E4 Biodiversity and ecosystems

E4 Biodiversity and ecosystems

Impact, risk, and opportunity management

Material biodiversity-related impacts, risks, and opportunities (IRO-1, SBM-3)

Biodiversity and ecosystems are closely connected to other environmental matters. The main direct drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem change are climate change, pollution, land-use change, freshwater-use change, sea-use change, direct exploitation of organisms, and invasive alien species. These drivers are covered in this section, except for climate change covered in the E1 Climate change, pollution covered in the E2 Pollution and water covered in the E3 Water and marine resources sections.

We do not specify whether a biodiversity or ecosystem-related risk is a physical risk or a transition nature risk. Systemic risks linked to natural tipping points, such as large-scale ecosystem collapse or irreversible climate shifts, have not yet been assessed in detail.

Own operations

PUMA’s business model and operations are not directly dependent on biodiversity in the context of its own facilities activities, such as retail or logistics. These facilities are located in urban or industrial settings and do not involve land-use change, resource extraction, or direct interaction with natural ecosystems. As a result, biodiversity-related impacts, risks, and opportunities in these parts of the value chain are minimal, and biodiversity has not been identified as a material topic for PUMA’s own operations.

Upstream value chain

PUMA recognises that biodiversity risks and dependencies may arise upstream, particularly in raw material sourcing and manufacturing processes, which makes biodiversity a material topic for the upstream value chain.

Consultations with affected communities on sustainability assessments of shared biological resources and ecosystems have not been conducted, as is also the case for the materiality assessment. We have yet to assess the impact of specific sites or commodities on these communities and how to avoid negative effects on priority ecosystem services. This will be part of the developments of our nature targets according to SBTN starting in 2026.

Downstream value chain

Textile waste can be harmful to the ecosystems if not disposed of correctly. Regulatory and financial risks associated with Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes such as potential fees per product sold and increased costs linked to textile waste management are already addressed in the E5 Resource use and circular economy section, as they relate more closely to waste regulation and economic impacts.

Risk assessment

Own operations

PUMA conducted a location-specific risk assessment for its own operations. We used an online tool from the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool to map our offices, warehouses, and one industrial site with Natura 2000 sites, UNESCO World Heritage sites and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). Stores were excluded from this assessment, as these are always located in urban areas with no impact on the biodiversity in their vicinity. We identified that nine of our locations are located within one kilometre of a Natura 2000 site or KBA. However, there are no impacts on biodiversity in these areas as the impact of our locations is limited to their spatial boundary.

We also used the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter (BRF) tool to assess biodiversity risks across our sites. Scores for Protected/Conserved Areas ranged from 2.5 to 4.0, with no locations classified as very high risk (≥4.2 on a scale from 1 to 5) for either Protected/Conserved Areas or KBAs.

This confirms our own assessment where we surveyed whether sites are in protected areas as part of our environmental reporting campaign and did not identify any sites in protected or conserved areas. There is one site in South Africa next to a protected area with a rare plant species, Renosterveld fynbos. This office location is fenced off from the protected area, ruling out any impact on these plants.

PUMA’s own operations in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas are limited to offices, stores or warehouses, which have minimal impact on nature. Therefore, no activities negatively affecting biodiversity sensitive areas nor threatened species have been identified. We also did not identify any material negative impacts regarding land degradation, desertification, or soil sealing.

Upstream value chain

Suppliers’ factories risk assessment

PUMA conducted a biodiversity risk assessment with a third-party consultant across its upstream value chain in 2025. This included the analysis of 473 PUMA and 85 stichd factories (Tier 1 and 2) across 35 countries. The assessment was carried out using a two-step methodology: first, a site sensitivity analysis mapped the proximity of each factory to protected areas, KBAs, and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)Red List species, categorising sites based on site sensitivity as high (within five kilometres of a sensitive area), medium (between five to ten kilometres), or low (beyond ten kilometres). In the second step, the WWF BRF was used to evaluate physical and reputational risks at each factory site.

