Founded in 1964, Nike is the largest and most recognized sports apparel brand in the world today. From their humble beginnings as a shoe and t-shirt company, Nike has grown into an international conglomerate with an estimated global brand value of $30 billion in 2021. Headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, the company operates more than 1,000 retail stores worldwide and employs over 73,000 people in 170 countries.

In line with their iconic swoosh and “Just Do It” trademark, Nike’s business model is built on developing game-changing technologies and products that have redefined the sports apparel industry. Much of the company’s success is attributed to its international marketing, which includes partnering with popular celebrity athletes and sports teams from around the globe.

Nike’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy 

Nike’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability program resonates with the company’s core belief that “sports can change the world for the better.” Nike leverages the unifying power of sports to promote its CSR agenda in three key areas: diversity and inclusion, community investment, and environmental sustainability.

I. Nike’s Diversity and Inclusion Program

Nike’s CSR and corporate governance programs center on providing a healthy and tolerant work environment for all employees. To that end, the company invests in promoting a work environment that celebrates diversity and inclusion. In 2020, Nike introduced two new CSR programs, their Juneteenth learning initiative, and their Unconscious Bias Awareness training program to promote a greater understanding of racial equality and social change. Throughout 2020-21, Nike laid out a five-year plan for creating more diversity in their workforce, which included a target goal of 50% representation of women and 35% representation of racial and ethnic minorities in their corporate workforce.

 Nike’s Community Support Program

As part of their community outreach program, Nike spent more than $89 million in 2020 to help over 17 million kids around the world get active in sports and exercise. Nike also committed to training nearly 100,000 coaches to help communities most in need.  

To encourage more gender inclusivity and equality, Nike invested over $100 million into their Girl Effect program between 2015-2020 to improve the lives of tens of millions of girls in 20 countries throughout Africa and Asia.The company also expanded its digital training tools to include the Coaching Girls program which aims to make sports more fun and inclusive for girls through coach education and leadership training.

Nike’s Sustainability Program    

Understanding that if there “is no planet, there is no sport” Nike continues to make considerable inroads in promoting their environmental sustainability initiatives.

Through the Supplier Climate Action Program, Nike ensures their suppliers and manufacturers are committed to their goal of carbon neutrality by 2025. So far, the company announced that all of their North American facilities, as well as 48% of their global operations, are operating on 100% renewable energy, and 99.9% of manufacturing waste from their tier 1 suppliers have been diverted from landfills. Under this new program, there was also a 30% reduction of fresh water used in manufacturing textiles and materials in 2020.

To further reduce waste, Nike is introducing more sustainable materials into their product lines and taking advantage of reusable and recyclable products. In 2020, sustainable material integration increased from 41% to 59% in their clothing lines.  Although [EE1] [MH2] the use of sustainable materials in their footwear was unchanged in 2020, the company is focusing on sustainable materials such as Flyleather, a material made with at least 50% recycled leather scraps. So far, over 4 billion plastic bottles have been reprocessed into polyester and other textiles that are used in their products. Nike is also piloting alternative packaging solutions that replace corrugated cardboard with reusable shipping totes.

Nike’s Corporate Social Responsibility Issues 

Despite adopting a range of new environmental protocols to reduce environmental waste, Nike’s carbon footprint remains unchanged from its 2015 baseline. This is largely attributed to a steady stream of new footwear lines that require new materials. In addition, while the brand has set a science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is little evidence they are on track to meet their target of operating entirely on renewable energy by 2025. There is also no clear indication that the company - which relies heavily on trees and plants for their textiles - has a policy in place to address deforestation.

To maintain its competitive advantage, Nike will need to expand and improve their supply chain practices to ensure that protocols protecting the safety and wellbeing of all workers are enforced. The company’s heavy reliance on overseas factories also means that Nike will need to continuously monitor and improve their operations to ensure that its products are socially and ecologically sustainable.