At the beginning of the new decade in 2020 we can summarize our 10FOR20 Target achievement as follows:
Out of the 10 target areas set in 2015, we have achieved our desired progress in 9 areas.
Particularly in the area of more sustainable Materials the progress has been faster than anticipated and we clearly exceeded the targets for the materials we use the most - cotton and polyester - with 82% and 98% target sourcing respectively.
We also see good progress in the area of Social Compliance and Chemicals Management, where we constantly met our yearly targets during the target period and achieved significant progress, for example with the elimination of recruitment fees for migrant workers at our contract factories and the phase-out of PFCs.
In the area of Health and Safety, we struggled to meet our zero fatal accidents target in the first few years but hit the target from 2018 onwards.
Our Climate action program received a boost in 2018 with the creation of the Fashion Charter on Climate Action Initiative under the umbrella of UN Climate. We used the positive momentum to finalize and publish our science-based CO2 emission reduction target in 2019 and at the same time invested at a large scale into renewable energy – thus reducing our own emissions significantly.
The only target area where progress is falling significantly behind our expectations is the target area of Water & Air.
When we set our targets for Water & Air in 2015, we did not anticipate that it would take our industry more than four years to develop a standard for air emissions and we also were more optimistic about achieving the standards set in the ZDHC Wastewater Quality Guideline.
Therefore, we have decided to move those targets to our new target period for 2025. However, we aim to complete these targets much earlier.
Following a formal materiality analysis process in 2018 and extensive internal and external stakeholder dialogue in 2019, our Board of Management has signed off on our new 2025 target areas.
We decided to replace the activities which contribute to performance improvements more indirectly, such as Stakeholder Dialogue and the calculation of the EP&L, with new target areas which make a direct impact, such as Plastics and the Oceans and Biodiversity. Both topics are also part of the Fashion Pact initiated by the French Government in 2019 and signed by PUMA.
In addition, we decided to merge the target areas for Social Compliance and Human Rights because of the wide overlap between them, while giving the topic of Fair Income, which has been pointed out as very important by many stakeholders, more prominence by creating a separate target area.
Finally, we upgraded our existing Materials target area into a Products target area and added Circularity as a new target area, due to the growing interest and importance of the topic.
Corporate Governance will no longer be reported under the umbrella of our sustainability program but instead as a separate and very important objective within the company.
*SDG: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
| Target Area | Target 1 | Target 2 | Target 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Rights (1) | Train 100,000 direct and indirect staff on women empowerment | Mapping of sub-contractors and T2 suppliers for human rights risks | 25,000 hours of community engagement globally per year |
| Health & Safety (2) | Zero Fatal Accidents (PUMA and Suppliers) | Reduce accident rate to 0.5 (PUMA and suppliers) | Building safety operational in all high-risk countries |
| Chemicals (3) | Ensure 100% of PUMA products are safe to use | Reduce Restricted Substances Failures to under 1% | Reduce organic solvent usage to under 10gr/pair |
| Water & Air (4) | 90% compliance with Wastewater Quality Guideline of ZDHC | 90% with Air Quality Guideline of ZDHC | 15% of water reduction per pair or piece of product |
| Climate (5) | Align target with 1.5 degrees | 100% Renewable Energy for PUMA entities | 25% Renewable Energy for core suppliers |
| Plastic & Oceans (6) | Eliminate plastic bags from PUMA stores globally | Support scientific research on microfibers | Research biodegradable plastic options for products |
| Circularity (7) | Take Back Scheme for all major markets | Reduce production waste to landfill by at least 50% | Develop recycled material options for cotton, leather and rubber |
| Products (8) | 100% of cotton, polyester, leather and down from certified sources | Increase recycled polyester use to 75% (apparel) | 90% of all footwear contains at least one more sustainable component |
| Fair Income (9) | Fair Wage Assessments for top 5 sourcing countries | Effective and freely elected worker representatives at all core suppliers | Ensure bank transfer payments to workers at all core suppliers |
| Biodiversity (10) | Support setting up an Science Based Target (SBT) on Biodiversity | 100% of cotton, leather and viscose from certified sources | Zero use of exotic skins or hides |
Over the next 5 years we will work hard to realize those new targets. Similar to the target period from 2015 to 2020 we will not shy away from increasing our level of ambition in case we hit individual targets earlier than expected.
With growing concerns about climate change, the loss of biodiversity and plastic pollution, our world is facing an environmental crisis. At PUMA we are ready to act and contribute to solutions to solve this crisis!
