The purpose of our environmental efforts is to ensure that PUMA and its suppliers are in full environmental compliance and any negative impact on the environment is reduced.

We frequently conduct efficiency audits at our own entities. Compulsory in the European Union, these audits help us identify energy saving opportunities at our offices, stores, and warehouses and roll them out on a global basis.

As far as our suppliers are concerned, our PUMA compliance audits (detailed in the Human Rights section) contain a dedicated section on environmental and chemical compliance. For example, during each audit we inspect environmental permits, waste management, and effluent treatment plants.

In addition, we continued to ask all our core suppliers to complete the Environmental Facilities Module developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. In 2020, a total of 127 assessments – a 19% increase compared to 2019 – were subjected to external verification, which equates to an on-site environmental audit. This figure is complemented by audits our suppliers frequently undergo to obtain environmental certifications such as those issued by bluesign®, OEKO-TEX® GOTS, GRS, or the Leather Working Group.

T.10 Environmental Assessments of Suppliers

Assessment Type

2020

2019

2018

HIGG FEM 3.0

127

107

43

bluesign®

23

24

26

Leather Working Group

12

13

15

Going forward, we will continue to encourage our suppliers to carry out environmental assessments that follow industry standards. In 2020, we also developed a scoring system for the HIGG Facility Environmental Module of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. We will report our core suppliers’ aggregate scores starting in 2021.

Further data on the environmental performance of PUMA and our suppliers can be found in the Climate and the EP&L sections.

Climate

Target description:

Existing science-based CO2 emission target:

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from PUMA’s own entities (Scope 1 and 2) by 35% compared to the 2017 baseline (absolute reduction)
  • Reduce emissions from PUMA’s supply chain (Scope 3: purchased goods and services) by 60% relative to sales

New 1OFOR25 targets

  • Align PUMA’s CO2 emission target with a 1.5 degree scenario (that is, what is required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees)
  • Move 100% of PUMA’s own entities to renewable electricity
  • Expand the use of renewable energy at PUMA’s core suppliers to 25%

Relates to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13

Examples of the 10FOR25 action plan:

  • Work with industry peers on climate action through the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and the Fashion Pact
  • Join industry-level energy efficiency programs for suppliers in our top five sourcing regions
  • Join industry-level programs for renewable energy in our top five sourcing regions
  • Replace all coal-fired boilers at PUMA’s core suppliers
  • Reduce emissions from the transport of goods by transitioning to more carbon-efficient modes of transport
  • Gradually transition to materials with a lower carbon footprint such as recycled polyester
  • Switch all PUMA offices, stores, and warehouses to renewable electricity tariffs or renewable energy attribute certificates
  • Gradually move PUMA’s fleet vehicles to alternative engines (hybrid, electric, or hydrogen)

KPIs

  • Direct CO2 emissions from own entities (Scope 1)
  • Indirect CO2 emissions from own entities (Scope 2)
  • Indirect CO2 emissions from manufacturing, business travel, and transport of goods (Scope 3)
  • Percentage of core suppliers covered by energy efficiency programs
  • Percentage of core suppliers covered by renewable energy programs
  • Percentage of core suppliers with coal fired boilers (Tier 1 and Tier 2)

During the UN Climate Conference in Paris in 2015, PUMA agreed to set a science-based CO2 emissions target. In 2018, PUMA co-founded the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, an industry-wide coalition which aims at aligning the fashion industry’s emissions with the targets included in the Paris Agreement. One year later, PUMA agreed and published its science-based emission target (SBT) with the SBT Coalition and joined the Fashion Pact, which also includes a climate action commitment.

In 2020, we continued our transition to renewable energy for the offices, stores, and warehouses under our control. Through renewable energy tariffs and the purchase of renewable energy attribute certificates (RECs) where no such tariffs were available, we increased the coverage of renewable electricity within our own Scope 2 emissions to 100%. To further reduce our Scope 1 emissions, which can be attributed largely to the vehicles in our fleet, in 2020 we introduced the first six hydrogen cars and expanded the number of electric cars from two to nine. For the future, we plan to increase the number of cars with alternative engines by 10% each year.

We combined our SBT agreement with an increased effort to support the use of renewable electricity by purchasing RECs for countries where PUMA has a major presence and renewable electricity cannot be purchased directly. We purchased RECs worth 50% of PUMA’s emissions from electricity for 2018 retroactively and increased that figure to 74% in 2019 and to 100% in 2020.

In this way, we managed to lower our combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 71% compared to 2019 and by 89% compared to 2017. Taking these RECs into account, we already have hit our science-based emissions target of 35% for Scope 1 and 2 emissions. We also achieved the absolute 45% reduction required to align our target with a 1.5 degree scenario.

Over the coming years, we will aim at replacing the RECs certificates with renewable energy tariffs and/or power purchase agreements where possible and as mentioned above, expanding the percentage of cars equipped with alternative engines by 10% each year.

For our Scope 3 emissions, we decided to focus entirely on purchased goods and services since this also is the category in which many of our indirect emissions are created. In addition, we set a target to reduce emissions from the transport of goods by 20% relative to the volume transported.

To reduce the emissions from the production of our PUMA goods, we worked with our suppliers on several programs ranging from energy efficiency to installing on-site solar photovoltaic power plants to generate renewable energy. The details are shown in the table below:

T.11 SUPPLIER CLIMATE ACTION PROGRAMS

Country

Vietnam

China/Taiwan

Bangladesh

Cambodia

Indonesia

Total

Efficiency Program

Clean by Design (CbD)

Clean by Design (CbD)

Low Carbon Manu-facturing Program (LCMP)

Partnership for Cleaner Textiles (PaCT)

 

 

 

Renewable Energy Program

GIZ Solar PV

Partnership for Cleaner Textiles (PaCT)
GIZ Solar PV

GIZ Solar PV

GIZ Solar PV

 

Number of factories covered (energy efficiency/renewable energy projects)

20

10

10

1

 

41

Percentage of core factories covered (energy efficiency/ renewable energy projects)

50%

24%

80%

13%

 

34%

Percentage of core factories with coal fired boilers

13%

8%

0%

13%

 

8%

In 2021, we will continue working with all our core suppliers to agree on individual reduction plans. We also plan to launch a program to replace the coal fired boilers used by our core supplier base, ideally under the umbrella of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action.

CASE STUDY

When the sun rises over the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, the large flat roof of the Leading Star factory starts to generate electricity and reduce carbon emissions in PUMA’s supply chain.

The factory, which makes knits and woven apparel for PUMA, installed solar panels on its roof last year in cooperation with PUMA and German development agency GIZ PDP. After the first phase of the project was completed in December 2020, Leading Star was able to reduce its carbon emissions from electricity by 25%. Per year, this installation alone will save 1,331 tonnes of CO2. There are plans to expand the solar installation so that half of the electricity used by the factory will come from solar panels.

In China, Ningbo Shenzhou implemented the Clean by Design Program. Thanks to better resource data management, increased staff awareness, steam valve and pipeline insulation, and an equipment upgrade, it has seen annual energy savings of up to 7.7% and water savings of up to 13.0%. CO2 emissions have been reduced by 9.7%.

PUMA CLIMATE ACTION PROGRAM

PUMA continues to play a key role in driving industry action, both through a leadership role in the UN-convened Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and through an active role in the Fashion Pact, a global coalition of companies in the fashion and textile industry working together to help stop global warming, restore biodiversity, and protect the oceans. PUMA has not only taken decisive action to meet its own goals around operational and supply chain renewable energy sources, but it has also supported the rollout of a collective program to rapidly scale improvements on sourcing renewable energy within key countries. I look forward to seeing even more ambition from PUMA in the future, as it continues its leadership role on climate action, delivers its existing goals, and aligns its climate targets with a 1.5-degree pathway.

LAILA PETRIE
CEO 2050, Co-Chair of the Fashion Industry Charter Steering Committee, Climate delivery partner for the Fashion Pact

G.05 Agreed Emission Targets (Scope 1&2) (t CO2e)

* Including renewable energy attribute certificates

The reduction of our Scope 3 emissions at the factory level is complemented by purchases of more sustainable – and therefore less carbon-intensive – raw materials. In 2020, we used 82.8% bluesign®- or OEKO-TEX®-certified polyester and 16.7% recycled polyester for apparel and accessories, 100% cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative, and 97.9% leather from Leather Working Group medal rated tanneries. In addition, 99.0% of our primary paper and cardboard packaging was recycled or FSC-certified paper. By 2025, we aim to use 75% recycled polyester.

T.12 SCOPE 1 AND SCOPE 2 CO2E EMISSIONS FROM PUMA

CO2e emissions1-6
(absolute figures)

2020

2019

2018

2017

% Change 2019/2020

% Change 2017/2020

Scope 1 – direct CO2e emissions fossil fuels

4,179

6,326

6,918

7,678

-34%

-46%

Vehicle fleet

1,985

3,618

4,073

4,134

-45%

-52%

Heating

2,194

2,708

2,845

3,545

-19%

-38%

Scope 2 – indirect CO2e emissions
(location based)

29,839

40,986

43,366

40,029

-27%

-25%

Scope 2 – indirect CO2e emissions
(market based)

1,078

11,533

22,128

40,029

-91%

-97%

Electricity (location-based)

28,761

39,282

42,145

38,914

-27%

-26%

Electricity (market-based)

0

9,828

20,907

38,914

-100%

-100%

Steam

1,078

1,705

1,221

1,115

-37%

-3%

Total Scope 1 and 2 (location-based)

34,018

47,312

50,284

47,707

-28%

-29%

Total Scope 1 and 2 (market-based)

5,257

17,858

29,046

47,707

-71%

-89%

Scope 1 and 2 relative to sales
(t CO
2e per € million sales) (location-based)

6.5

8.6

10.8

11.5

-24%

-43%

Scope 1 and 2 relative to sales
(t CO
2e per € million sales) (market-based)

1.0

3.2

6.2

11.5

-69%

-91%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T.13 PUMA’S SCOPE 3 CO2E EMISSIONS FROM SELECTED VALUE CHAIN ACTIVITIES

CO2e emissions1-6
(absolute figures)

2020

2019

2018

2017

% Change 2019/2020

% Change 2017/2020

Scope 3 – indirect CO2e emissions from
corporate value chain

 211,108

 250,240

 222,315

 208,525

-16%

1%

Purchased goods and services – Tier 1 suppliers

 113,561

 123,769

 126,590

 123,061

-8%

-8%

Fuel- and energy-related activities*

 2,855

 

 

 

 

 

Upstream transportation and distribution

 91,775

 107,744

 104,347

 105,380

-15%

-13%

Inbound

 67,842

 98,386

 98,386

 98,386

-31%

-31%

Outbound**

 23,933

 9,358

 5,961

 6,994

156%

242%

Business travel

 1,751

 18,727

 15,582

 14,394

-91%

-88%

Upstream leased assets*

 1,166

 

 

 

 

 

Total Scope 1-3 (market-based)

216,365

 268,098

 251,361

 256,232

-19%

-16%

Annual sales PUMA (in € million)

 5,234

 5,502

 4,648

 4,136

-5%

27%

Total Scope 1-3 relative to sales
(t CO
2e per € million sales) (market-based)

 41.3

 48.7

 54.1

 62.0

-15%

-33%

Total Scope 3 relative to sales
(t CO
2e per € million sales)

 40.3

 45.5

 47.8

 50.4

-11%

-20%

*
Emissions from the respective Scope 3 categories were reported under Scope 1 and 2 in previous years.
**
In 2020, upstream outbound values were adjusted to fully cover the e-commerce business and exclude B2B express volumes.
1.
PUMA’s greenhouse gas reporting is in ddne with the GHG Protocol International Accounting Standard.
2.
Methodological changes over the last three years have influenced results. In 2020, updated emission factors were appdded and the consodddated structure changed due to full addgnment with the GHG Protocol.
3.
The consodddation scope follows the operational control approach, including PUMA-owned or -operated offices, warehouses, stores, and own industrial sites (Argentina).
4.
Outsourced Tier 1 production is accounted in the Scope 3 emissions under Purchased goods and services, covering CO2 emissions from all three product divisions (Accessories, Apparel, and Footwear).
5.
PUMA appdded emission factors from internationally recognized sources such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) (2019) and DEFRA Conversion Factors (2020). For some Scope 3 emissions, emission factors are based on suppdder- and industry-specific emission factors.
6.
For sea freight transportation, PUMA follows the recommendation and new methodology of the Clean Cargo Working Group that has transitioned from the use of tank-to-wheel (TTW) CO2 to well-to-wheel (WTW) CO2-equivalent emission factors for all fuels.

Chemicals

Target description:

  • 100% of all PUMA products are safe to use
  • Reduce RSL failures to below 1%
  • Reduce organic solvent usage under 10 gr/pair

Relates to Sustainable United Nations Development Goals 3 and 6

KPIs:

  • Number and pass rate of Restricted Substance List (RSL) tests
  • Percentage of failure cases at the product level among all styles gone to sales
  • Percentage of chemicals used by our core suppliers who are in compliance with the Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) issued by the Zero Discharge for Hazardous Chemicals Foundation (ZDHC)
  • VOCs used in footwear production (VOC index for shoes)

While the effects of potentially hazardous chemicals on human health have yet to be assessed in full, PUMA takes precautionary measures to prevent harm to human health and the environment from its products and operations.

All the materials used in PUMA products are subject to our Restricted Substance List (RSL) Testing Program to ensure compliance with global chemicals regulations.

Rather than applying internal testing standards, for our tests we rely on the AFIRM Group’s Product RSL and on the Manufacturing RSL developed by the Hazardous Chemicals Foundation (ZDHC).

Since 2018, we have increased the number of RSL tests from 5,318 to 7,465 and decreased our failure rate from 1.9% to 1.2%. When materials fail an RSL test, they cannot be used for PUMA products until the failure has been corrected and they successfully pass the test. In this way, we mitigate the risk of product-level RSL failures.

T.14 RSL TEST STATISTICS 2018-2020

Product Division

2020

2019

2018

Variation 2019/2020 (%)

Variation 2018/2020 (%)

No. of test reports

Compliance rate (%)

No. of test reports

Compliance rate (%)

No. of test reports

Compliance rate (%)

No. of test reports

Compliance rate

No. of test reports

Compliance rate

Footwear

5,117

99.3

4,668

99.2

3,512

98.4

9.6

0.1

45.7

0.9

Apparel

1,318

98.9

1,239

99.1

988

98

6.4

-0.2

33.4

0.9

Accessories

878

96.8

639

96.2

764

97.1

37.4

0.6

14.9

-0.3

Others

152

91.4

59

100.0

54

100

157.6

-8.6

181.5

-8.6

Total

7,465

98.8

6,605

98.9

5,318

98.1

13.0

-0.1

40.4

0.7

At the manufacturing level, as part of our Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals commitment we continued to ban the intentional use of 11 priority chemical groups classified as particularly hazardous. This phase-out was supported by the increased use of bluesign®- and OEKO-TEX®-certified materials. While the use of most of these chemical groups was never intentional, poly-fluorinated chemicals (PFCs) were used until 2017 for water repellent finishes on apparel and footwear products. In 2020, we engaged in detailed discussions with Gore-Tex on the potential use of its bluesign®-certified membranes and finishes which are either completely PFC-free or free from PFCs of environmental concern.

The phase-out of hazardous substances is reflected in the results of wastewater tests performed by our core wet-processing suppliers: compliance levels of over 94% for each of the parameters listed in the ZDHC MRSL. Most parameters show compliance rates of 100% or close to 100%, except for harmful AZO Dyes (98% compliance) and PFCs (94% compliance). Although phased out by PUMA, the two chemicals still were found in a small number of samples because we share production lines with other brands and retailers.

During 2020, we also successfully piloted the MRSL tracking tool BHive by Goblu. This tool uses a relatively simple mobile phone application at the chemical-inventory level to track and trace the percentage of MRSL-compliant chemicals used by suppliers.  

With the help of our footwear suppliers we managed to further reduce the number of solvents or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) per pair to below 15 grams in line with our target projection for 2020. This reduction was a direct result of our long-standing VOC Program, which saw the first targets achieved as early as 2003. We are confident that the use of new technologies such as hotmelt adhesives, water-based adhesives, and improved VOC content in the products of major adhesive suppliers will help us reduce the amount of organic solvents to below 10 gr/pair by 2025.

G.07 VOC INDEX DEVELOPMENT OVER TIME*

* 2019 figure based on core suppliers, in alignment with general reporting scope.

WATER AND AIR

Target description:

  • Industry good practice for effluent treatment is met by 90% of core PUMA suppliers with wet-processing facilities
  • Industry good practice for air emissions is met by 90% of core PUMA suppliers with significant emissions
  • Reduce water consumption at PUMA core suppliers per pair or piece by 15% (based on 2020 baseline)

Relates to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 6, 14 and 15

Examples of the 10FOR25 action plan:

  • Ensure regular wastewater testing at relevant suppliers
  • Ensure regular air-quality assessments at relevant suppliers
  • Support the development of an industry-wide air quality standard

KPIs:

  • Percentage of core suppliers meeting good practice standards for wastewater
  • Percentage of core suppliers meeting good practice standards for air emissions
  • Percentage of water saved per pair/piece

Since 2015, we have increased the number of wastewater tests from 33 to 72 suppliers and 125 test reports, covering approximately 96% of all our core suppliers with industrial wet-processing facilities.

The test results confirm that priority hazardous chemicals have been phased out as planned. Regarding the conventional wastewater parameters that apply only to suppliers that discharge their wastewater directly into natural water bodies, in 2019 we failed to hit our target of 90% compliance for one out of 17 parameters (coliform bacteria). However, our suppliers closed this gap in 2020. Consequently, all our core suppliers now are 90% in compliance with the ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines (foundational level). This means we also have achieved our last remaining wastewater target from the 10FOR20 cycle.

G.08 SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE TO ZDHC WASTEWATER QUALITY GUIDELINE – CONVENTIONAL PARAMETERS

In terms of heavy metals and the chemical parameters regulated in the ZDHC MRSL, the suppliers we tested were able to keep their high compliance rates above 90% for each parameter measured, with the exception of antimony. However, antimony is exempt from the ZDHC Wastewater Guidelines for polyester producers because they use it as a catalyzer.

G.09 SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE TO ZDHC WASTEWATER QUALITY GUIDELINE – HEAVY METALS

*Antimony is exempt for mills that produce or dye polyester fabric.

G.10 SUPPLIER PERFORMANCE TO ZDHC WASTEWATER QUALITY GUIDELINE – RESTRICTED CHEMICALS

Since the publication of the ZDHC Air Emission Guidelines was delayed by the impact of COVID-19 in 2020, we decided to conduct an internal study to monitor our supply chain’s performance regarding air emissions. We examined a random sample of 30 core factories air emissions test reports (including point sources of gas and ambient air quality) for compliance with global (covering major supply chain regions such as China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Indonesia) and local regulations. The result shows that 100% of the core factories sampled were compliant.

PLASTICS AND THE OCEANS

Target description:

  • Support initiative and scientific research on microfibers, work with core suppliers to reduce microfiber release
  • Research biodegradable polyester for use in PUMA products
  • Eliminate plastic bags from PUMA stores and review the impact of hangers and fixtures

Relates to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3, 14 and 15

KPIs:

  • Tons of plastic bags used in PUMA stores
  • Percentage of PUMA offices that have eliminated single-use plastic
  • Percentage of plastic packaging recycled
T.15 ELIMINATION OF SINGLE USE PLASTICS

Sub-targets

Baseline 2020

Target 2025

Plastic shopping bags (stores, tons)

400

0

Plastic bags (product packaging, tons)

245

 

Plastic bags recycled (product packaging, recycled (%)

4.9%

 

Offices that have eliminated single-use plastic (%)

0%

100%

Plastic pollution of our oceans is one of the most urgent challenges to sustainability of our time. As a company that uses polymers for most of its products, we have a special responsibility to work on this issue. Avoiding plastic pollution also is one of the three pillars of the Fashion Pact, of which PUMA is a founding member. Also, several countries and regions have formed initiatives to ban certain types of single-use plastics or plastic bags.

Therefore, we have added the Plastics and the Oceans target to our 10FOR25 sustainability strategy.

Plastic shopping bags and single-use plastics aggravate the problem of plastic pollution significantly. By eliminating them from our stores and office environment we can set a positive example for our consumers and colleagues and at the same time reduce our use of plastics by several hundred tons per year.

