Sustainable sourcing support for global sports brand
adidas Group asked Two Tomorrows to help gauge the views of some of its key stakeholders on its procurement practices.
We facilitated a workshop called 'Raising the Bar: Next steps on the journey towards sustainability in the sports apparel industry'. It was attended by experts from the NGO and socially responsible investment community as well as a trade union official and a sporting event organiser.
The event focused on adidas Group’s supply chain management in the context of major sporting events including the 2012 London Olympics. It examined four key themes:
- Major sporting events and their influence on sports apparel supply chains.
- Driving change through sharing knowledge and best practice.
- Independent monitoring and assurance of sustainability in major sporting events.
- Engaging and involving different stakeholders in the debate.
Key issues discussed included freedom of association, fair wages, precarious work and forced overtime.
Delegates recommended, among other things, that adidas issue a requirement for suppliers to guarantee their workers a right to unionise. Delegates felt this would more proactively promote freedom of association.
The social and economic legacy of sporting events was also discussed. Delegates suggested how best practice could be shared between, for example, London 2012 and Brazil 2016, and debated the extent to which adidas could influence behaviour by itself and in collaboration with others.
As well as facilitating the event, we interviewed delegates beforehand to gauge their concerns and used our findings to help adidas draw up the agenda. Afterwards, we wrote a report of discussions at the event.