62 PUMA factories and 18 stichd factories were identified as highly sensitive based on proximity. After applying the WWF BRF tool, 27 PUMA factories and 11 stichd factories have been prioritised for further action.

These sites combine high ecological sensitivity with elevated physical or reputational risks and therefore require targeted risk mitigation and engagement. PUMA will prioritise working with core factories to develop their own action plans as a foundation for our upcoming biodiversity transition plan.

Material risk assessment

We conducted a material risk assessment with WWF BRF to evaluate sourcing risks for natural raw materials.

• Cotton: The USA, Australia, and Burkina Faso are medium risk, while Brazil, Vietnam, India, Greece, Bangladesh, Türkiye, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cameroon, and Malaysia are high risk
• Leather: The USA, Argentina, and China are medium risk, while Brazil, Paraguay, and Vietnam are high risk
• Natural rubber: China, Argentina, and Korea are medium risk, while Pakistan, Vietnam, Brazil, Thailand and India are high risk
• Paper and cardboard: China is medium risk
• Man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF): China, Austria, and Australia are medium risk, while Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Pakistan are high risk.

This assessment underscores the need for overall risk mitigation on material sourcing, given the prevalence of medium to high biodiversity risks across PUMA’s key material country of origins.

Strategy

PUMA recognises that its value chain depends on healthy ecosystems for raw materials, water availability, and climate stability. The degradation of these systems, through deforestation, pollution, or land-use change, can disrupt resource flows and increase regulatory and financial risks. We will further define goals and objectives and identify strategies to achieve them in preparation for setting an SBTN-approved nature target.

Transition plan and consideration of biodiversity in strategy (E4-1)

PUMA’s business model relies on a value chain for sourcing key raw materials such as cotton and leather, which are inherently dependent on healthy ecosystems and biodiversity. The company’s strategy integrates biodiversity considerations by prioritising the procurement of certified and recycled materials, supporting regenerative agriculture, and engaging suppliers in cleaner production practices to minimise land use change, water consumption, and pollution. These dependencies and impacts are directly linked to PUMA’s ability to ensure long-term resource availability, manage regulatory risks, and meet evolving stakeholder expectations. By embedding biodiversity risk assessments and traceability requirements into sourcing, PUMA strengthens the resilience of its upstream value chain and aligns its growth objectives with the preservation of ecosystem services. The relation of our impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities to our strategy and business model is outlined in the General information (IRO-1) section.

We have a detailed Climate Transition Plan explained in the E1 Climate change section. We believe transitioning to renewable energy and a low-carbon growth pathway can help address the biodiversity crisis, as biodiversity loss and climate change are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

PUMA’s operations depend on a complex network of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors. Our suppliers are independent third-party entities, unaffiliated with PUMA. Therefore, PUMA has no operational control over our suppliers. Further details are provided in the General basis for preparation (BP-1) section.

Most of PUMA’s dependencies on biodiversity are linked to its upstream value chain and the use of agricultural raw materials. We acknowledge that agriculture can impact biodiversity through soil degradation, water pollution, and habitat conversion. PUMA aims to source certified and recycled materials to help protect biodiversity, supports forest conservation initiatives such as CanopyStyle, and requires suppliers of animal-derived products to fulfil existing industry certification standards on animal welfare, such as Responsible Down Standards (RDS) and Responsible Wool Standards (RWS).

Beyond raw material production, manufacturing processes may impact biodiversity due to environmental pollution from textile dyeing and leather tanning and are reported in the E2 Pollution section.

PUMA aims to safeguard and enhance ecosystem resilience across the full value chain by developing a biodiversity transition plan. This plan will be aligned with the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and SDGs 14 and 15. The approach will focus on avoiding and reducing negative impacts, managing key dependencies and risks, and restoring priority habitats.

In our 2025 biodiversity risk assessment, we evaluated 80 supplier factories using 20 physical risk indicators based on WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter (BRF) guidelines. Transition and systemic risks were not included in this assessment. The key assumptions of business relevance were used in risk-prioritisation, while the time horizon used was the current reporting year. The assessment found that many of these sites are exposed to considerable risks, with most facing high or very high levels in several areas. The most prevalent risks are water availability, forest, productivity, landslides, limited wild flora and fauna availability and wildfire hazard. This assessment did not involve stakeholders such as holders of indigenous and local knowledge.

For material sourcing, we will focus on priority risk, further enhance traceability, and ensure continued alignment with industry programmes. PUMA aims to strengthen partnerships with suppliers and uphold certification standards, including the Forest Stewardship Council and Better Cotton Initiative.

Policies related to biodiversity and ecosystems (E4-2)

The PUMA Management Board is responsible for the approval and implementation of PUMA’s Biodiversity and Forest Protection Policy, Environmental Policy and Animal Welfare Policy. They mainly cover our upstream value chain. PUMA’s policies are publicly available to potentially affected stakeholders, ensuring transparency for all to provide feedback and are subject to continuous improvement based on stakeholder input and evolving scientific knowledge. Our policies are integrated into PUMA’s overall sustainability strategy and business model. Our approach is embedded in our Code of Conduct and Sustainability Handbooks, which are contractually binding for all suppliers and updated an as-needed basis to reflect evolving regulatory requirements. Compliance with the policy is monitored via annual data collection. The effectiveness of our policies is reviewed through reported progress towards our targets.

These policies were adopted to mitigate our material impacts and dependencies as well as physical and transition risks related to biodiversity and ecosystems that were identified as part of our IRO assessment. PUMA conducted stakeholder dialogues that included in biodiversity-related organisations. Both are explained in the General information section.

Our current policies do not address traceability for products, components, and raw materials with significant biodiversity and ecosystem impacts along the value chain; instead, PUMA will add a traceability requirement to its manufacturing agreement with business partners. The policies also do not address sourcing from ecosystems managed to maintain or enhance biodiversity, consider the social impacts of our biodiversity-related activities, or cover sustainable land, ocean, or sea practices. These policies will be updated into an Environmental Policy in 2026, which will address these missing components.

Actions related to biodiversity and ecosystems (E4-3)

Own operations

PUMA has not identified any material impacts on biodiversity-sensitive areas because its operations, limited to offices, stores, and warehouses, have a minimal environmental footprint and do not contribute to land degradation, desertification, soil sealing, or threats to species. Therefore, PUMA does not implement any material actions on biodiversity at its own operated sites.

Upstream value chain

Our commitment to the Fashion Pact and collaboration with organisations like Better Cotton, the Leather Working Group (LWG), and Canopy promote sourcing of certified or recycled material and biodiversity awareness. Local and indigenous knowledge and nature-based solutions have not been part of PUMA’s actions related to biodiversity and ecosystems to date.

Improved agriculture practices

Through our participation in the BCI, we promote better agricultural practices with the BCI’s Soil Management Plan and responsible use of land.

Deforestation-free bovine leather

PUMA joined the call to action launched by the LWG and Textile Exchange, which committed to sourcing all bovine leather for its products from a deforestation-free upstream value chain by 2030 or earlier. We purchase Textile Exchange Impact Partnership Incentives to directly support cattle farmers in Mato Grosso, Brazil. These incentives aim to improve their farming practices to achieve animal welfare certification by 2027 and have their farms third-party verified as deforestation or conversion-free annually. Our support helped empower five cattle farms to work towards achieving the Textile Exchange’s benchmarked standards for animal welfare and zero deforestation.

Land use

We measure the land use impact of raw materials for both PUMA and stichd in order to understand how sourcing raw materials could potentially affect natural habitats and ecosystems. Our findings show that for PUMA, cotton has the highest land use impact at 61.5%, followed by leather at 30.7%, and polyester at 4%. For stichd, the largest land use impact comes from cotton at 88.2%, followed by polyester at 10.3%, and paper packaging at 1%.

Supplier training

We hosted biodiversity training for PUMA’s sustainability teams and 245 participants from high-risk and medium-risk suppliers. The training session covered global biodiversity challenges, international standards, and the impact of business activities on ecosystems.

