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How sustainable is Puma ?

Puma & sustainability


PUMA logo

14 out of 21

Sustainability summary

Brand owner: PPR Group
Head office: Herzogenaurach, Germany
Sector: Sport & outdoor - clothing & shoes
Categories : Male, Female, Kids, Baby
Free Tags: PUMA, Bags, Caps, Shirts, Pullover, Jackets, Shoes, Boots

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Puma sustainability score report

Last edited: 8 May 2013 by Mario
Last reviewed: 8 May 2013 by Mario

Questions about Climate Change/ Carbon Emissions

3 out of 4
1. Is there a policy for the brand to minimize, reduce or compensate carbon emissions? PUMA has developed a sustainability scorecard which defines the company's environmental targets to be achieved by 2015. Policies towards reducing CO2 emissions are included in this scorecard (See link, page 14). 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? PUMA published a carbon footprint for 2012. The carbon footprint of own operations (Scope 1 & 2) increased from 30.359 t Co2 in 2011 to 36.547 t Co2 in 2012. This represents an increase of around 20,3 %. (See link / page 49). 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? PUMA aims for a 25% reduction of CO2, energy, water and waste in its offices, stores, ware houses and direct supplier factories by 2015, based on the 2010 baseline (See link, page 14). 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)? PUMA claims that until 2015, all its globally strategic suppliers are asked to reduce their Environmental Key Performance Indicators (energy, CO2 emissions, water and waste) by 25% (See link , page 14). Source

Questions about Environmental Policy

5 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? PUMA manufactures to 26% "more sustainable" (own definition) raw materials such as organic cotton, recycled rubber or LWG certified leather. However, leather, even if LWG certified, is not considered as eligible for this question.Therefore it remains unclear what the percentage share of preferred materials for PUMA´s entire collection is (See link, p. 39-44). 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? See remark for environmental policy question 1. 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 1. 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? According to PUMA's 'Evironmental Profit & Loss Acount' (E P&L) from 2010 raw materials such as leather cause an environmental impact of 57%. PUMA reports to be in the process of identifying more sustainable materials to be used, but does not report a clear policy to avoid the use of leather from cattle farms in deforestated Amazone areas (See link, page 42). 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? PUMA reports that 90% of the used leather comes from tanneries with a Leather Working Group (LWG) certification (See link, page 52). 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? PUMA has signed the Zero-Discharge Commitment. Companies that signed this document promise to "eliminate all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures that are associated with the making and using of company's products, by 2020" (See link, page 16). 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%? According to PUMA's list of Retricted Substances, all materials used for the manufacturing of the company's products must be PVC free. 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? According to PUMA's global VOC tracking system, in 2012 the VOC per pair of shoes amonuted to 33.07g VOC/ pair and has a target to reduce this to 25 grams per pair of shoes (see page 55). Source

Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade

6 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 PUMA's Code of Conduct (CoC). 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. Working week is 48 hours maximum and overtime is 12 hours, but it is unclear whether overtime is voluntary; 3. No, mentioning of minimum and industry 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? Freedom of association is mentioned, but nothing found about situations in which this right is restricted by law (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? PUMA's Code of Conduct is also applicable for 'Tier 3' suppliers which includes for example leather tanning (See link, page 58). 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? PUMA does not provide a significant list of all direct suppliers on its website (See link, page 64). 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? PUMA is a member of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) (See link, page 15). 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? Every direct and licensee supplier of PUMA was audited in 2012 and the company has published the results of their audits (See link, pages 58-70). 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%? All of PUMA's branded goods, including licensees, are accredited by FLA. Source