Nike Inc (NKE)

NIKE CR Report Released Detailing Progress and Challenges against
Goals and Public Targets

BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) released its fiscal 2007 to 2009 Corporate
Responsibility (CR) report today, which outlines the next evolution of
its CR strategy from a risk management, philanthropic and compliance
model to a long-term strategy focused on innovation, collaboration,
transparency and advocacy to prepare the company to thrive in a
sustainable economy.

The companyâ??s increased focus on Sustainable Business and Innovation
(SB&I) will be more seamlessly integrated across Nikeâ??s business
strategies, creating a more sustainable approach aimed at providing
greater returns to its business, communities, factory workers, consumers
and the planet.

The report also details progress on Nikeâ??s five-year CR goals and
provides a comprehensive review of its CR efforts over the past three
years.

â??Sustainability is key to Nikeâ??s growth and innovation,â? said Mark
Parker, NIKE, Inc.â??s President and CEO. â??Making our business more
sustainable benefits our consumers who expect products and experiences
with low environmental impact, contract factory workers who will gain
from more sustainable manufacturing and our employees and shareholders
who will be rewarded by a company that is prepared for the future.�

Recognizing the impacts of declining natural resources and the need to
move to a low-carbon economy, Nike also uses the report to share its
vision of reaching a closed-loop business model where the goal is to
achieve zero waste in the supply chain and have products and materials
that can be continuously reused â?? no pre- or post-consumer waste. This
vision is designed to drive innovative and sustainable business
processes and models.

â??The link between sustainability and Nike as a growth company has never
been clearer,â? said Hannah Jones, Vice President, SB&I. â??There are
serious potential impacts of social, environmental and economic shifts
on labor forces, youth sport, supply chains and products. This gives
Nike the opportunity to use our power of innovation and our commitment
to transparency and collaboration to tackle these complex issues.�

The report announces progress against Nikeâ??s five-year targets set in
2007. The company has made sound progress on many fronts, such as
implementing Lean and Human Resource Management training in contract
factories and reducing waste and toxics and increasing its use of
environmentally preferred materials throughout Considered Design
performance products.

The report also details where progress against other goals remains more
challenging, such as managing overtime in contract factories. Nike has
also revised or clarified targets in a few instances due to a better
understanding of the complexities of the issue or a change in strategy.

The CR report outlines some important initiatives for the company
including:

1. Considered Design

Considered Design combines sustainability principles and innovative
performance products for athletes by reducing or eliminating toxics and
waste and increasing the use of environmentally preferred materials.

2. GreenXchange (GX)

GX is a web-based marketplace designed to share intellectual property
which can lead to new sustainability business models and innovation. It
is a system for capturing, sharing and licensing patents that, when used
by someone else, could lead to unlimited innovation in helping solve
current obstacles to sustainability issues. By making private
intellectual property visible and usable, the aim is to accelerate the
development of green innovation.

3. Lean and Human Resource Management (HRM)

Nike has been working with contract factories to train them in the
implementation of specialized Lean manufacturing and HRM. Lean
principles put the decision making closer to the worker through skill
building, teamwork and understanding quality over quantity. HRM builds
the factoryâ??s managerial capacity and helps them value an empowered
workforce. While only one aspect of Nikeâ??s work with contract factories,
it is an important pillar of Nikeâ??s strategy to build a more lean,
green, empowered and equitable supply chain.

4. Sport for Social Change

Nike has furthered its strategy of using sport as a powerful movement
for social change. Sport is undervalued for its capacity to build
networks of social entrepreneurs and community innovators and for its
ability to drive positive social, economic and cultural change. One
powerful example of a program Nike partners with is Grassroot Soccer in
Africa. It is a community program which is directly addressing a dire
social need through raising awareness and education of HIV/AIDS by
enabling young people to make informed decisions, using sport as a
catalyst to engage and communicate to boys and girls.

5. Energy and Climate Change Strategy

In 2009, Nike instigated the formation of new coalition of consumer
companies called Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy
(BICEP), which is advocating for strong U.S. climate and energy
legislation with the aim of creating a level playing field through a
cost on carbon and unlocking innovation that is essential to creating
technology and infrastructure solutions. Nike aims to be ahead of the
curve of mandatory regulation, energy price increases and volatility and
consumer pressure.

In addition, in 2008, Nike launched a footwear energy efficiency program
with five contract manufacturers. Nikeâ??s commitment to collaboration on
this project has shown excellent early results: the contract factoriesâ??
absolute CO₂ footprint was down 6 percent despite a 9 percent
increase in production.

Nikeâ??s corporate responsibility report, available online at nikeresponsibility.com,
provides greater detail on progress against targets and provides a
comprehensive review of the companyâ??s efforts for fiscal years 2007,
2008 and 2009.

About NIKE, Inc.

NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the worldâ??s leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiaries include Cole Haan,
which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags,
accessories and coats; Converse Inc., which designs, markets and
distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Hurley
International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports
and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Umbro Ltd., a
leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand. For more
information, visit www.nikebiz.com.

Source: NIKE, Inc.