New Balance mentions being a member of the Leather Working Group (see p. 31) and to use leather produced at tanneries that meet the new tannery assessment for superior environmental performance (bronze award level or higher) (see page 33). However, the company does not clearly communicate a policy on this matter. Source
5. Does the brand (company) have a clear and effective policy to minimize environmental pollution of chromium and other harmful substances from leather tanning processes, e.g. by waste water treatment or by vegetable tanning? New Balance reports using leather that meets the new tannery assessment for superior environmental performance (bronze award level or higher). However, the company does not mention what % of leather this accounts for (See link, page 33). Source
6. Is there a policy for the brand (company) to eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures to make the clothing and footwear? New Balance claims to strive for zero waste and has targets towards achieving this goal (see Key Performance Indicators for New Balance Products, page 26). However, these targets do not account for the whole lifecycle and all production procedures. Source
7. Does the brand (company) have a clear target to phase out PVC in their products, and has the brand already achieved a PVC phase out level of more than 90%? New Balance claims that all the company's footwear is PVC free (See link, page 37). Source
8. Has the brand (company) a clear and effective policy to minimize the use of solvents based chemicals in their shoe production, and has the brand already achieved a level of average max. 40 grams of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions per pair of shoes? New Balance reports the absolute emissions from suppliers, but not the overall average emissions per pair of shoes.(See link, page 57). Source

Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade

4 out of 9
1. Does the brand (company) have a supplier Code of Conduct (CoC) which includes the following standards: No forced or slave labor, no child labor, no discrimination of any kind and a safe and hygienic workplace? All standards are mentioned in New Balance's Code of Conduct (see link). Source
2. Does this CoC include at least two of the following workers rights: 1. to have a formally registered employment relationship 2. to have a maximum working week of 48 hours with voluntary and paid overtime of 12 hours maximum 3. to have a sufficient living wage? 1. Not mentioned; 2. No, maximum working week shall not require an excess of a 60-hour workweek on a regularly scheduled basis. Its not clear whether overtime is voluntary; 3. No, mentioning of minimum and industrial wage, not living wage (see link). Source
3. Does this Code of Conduct include the right for workers to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; and in those situations where these rights are restricted under law, the right to facilitate parallel means of independent and free association and bargaining? This right is mentioned, with reference to parallel means for the situation of law restrictions (see link). Source
4. Does this labour conditions policy also apply further down the production chains, at least covering the leather production or the animal farms? New Balance does not make clear if the Code of Conduct and consequent labour conditions policy also applies further down the footwear production chain, such as leather tanning or cattle farms. Source
5. Does the brand (company) have a published list of direct suppliers, that have collectively contributed to more than 90% of the purchase volume? New Balance mentions its current 10 full-time members which comprise the Social Compliance Team: two in the U.S., one in Hong Kong, one in Vietnam and six in China (see page 75) . However, the company does not provide a list of all active suppliers on its website. Source
6. Is the brand (company) a member of a collective initiative that aims to improve labor conditions, or does the brand (company) purchase its supplies from accredited factories with improved labor conditions? New Balance is a member of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) (See link, page 81). Source
7. Do independent civil society organizations like NGO's and labor unions have a decisive voice in this collective initiative or in these certification schemes? FLA is acknowledged as a "Multi Stakeholder Initiative". Source
8. Does the brand (company) annually report on the results of its labor conditions policy? In 2010 New Balance have completed 37 audits on footwear and 166 on apparel + licensee (see page 77). However, the company does not specify what percentage of the workplaces is audited. Source
9. Has the brand’s labor conditions policy resulted in a ‘compliance level’ of at least 30% of the purchase volume, or a ‘monitored level' of at least 80%? New Balance claims that its vision for compliance in 2020 is of an compliance program that encompasses all contributors to the company's products across the supply chain (see page 83). However, New Balance does not publicly report outcomes or results of its policies to improve labor conditions at its suppliers. Source