Sustainability OrganiSation and Governance Structure

PUMA’s sustainability organisation is structured and governed in multiple ways:

• At the Supervisory Board level, with a Sustainability Committee. In 2023, we had several meetings to discuss the PUMA action plan related to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (including our plan to conduct a double materiality assessment in 2023). We had a deep dive discussion into Human Rights including PUMA work on fair income, responsible purchasing practices, the implementation plan of the German Supply Act and critical feedback received through NGO reports regarding factories' working conditions. We also had a deep dive discussion into circularity, including PUMA programmes and projects update, and into Climate actions including our 2030 decarbonisation pathway plan.
• At the Management Board level, the responsibility for sustainability is assigned to the Chief Sourcing Officer (CSO).
• There were several Management Board meetings in 2023 with dedicated sustainability updates and decision on topics like the 2022 sustainability target status and 2023 action plan, PUMA’s action plan related to the German Supply Chain Act and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (including our plan to conduct a double materiality assessment in 2023), new minimum wage negotiation development in Bangladesh and PUMA’s position, circularity programmes and projects status and our 2030 decarbonisation pathway plan.
• PUMA’s CEO, the Chair of the Supervisory Board and the Works Council all participated in our materiality assessment, which will lay the foundations of our new Sustainability Strategy for 2030.
• Our CSO has a monthly meeting with the Sustainability Leads for corporate and supply chain sustainability. Topics include Human Rights, Health and Safety, and chemical programmes, as well as climate and water projects in the supply chain.
• At the Functional Heads level, with an Executive Sustainability Committee.
• The Executive Sustainability Committee comprises of all Functional Heads of the company, such as the People & Organisation, Sourcing, Finance, IT, Marketing, Risk Management, Investor Relations, Retail, Logistics and Legal Affairs. The committee met twice in 2023 to provide an update on sustainability programmes and approved the 2023 Sustainability Bonus Targets.
• At the Product level, with a Cross-Functional Business working group and monthly updates on PUMA’s more sustainable product strategy and execution.
• At the Subsidiary level with nominated Sustainability Leads for each PUMA subsidiary (quarterly updates on PUMA Sustainability Strategy and performance, best practice sharing from individual subsidiaries).
• At the Sustainability Experts level, with a corporate sustainability department and a supply chain sustainability department.
• At the Legal and Compliance level, with a Human Rights Officer. In December 2023, PUMA appointed PUMA General Counsel Corporate Governance & Compliance as Human Rights Officer. The Human Rights Officer shall monitor PUMA’s risk management system, risk analysis relating to Human Rights and compliance with Human Rights due diligence regulations.
• PUMA has a Health and Safety Committee that operates in the headquarters and conducts quarterly meeting. This committee regularly reviews existing reports on known health and safety risks, conducts frequent health and safety inspections and exchanges documentation on health issues and risks. The Global Director People & Organisation, who is part of the Health and Safety Committee, informs the Management Board of PUMA SE about relevant health and safety matters at least quarterly.

Sustainability Performance-Related Remuneration

At PUMA, we link performance criteria in the remuneration of all leaders globally with clear and defined sustainability targets. The variable annual performance bonus is based on the achievement of PUMA’s FOREVER. BETTER. Sustainability Strategy targets.

All PUMA leaders globally, from the CEO to the Team Head level, have clearly defined sustainability targets as part of their annual performance bonus. These targets are aligned with PUMA's FOREVER. BETTER. Sustainability Strategy and focus on our 10FOR25 sustainability target areas: Human Rights, Climate Action, Circularity, and Health and Safety. The targets cover 10% of the overall bonus for members of the Management Board and 5% for other leaders globally.

STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH

To ensure that the PUMA Sustainability Strategy covers the most relevant topics, we use a formal materiality analysis process combined with stakeholder dialogue and outreach.

For our updated materiality assessment, we interviewed several non-profit stakeholders including the Global Trade Union Federation IndustriAll, Fair Labor Association, Textile Exchange, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the German Development Organization GIZ.

Our first PUMA stakeholder dialogue dates back to 2003. Since then, we have organised 15 in-person stakeholder meetings and held one virtually. Our stakeholder dialogue includes representation in and contribution to several sustainability initiatives. In 2023, we actively participated in several sustainability initiatives and events, such as conferences by the UNFCCC (Global Stocktake and COP28), ZDHC (Board Meetings), Textile Exchange Annual Conference, Better Work Global Business Forum, OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector, Better Cotton Initiative Annual Conference and the Global Fashion Agenda (Global Conference), to name just a few. Our overall investment in partnerships to accelerate sustainability efforts amounts to over € 1 million. Our next formal PUMA stakeholder dialogue meeting is planned for April 2024.

In 2023, we developed a Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) engagement policy to engage with them reactively and proactively, further details are given in the Due Diligence and Risk Assessment section of this report.

PUMA has placed a large emphasis on industry collaboration and, where possible, supporting existing industry initiatives. Collaboration with our peers is paramount to streamlining the sustainability efforts of our industry. We believe that encouraging the alignment of individual industry organisations, e.g., converging the use of tools and processes, makes the overall system more efficient.

CONFERENCE of the PEOPLE AND Voices of a re:generation

In 2022, PUMA held the Conference of the People, a first-of-its-kind event for PUMA. Industry peers, activists, NGOs, experts, ambassadors, and consumers came together to discuss solutions for some of the fashion industry’s pressing sustainability challenges. With a special focus on Gen-Z, the conference highlighted the need for brands to improve transparency and communication more regarding sustainability.

Following this event, in April 2023 PUMA launched its year-long Voices of a RE:GENERATION initiative, empowering a group of Young Voices to help PUMA identify key areas for improvement and giving them a seat at the table alongside leading stakeholders.

Through various projects, the Voices are educating, engaging and co-creating with PUMA to help improve how PUMA communicates about sustainability in a way that resonates with the next generation, bringing new perspectives and challenging PUMA to think differently. In September 2023, PUMA expanded the reach of the initiative beyond Europe and the USA by adding Indian sustainable fashion advocate Aishwarya Sharma. Aishwarya joined PUMA’s current Voices, the USA-based upcycler Andrew Burgess, Germany-based sustainable and healthy living vlogger Luke Jaque-Rodney and France-based visual artist and creative consultant Jade Roche.

Voices of a RE:GENERATION: Aishwarya Sharma, Andrew Burgess, Jade Roche, Luke Jaque-Rodney (from left to right)

To date, the Voices have met several times with key players at PUMA to discuss the brand’s progress and challenges surrounding its FOREVER. BETTER. Sustainability Strategy and produced PUMA RE:GEN Reports, a podcast series created to engage and better communicate with the younger generation on PUMA’s FOREVER. BETTER. 10FOR25 target areas.

Since then, the Voices have also partnered with PUMA to produce RE:HACKS (a social content series sharing tips with consumers on how to care for and extend the lifespan of clothing and kicks) and participated in the PUMA 2023 sustainability materiality assessment, giving input into what will shape PUMA’s 2030 sustainability action plans.

In October 2023, three of the Voices visited some of PUMA’s manufacturing partners in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Turkey to get their impressions of PUMA’s supply chain and experience the realities, progress and challenges of sustainability at scale on the ground. Their learnings will be shared through their social channels in 2024. Building on these efforts and progress, PUMA will continue the RE:GENERATION initiative into 2024.

Voices of a RE:GENERATION visiting factories in Bangladesh, Turkey and Vietnam

public policy advocacy engagement

PUMA does not lobby as a separate entity. However, as part of our membership in industry federations and expert organisations like the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) or the Policy Hub, our experts provide feedback on policy positions to those organisations and attend meetings with policy makers from time to time. We ensure that our feedback provided is aligned with our Sustainability Strategy and targets, such as limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees. In 2023, PUMA joined the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action (UNFCCC) policy dialogue event in Bangladesh. Membership fees paid by PUMA to the organisations involved in policy outreach are below € 300,000 per year in total.

Organisations engaged in public policy outreach in which PUMA is a member:

• Policy Hub
• World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI)
• Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI)
• Bundesverband der Sportartikelindustrie (BSI)
• Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action (UNFCCC)
• Stiftung Klimawirtschaft