In recent years, we switched our shopping bags to FSC-certified paper bags or polyethylene bags with 80% recycled content. During 2020, our Retail division devised a detailed plan to completely phase out plastic bags from our global stores.

Our stores ordered 430 tons of polyethylene bags in 2019 and 400 tons in 2020. We plan to halve this figure in 2021. By 2023 at the latest, we want to replace all polyethylene bags for consumers with paper bags.

At the same time, we switched other plastic items in our retail stores, such as hangers and shoe fixtures, to recycled polymers. We also started working on more environmentally friendly solutions for our B2B product packaging for apparel and accessories, which is also based on polyethylene bags, in collaboration with the Fashion Pact.

At our offices, we have challenged our catering partners and employees to avoid single-use plastics such as coffee cups, lids, stirring sticks, cutlery, or straws.

While Plastics and the Oceans is a new target and we are not quite there yet on a global scale, we have started to eliminate single-use coffee cups and cutlery, for example, at our headquarters in Germany.

CIRCULARITY

Target description:

  • Set up or join product takeback schemes in major markets
  • Reduce production waste to landfills by at least 50% (shared target)
  • Develop recycled materials as alternatives to leather, rubber, cotton, and polyurethane (shared targets)

Relates to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 9, 12, 14 and 15

KPIs

  • Percentage of major markets with takeback scheme
  • Amount of waste sent to landfills
  • Percentage of recycled polyester, cotton, leather, rubber, and polyurethane
T.16 CIRCULARITY TARGET STATUS

Sub-targets

Baseline 2020

Target 2025

Takeback schemes

Pilot in Hong Kong

All major markets covered

Recycled material options
(leather, rubber, cotton, and polyurethane)

3 out of 4 available
(polyurethane under research)

4 out of 4

Production waste to landfills:

Apparel: 1.6 gr/piece

Footwear: 17.1 gr/pair

Textiles: 8.9 kg/ton

Leather: 0.2 kg/m2

50% reduction

PUMA’s exploration of the issue of circularity dates back to 2011 when we partnered with Cradle to Cradle co-founder Michael Braungart. Our rich history as the first company in our industry to develop a Cradle to Cradle-certified collection – our InCycle collection launched in 2013 – led us to put circularity back on the agenda with our 10FOR25 sustainability strategy.

We are aware that the linear business model currently applied in our industry is far from the ideal concept of a circular economy. Despite our best efforts to use more sustainable materials at scale, PUMA is no exception.

Therefore, we have set circularity targets for ourselves, for example, scaling up the use of recycled polyester and cotton and using recycled alternatives to leather, rubber, and polyurethane (PU), the materials we use most frequently after cotton and polyester.

We also have started to encourage our suppliers to reuse and recycle the fabric waste they are creating for PUMA production, either through applications outside of our industry or ideally, by recycling offcuts into polyester or cotton yarns.

At the end of 2020, our material toolboxes included recycled options for all the above materials and nylon. For recycling and recycled PU, we have entered into a research project with a large chemical company and aim to announce our first pilot in 2021.

To demonstrate our responsibility as a producer and to secure options for more circular material streams in the future, we also have set the target to offer takeback schemes in all our major markets by 2025.

In our efforts to extend the lifespan of our products and re-integrate used materials into our production, we started a project group headed by our Retail division. We aim to pilot the first takeback options in 2021, complementing our existing takeback pilot scheme in Hong Kong.

At the same time, we partnered with Circle Economy and held a virtual workshop on the definition and concept of a circular economy and circular product design for our designers, product line managers, developers, and sourcing teams. The training addressed the challenges and opportunities in our industry to enhance the cyclability of our products, for example, by designing for longevity, easy disassembly, modularity, etc.

To communicate our use of recycled materials, we launched our First Mile collection made from recycled plastic bottles. The concept was well-received and was promoted by several PUMA ambassadors including Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton and Antoine Griezmann, the star of Spanish football club FC Barcelona.

In 2021, we plan to scale up our use of recycled materials. We will continue our partnership with First Mile and launch our first collections made from recycled cotton.

PRODUCTS

Target description:

  • 90% of PUMA apparel and accessories products contain >50% more sustainable materials
  • 90% of our footwear contains at least one more sustainable component
  • Increase use of recycled polyester (apparel and accessories) to 75% by 2025 (shared target)

Relates to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12

KPIs:

  • Percentage of apparel and accessories with 50% more sustainable material
  • Percentage of footwear with at least one more sustainable component
  • Percentage of recycled polyester used in apparel and accessories

The PUMA Environmental Profit and Loss Account (EP&L) attributes more than 50% of our environmental impact to material and raw-material production. Against this background, we have decided to prioritize the large-scale use of more sustainable raw materials. In our 10FOR20 strategy, we had set 90% targets for more sustainable raw materials such as cotton, polyester, leather, and cardboard.

For the new targets we intend to have achieved by 2025, we have extended previous targets and have agreed to source 100% of our cotton, polyester, leather, down feathers, and cardboard from more sustainable sources. In addition to measuring the use of more sustainable materials, we will now also determine the percentage of more sustainable products, that is, products made with a significant proportion of more sustainable materials. As defined in our PUMA Sustainability Index, or S-Index, more sustainable apparel or accessories products have at least 50% more sustainable materials. For footwear, we currently measure sustainability as including one or more components made from more sustainable materials.

G.11 PUMA FOREVER BETTER PYRAMID

KPIs:

T.17 MORE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS STATUS

Product Category

Baseline 2020

Target 2025

Apparel with at least 50% more sustainable material

81%

90%

Accessories with at least 50% more sustainable material

47%

90%

Footwear with at least one more sustainable component

24%

90%

Our long-term efforts to scale up more sustainable materials in partnership with our material suppliers has helped us achieve our target of using 100% more sustainable cotton as early as 2020, five years ahead of schedule. For polyester (99.5% in apparel and accessories), leather (98% in footwear), and cardboard (99% shoeboxes and labels) we came very close to achieving our targets.

G.12 MORE SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT

As in previous years, a large percentage of our more sustainable materials can be attributed to cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative, bluesign®- and/or OEKO-TEX®-certified polyester, and Leather Working Group (LWG)-certified leather. In addition, we only use down feathers certified by the Responsible Down Standard, and 100% of our viscose is made by Lenzing, one of the world’s leading viscose suppliers with a proven track record on sustainability. Therefore, more than 80% of our apparel products already are classified as more sustainable products, in line with the definition in our PUMA Sustainability Index.

In accessories we also have made good progress: 47% of our products are more sustainable.

Coverage and calculation are more complex for footwear because all our shoes are made from a number of components. The main materials we use include polyester, polyurethane, rubber, leather, and nylon. In line with our previous targets, we have achieved 98% coverage of LWG-certified leather. For the other materials, in 2020 our Sourcing teams worked to find more sustainable solutions that also are cost-efficient. For example, we now are using recycled materials for all our counters and many of our linings and have replaced the polyester-based backing of all polyurethane (PU) materials, which we use as an alternative to leather, with recycled polyester.

By the end of 2020, 24% of our footwear products had at least one major component classified as more sustainable. This calculation is based on the use of 98% more sustainable leather (from LWG-certified tanneries). In 2021, we will work on more accurate internal reporting and on scaling up the use of more sustainable materials with a clear vision to achieve our 2025 targets.

Besides switching our core materials to more sustainable versions, our product teams have created several sustainability-focused collections and initiatives. Under our Forever Better Platform, we launched two lighthouse initiatives in 2020: First Mile, and our Day Zero collection in partnership with Central St. Martin’s College, London.

While First Mile emphasized the collection and recycling of used plastic bottles and on the related human stories, our Day Zero collection was inspired by the severe water shortage in Cape Town, South Africa. It focused on water saving technologies such as dope-dyed polyester or digital printing.

Complementing our lighthouse initiatives, we had further sustainability focused collections in our product ranges, for example our Time4change and Downtown collections.

T.18 DEVELOPMENT OF MORE SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL USAGE*

Division

Material Targets

% of Total 2020

 

% of Total 2019

 

% of Total 2018

Target 2025

Apparel

BCI cotton: 99.4%
Recycled cotton: 0.6%

100%

BCI cotton: 80%

Organic cotton: 2%

82%

50%

100%

Polyester:
bluesign®: 35.5%
OEKO-TEX®: 45.35%
Recycled: 18.7%

99.5%

bluesign®: 55%

OEKO-TEX®: 42%

Recycled: 1%

98%

66%

100%

 

RDS-certified down feathers

100%

 

100%

 

100%

 

Viscose from green-shirt rated fiber producers**

100%

Viscose from green-shirt rated fiber producers**

100%

 

100%

Accessories

BCI cotton: 100%

 

 

 

 

 

Polyester:
bluesign®: 57.6%
OEKO-TEX®: 40.4%
Recycled: 2.1%

100%

bluesign®: 54%

OEKO-TEX®: 46%

100%

46%

100%

Footwear

LWG Medal Rated leather/recycled leather

97.9%

 

97.7%

99%

100%

Recycled polyester

12.1%

 

6%

 

 

 

 

-

 

-

TBD

 

Recycled or natural rubber

11.9%

-

 

-

NA

 

Recycled or solvent-free PU

0%

-

 

-

NA

 

Number of vegan styles

15

 

 

 

 

Product packaging

Recycled paper and
cardboard: 86.3%
FSC-certified: 12.7%

99%

Product packaging

100%

92%

100%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*
Figures excluding trims and licensee production, in line with previours years' reporting
**
Green-shirt rated fiber producers, as determined by the annual Canopy Hot Button report, encourage existing fiber suppliers to commit to CanopyStyle and a Canopy Audit (https://hotbutton.canopyplanet.org/).

BIODIVERSITY

Target description:

  • Support the industry in setting a science-based target for biodiversity
  • 100% of cotton, leather, and down procured from certified sources (shared target)
  • Zero use of exotic skins and hides

Relates to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 14 and 15

KPIs:

T.19 SUSTAINABLY SOURCED BIO-BASED MATERIALS*

Sub-targets

Baseline 2020

Target 2025

Science Based Target (SBT)

Joined Fashion Pact activities on biodiversity

SBT set

Cotton (BCI and/or recycled)

100%

100%

Leather (LWG-certified tanneries)

98%

100%

Down (RDS-certified)

100%

100%

Sustainably sourced viscose / MMCF

100%

100%

Cardboard and paper (FSC and/or recycled)

99% (product packaging supply chain)

100%

 

 

 

* excluding trims and licensee production

 

Scientific reports point to the fact that the loss of biodiversity has increased over the last decade. Once extinct, species can never be brought back and are lost forever. Not only because our logo features a wild animal, we have decided to dedicate one of our 10FOR25 targets to biodiversity.

PUMA’s impact on biodiversity is indirect yet severe. We use approximately 30,000 tons of cotton and 2,400 tons of leather per year for our products. Both cotton farming and cattle ranching require extensive land use and have been cited to reduce biodiversity, for example, by transitioning virgin forest to farmland in South America or depleting the Aral Lake in Central Asia for cotton farming during the Soviet Union era.

In addition, our annual paper and cardboard consumption amounts to 18,500 tons (supply chain only), the equivalent of 6,000 trees.

To mitigate the loss of biodiversity resulting from the production of our materials, we have set ambitious targets: As of 2020, 100% of our cotton fibers, 97.9% of our leather, and 99% of our cardboard originates from preferred sources such as BCI cotton, LWG-certified leather, and recycled and/or FSC-certified cardboard.

In addition, in 2020 we mapped out our viscose supply chain to ensure that we procure 100% of our viscose from suppliers committed to reducing the risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests.

In 2021, we will publish an updated Animal Welfare policy and plan to increase our preferred leather and paper/cardboard volumes to 100%. Not least because we are a signatory to the Fashion Pact, we also will continue to expand our biodiversity strategy.

Environmental Profit and Loss ACCOUNT and E-KPIs

At PUMA, we pioneered the concept of an EP&L in 2011 with the publication of our first corporate EP&L on climate and water. Since then, the EP&L has been expanded into other impact categories and has been further developed by Kering, PUMA’s former majority owner. Today, we continue to collect supply chain data to populate our PUMA EP&L, which we consider to be a good indicator of where the highest impact lies within our value chain, rather than a precise measurement tool. Because determining the individual values is very complex, we have incorporated the results of the 2019 EP&L into this report. We plan to publish our 2020 EP&L in 2021.

G.13 EP&L RESULTS 2019

The chart above shows that the environmental impact of our value chain is dominated by material processing, while product assembly and raw material production also are important stages of our value chain.

G.14 PUMA EP&L TREND 2015-2019* (in € million)

*Since 2019 expanded scope of covered business activities and impacts

Our EP&L trend from 2015 to 2019 clearly indicates an increase in the EP&L value and in revenue. This means that our environmental footprint also is expanding. Compared to the increased revenue, our EP&L value has remained stable.

With our ambitious product sustainability targets and updated supplier data in our EP&L we hope to reduce the EP&L value per revenue significantly over the next five-year target period.

For an overview of the environmental KPIs of PUMA’s entities and core Tier 1 suppliers, please see figures T.20 and T.21 below. Together with data on our material consumption and manufacturing locations (T.22 and T.23 below), these figures form the basis of the PUMA EP&L.

T.20 E-KPIS PUMA AND TIER 1 PRODUCTION – ENERGY1-4

 

2020

2019

2018

2017

% Change 2019/2020

% Change 2017/2020

Energy (MWh)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Energy from electricity (PUMA own entities)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-renewable electricity consumption

0

12,683

29,766

52,508

-100%

-100%

Electricity consumption from renewable sources (green tariffs and on-site photovoltaic)

10,839

11,547

11,695

11,611

-6%

-7%

Electricity consumption guaranteed with EACs

50,526

 37,269

25,051

0

36%

n/a

Total electricity consumption
(PUMA own entities)

61,365

61,499

66,512

64,119

0%

-4%

Percentage of renewable electricity consumption (excluding EACs)

18%

16%

15%

18%

 

 

Percentage of renewable electricity consumption (including EACs)

100%

79%

55%

18%

 

 

Energy from non-renewable fuels
(oil, natural gas, etc.)

10,739

10,975

11,724

14,430

-2%

-26%

Energy from steam

6,247

 7,915

 5,734

 5,155

-21%

21%

Total energy consumption (PUMA own entities)

78,350

80,389

83,970

83,704

-3%

-6%

Non-renewable energy consumption from
PUMA production (Tier 1) (MWh)*

221,641

 246,160

 195,866

 194,881

-10%

14%

Renewable energy consumption from
PUMA production (Tier 1) (MWh)*

 3,013

 

 

 

 

 

Percentage of renewable energy consumption from PUMA production 

1%

 

 

 

 

 

*
Includes Tier 1 suppliers
1.
Figures include PUMA-owned or -operated offices, warehouses, and stores.
2
Data includes extrapolations or estimates where no real data could be provided.
3
Includes our own production sites in Argentina. All other production is outsourced to independent supplier factories, some warehouse operations are outsourced to independent logistic providers. Franchised stores are excluded.
4
Methodological changes over the last three years have influenced results.
T.21 E-KPIS WASTE, PAPER AND WATER OF PUMA AND TIER 1 PRODUCTION

 

2020

2019

2018

2017

% Change 2019/2020

% Change 2017/2020

Waste, paper, and water

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waste PUMA own entities (tons)

 3,021

3,154

4,877

5,293

-4%

-43%

Recycled waste PUMA own entities (tons)

 847

1,111

2,282

3,419

-24%

-75%

Recycled waste PUMA own entities (%)

28%

35%

47%

65%

 

 

Waste from PUMA production
(Tier 1 suppliers, tons)

23,498

24,205

16,682

14,686

-3%

60%

Percentage production waste to landfills
(Tier 1)

9%

 

 

 

 

 

Paper and cardboard consumption PUMA (tons)*

 2,638

2,281

2,292

2,756

16%

-4%

Certified or recycled paper and cardboard consumption PUMA (tons)

 1,848

1,818

1,120

2,025

2%

-9%

Percentage of certified or recycled paper consumption (%)

70%

80%

49%

74%

 

 

Paper and cardboard consumption from
PUMA production (shoe boxes, hangtags) (tons)

 18,538

14,863

13,607

14,129

25%

31%

Percentage of certified or
recycled paper and cardboard consumption
from PUMA production (%)

99%

100%

98%

n/a

 

 

Water PUMA own entities (m3)

 96,569

95,291

89,676

106,397

1%

-9%

Water from PUMA production Tier 1 suppliers
(k m
3)

2,332

2,572

2,030

2,149

-9%

9%

*
Including paper bags, office paper, and cardboard consumption of offices, warehouses, and stores
1.
Figures include PUMA-owned or -operated offices, warehouses, and stores.
2.
Data includes extrapolations or estimations where no real data could be provided.
3.
Includes own production sites in Argentina. All other production is outsourced to independent supplier factories, some warehouse operations are outsourced to independent logistic providers. Franchised stores are excluded.
4.
Methodological changes over the last three years have influenced results.

We continue to work with our core suppliers to reduce their environmental footprint. In 2020, we joined the Apparel Impact Institute’s Clean by Design Program and expanded our cooperation with the International Finance Corporation on resource efficiency and renewable energy in Bangladesh. We joined forces with the German Development Agency GIZ to conduct solar photovoltaic feasibility studies at 22 suppliers across Asia. Also, we worked with the World Wildlife Fund to train our suppliers on climate action.

There is an overall trend of carbon emission reduction (within our core Tier 1 suppliers) per pair of footwear (28%) or piece of apparel product (26%) since 2017. During the same period, our core Tier 1 suppliers have been able to reduce the amount of water per piece of apparel significantly by 39%, while water consumption at Tier 1 footwear suppliers increased by 4%.

Apparel and footwear suppliers reported an increase in production waste of 23% and 25% respectively, figures that show there still is work to be done on that KPI. However, as detailed in this report, most of our Tier 1 production waste is recycled, with only 9% of waste ending up in landfills.

T.22 FOOTWEAR E-KPI RESULTS

Summary of supplier e-KPIs

Weights

Change

 

Value

2020

2019

2018

2017

2019-2020

2017-2020

Number of Suppliers

Energy/pair (kWh)

1.31

1.30

1.25

1.40

1%

-7%

22

CO2/pair (kg)

0.74

0.96

0.93

1.00

-23%

-26%

22

Water/pair (l)

15.08

15.21

12.30

14.50

-1%

4%

22

Waste/pair (g)

144.80

126.66

108.51

115.90

14%

25%

22

Waste to landfills/pair (g)

17

 

 

 

 

 

 

T.23 APPAREL E-KPI RESULTS

Summary of supplier e-KPIs

Weights

Change

 

Value

2020

2019

2018

2017

2019-2020

2017-2020

Number of Suppliers

Energy/piece (kWh)

0.56

0.57

0.57

0.72

-2%

-23%

21

CO2/piece (kg)

0.22

0.24

0.26

0.31

0%

-28%

21

Water/piece (l)

4.60

4.39

4.20

7.58

5%

-39%

21

Waste/piece (g)

54.27

56.33

46.50

44.00

-4%

23%

21

Waste to landfills/piece (g)

1.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since 2017, we also have been measuring average environmental key performance indicators (E-KPIs) from fabric and leather manufacturing. As we have included our main material suppliers in our energy and water efficiency programs and other brands also have expanded their resource efficiency programs to include our shared material suppliers, we can see a positive trend in performance. Some of the CO2 emissions reductions can be attributed to coal and oil for boilers being replaced with less polluting fuel sources such as rice husk or natural gas.

T.24 LEATHER E-KPI RESULTS

Summary of supplier e-KPIs

Weights

Change

 

Value

2020

2019

2018

2017

2019-2020

2017-2020

Number of

factories

Energy/m2 (kWh)

7.0

8.2

8.7

9.1

-14%

-23%

6

CO2/m2 (kg)

2.7

3.2

3.2

3.4

-15%

-20%

6

Water/m2 (l)

68.3

74.7

90.2

91.8

-8%

-26%

6

Waste/m2 (kg)

0.7

0.8

0.8

1.6

-13%

-56%

6

T.25 TEXTILES E-KPI RESULTS

Summary of supplier e-KPIs

Weights

Change

 

Value

2020

2019

2018

2017

2019-2020

2017-2020

Number of factories

Energy/t (kWh)

13,049.1

12,636.3

13,386.80

13,679.11

3%

-5%

21

CO2/t (t)

4.47

4.37

4.45

4.45

2%

0%

21

Water/t (m3)

103.4

105.5

122.78

119.30

-2%

-13%

21

Waste/t (kg)

78.9

62.08

70.63

299.59

27%

-74%

21