Metrics and targets (MDR-M, MDR-T, E4-4)

PUMA’s Environmental Policy, Biodiversity and Forest Protection Policy, and Animal Welfare Policy objective is to reduce our impact on biodiversity through various actions and reporting on sourced materials and manufacturing. Stakeholder dialogue and materiality assessments were conducted when developing targets, which support SDGs and business strategy, as explained in the General information section.

PUMA’s biodiversity targets are linked to the material impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities identified in its upstream value chain. Through its materiality assessment and stakeholder consultations, PUMA recognised that sourcing natural fibres like cotton and leather, as well as land use for raw material farming, can contribute to biodiversity loss, deforestation, and ecosystem disruption. In response, PUMA’s biodiversity targets, like sourcing all bovine leather from a deforestation-free upstream value chain and setting an SBTN-approved nature target, are designed to address these specific risks and dependencies. Progress towards biodiversity targets is monitored annually using material consumption data (by weight) and tracking certified and recycled material shares.

The targets were not informed by the 2030 EU Biodiversity Strategy, as they were set before its publication. PUMA has not set contextual targets and therefore has an overall target. Current 2025 and 2030 biodiversity targets are not based on conclusive scientific evidence or location-specific ecological thresholds. These targets were not made in consideration of planetary boundaries, nor in consultation with indigenous communities. These targets were not developed in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). These missing elements will be included in the SBTN-approved nature target development process, which is scheduled for completion by 2030. On mitigation hierarchy, PUMA’s deforestation-free bovine leather commitment addressed avoidance measures. With respect to mitigation hierarchy elements such as minimisation, restoration, and rehabilitation will be addressed in the upcoming SBTN-approved nature target development. Biodiversity offsets have not been utilised and will be considered in the SBTN-approved nature target development process.

¹ The targets are not based on conclusive scientific evidence. They are absolute and voluntary. All targets apply from January 2020 to December 2025.

² Targets apply to all locations of the entities listed under scope.

³ PUMA Group includes all PUMA entities including stichd, Cobra Golf, and PUMA United.

⁴ 2025 data for PUMA, Cobra, and stichd is from 712 core and non-core Tier 1 and Tier 2 factories. Material data includes material consumption (by weight) used in products, labelling, and packaging. Data is primary data collected from January to October 2025 and data for November and December 2025 is estimated.

⁵ Cobra products sourced by PUMA Group Sourcing (PGS). Golf club parts sourced by Cobra PUMA Golf are excluded.

We are committed to supporting our economic sector by developing science-based targets related to biodiversity or ecosystems by 2025. A key action was sponsoring the Biodiversity Landscape Analysis Report in 2022, we consider it as an achieved target. This target relates to the policy objective to collaborate with peers, experts and stakeholders. For 2025, we reached 99.5% certified cotton, 99.9% leather, and 92.5% man-made cellulosic fibres. Our results suggested that while certified materials are widely available, dynamics in material sourcing still prevent us from achieving a full 100% as per our 2025 goal.

¹ All targets are absolute and voluntary. Only the setting of nature target is based on conclusive scientific evidence, namely the SBTN framework. All targets apply from January 2026 to December 2030.

² Targets apply to all locations of the entities listed in scope.

³ Cobra products sourced by PUMA Group Sourcing (PGS). Golf club parts sourced by Cobra PUMA Golf are excluded.

⁴ 2025 data for PUMA, Cobra and stichd is from 712 core and non-core Tier 1 and Tier 2 factories. Material data includes material consumption (by weight) used in products, labelling, and packaging. Data is primary data collected from January to October 2025 and data for November and December 2025 is estimated.

2025 performance serves as a baseline for all Vision 2030 targets; no specific progress was planned for 2025. Whether progress is in line with the planned target will be analysed from 2026 onwards. For bovine leather deforestation-free sources, it is currently defined as the volume of leather sourced from tanneries rated by LWG due to its traceability. However, we acknowledge that this current system does not fully mitigate deforestation risks. The definition of this target will be amended in the future once a more concrete definition is available in the industry.