

Pollution
adidas understands the importance of reducing the environmental impacts caused by our upstream manufacturing activities. We strive for the adoption of responsible water, waste and chemical management practices by our suppliers, by supporting a number of different initiatives described in detail in this chapter.
Impacts, risks and opportunities
Impacts
- Pollution of water can happen either during agricultural or production processes, due to the use of chemicals
- The use of substances of concern in our production can lead to adverse impacts on the environment
Risks
- Stricter regulation
- Increased requirements for traceability and transparency of substances of concern throughout the supply chain
Targets
adidas targets focus on preventing and minimizing water pollution and the use of substances of concern by our Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers.
Key metrics & actions
The actions we take are designed to prevent and minimize pollution, avoid the depletion of natural resources, and further minimize the impacts of our suppliers in the upstream value chain.
Quality of wastewater-related actions
- Bi-annual environmental compliance checks
- Continuous wastewater monitoring and reporting from suppliers
- Guidance and support to suppliers to drive continuous improvement
Chemical input related actions
- Ensuring robust input chemical management
- Monthly data reporting and monitoring, to drive transparency
- Annual onsite verification checks
- Industry engagement to drive collective action
Industry engagement
Policies
We have adopted multiple policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures that anchor our approach to pollution in the management of our business. An overview of these policies can be found in the topical standard of E2.
1 Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC)