Impact, Risk and Opportunity Management

S1-1 – Policies related to own workforce

Policies related to equal treatment and opportunities for all

As a diverse company where 175 nationalities bring their uniqueness to work each day, we are united by our values of Courage, Ownership, Innovation, Teamplay, Integrity, and Respect. We articulate and implement these values through our policies, which aim to educate our workforce on acting with integrity and non-discrimination to foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

The policies listed above state various commitments related to the inclusion of people from groups at particular risk of vulnerability.

Our Code of Conduct and our Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination policy unequivocally state that adidas does not tolerate any form of discrimination by employees or partners. This expectation is also specified in our Equal Employment Policy, which requires all our employment decisions to be made based on merit, qualifications, competence, and our company’s business needs, covering all decisions involving the employment relationship, such as hiring, training, promoting, transferring, or terminating. This policy ensures that under no circumstances will adidas discriminate against individuals based on their race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, ancestry, disability, or other factors. With our Fair Play hotline, Employee Relations Team, Compliance Team, and Consequence Management policy, we are well equipped to follow up on our commitments to protect all vulnerable groups of employees.

The descriptions below (S1-4 and S1-5) list our commitments related to inclusion or positive action for people from groups at particular risk of vulnerability that we are pursuing outside of a policy.

Policies related to health and safety and measures against violence and harassment

In addition to the above-mentioned policies, adidas has a Health and Safety Policy and Management System in place to ensure that our infrastructure, assets, and operations comply with applicable standards and prevent workplace accidents.

Our Health and Safety Manual and IMS Manual support the Health and Safety Policy and the Integrated Management System Global Policy in the area of the HSEE-Team. The policies represent the company’s highest level of documentation in the area of health and safety.

Human Rights Policy

Objective

This policy defines our commitment to respect human rights and safeguard the environment, along with measures implemented to fulfil our Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) responsibilities.

Scope

This policy applies to all our company’s brands, markets, and functions worldwide. Every adidas leader and employee must follow the company’s policies and comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including those that seek to prevent human rights violations. Our commitment to upholding human rights is active in all adidas locations and applies to the company’s business operations worldwide.

Roles and responsibilities

Executive Board: As outlined in this policy, the responsibility for implementing adidas’ commitments is assumed at both a strategic and an operational level. The adidas Executive Board, overseen by the Supervisory Board, is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the business and ultimately decides on adidas’ approach to and processes for respecting human rights, including allocating resources to support the implementation of this policy.

Chief Human Rights Officer (CHRO): Operationally, the adidas Executive Board has assigned the responsibility for implementing our Human Rights Policy to the General Counsel, who acts as the nominated CHRO. They are supported by our Legal and Compliance function, the specialist work of our Social and Environmental Affairs department, and our Human Resources (HR) function.

Our human rights commitment:

1. adidas is committed to respecting human rights in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). We also draw on guidance from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
2. adidas’ commitment embraces all internationally recognized human rights, including those contained in:

• • the International Bill of Human Rights consisting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and
  • the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. They include freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, and the rights not to be subjected to forced or child labor or discriminated against regarding employment and occupation.

Where there is potential for adverse impacts on vulnerable people or groups, we will also consider other international standards and principles that elaborate on the rights of such individuals or groups, including Indigenous peoples, women, national, ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, children, disabled people, migrant workers and their families, and human rights defenders. Our considerations include, for example, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Our human rights approach

Our commitment to human rights is supported through an ongoing due diligence process to identify, address, evaluate, and communicate the risks of involvement with adverse human rights impacts. Our Human Rights & Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) processes are also aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. We are committed to providing for, or cooperating in, the prevention, mitigation, and remediation of adverse human rights we have caused or contributed to, and will seek to promote or cooperate in the mitigation and remediation of adverse impacts where we are linked to these through our business relationships.

Concerning human rights issues, adidas engages with its workforce both directly and through work councils. Please see S1-2 and S1-3 below for details on how we engage employees and provide open channels for communication and grievances.

As mentioned above, adidas’ human rights policy related to its own workforce includes safeguarding against human trafficking, forced or compulsory labor, and child labor. Further details on how we address these issues, including measures to provide and/or enable remedies for human rights impacts, are found in the chapter on S1-3.

How policies are implemented

When an employee violates a policy, such as our Code of Conduct or Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination Policy, our Consequences Management Policy defines the appropriate response procedure. After a policy violation is reported or made clear, an adidas investigation team thoroughly and promptly investigates all suspected violations. This investigation team, specifically trained to deal with these matters, can include personnel from HR, Legal and Compliance, the implicated employee’s line manager or other leadership from the market or business, and additional internal or external resources if needed. The investigation team cannot include any individual who has conflicts of interest or would otherwise be unable to approach the matter with fairness and independence. In countries with a works council, the works council will participate in the investigation process in accordance with their statutory mandate.

Once the investigation is completed, the investigation team determines the appropriate consequences. HR typically communicates these consequences to the employee and implements them. By following the Consequences Management Policy’s four-step process (outlined below), all parties involved – the employee, the investigation team, and the company as a whole – can trust the resulting consequences are fair, impartial, and consistent.

The four steps of the Consequences Management Policy:

• Determine the nature and severity of the policy violation
• Consider mitigating and aggravating factors
• Review prior similar cases
• Determine appropriate consequences

adidas HR reviews all HR policies at least once a year or when our business needs require us to make ad-hoc policy updates. We define major policy changes as edits that go beyond document structure, rephrasing, or rewording and instead change the complete essence of a policy. Should such changes take place, it is the responsibility of a policy’s owner to communicate those changes in relevant channels, such as email, an internal social media platform or in an HR activation call. Moreover, there should be training provided for the target audience to get them acquainted with the new policy version.

S1-2 – Processes for engaging with own workers and workers’ representatives about impacts

adidas strives to engage all employees within our workforce, and we leverage our employees’ valuable feedback to improve our business and management. Through various communication and engagement methods implemented across our global organization and workforce, we seek diverse perspectives to identify, understand, and address any negative, positive, actual, or potential material impacts. adidas engages directly with its own workforce as well as workers’ representatives. We incorporate our workforce’s perspectives into decision-making and activities seeking to manage material impacts by gathering and integrating employee feedback into our strategic and operational processes. We present insights from various employee surveys to senior leadership and the Board, which inform action plans and shape initiatives to address identified concerns. For example, our employee listening survey outcomes are utilized and influence our strategies aimed at improving employee engagement and retention or feelings of belonging and inclusion.

We also integrate feedback from workers’ representatives and works councils into our management approach and practices. This collaboration ensures that employee concerns are addressed in the negotiation and implementation of company agreements, demonstrating adidas’ commitment to aligning its actions with the interests and needs of its workforce. Additionally, employee perspectives are directly integrated at the highest levels of decision-making through employee and union representatives on adidas’ Supervisory Board. This representation ensures that employee interests are formally considered in strategic decisions. Outcomes of decision-making and how they were influenced by our engagement with the workforce are communicated to employees in a timely manner and on an ongoing basis. The forums and channels we use include global or local town hall meetings, our corporate intranet, company-wide email communication, our internal social media tool, leadership- or direct line manager-led communications, and function-specific communication streams led by functions such as HR or Finance.

General engagement with own workforce

All employees and teams at adidas are free to discuss any matter or material impacts and take steps to address areas of concern through relevant communication channels. We have established the following engagement methods to gain perspectives from employees on issues important to them while fostering an environment of respect. The resources associated with the different engagement activities are not centrally measured.

HR Business Partners (HRBPs):

HRBPs serve as a crucial global and local point of contact for all employees, ensuring open, ongoing, and accessible communication channels across the organization. HRBPs engage directly with employees to understand their perspectives and address any concerns or material impacts they experience. By maintaining this close connection with the workforce, HRBPs provide insights that inform adidas’ decisions and actions, enabling a responsive and supportive work environment. They also play a pivotal role in implementing local actions based on employee feedback gathered through ongoing engagement initiatives and regular interactions. This approach ensures that employee perspectives are integrated into adidas’ overall strategy and management activities, fostering a culture of trust and collaboration.

Participants: All employees (engagement at local level).

Frequency of the engagement: Ongoing.

Most senior role responsible: Executive Board member responsible for HR.

Surveys

Annual employee listening survey (ELS)

The annual ELS is a team-centered survey to gain insights on topics that can be influenced directly by the manager and/or team. The responsibility to take action based on survey results lies with the local line managers. Action guides and available support and training materials are created to plan dedicated, feedback-based actions. The overall outcome of the ELS and subsequent action plan is presented to the Board.

Participants: All employees.

Frequency of the engagement: Annual.

Most senior role responsible: SVP HR Strategy & Excellence.

To assess the effectiveness of our ELS, we review a range of individual action plans created by our managers based on the results. We use this data to see what actions are being taken and develop supporting materials for the most critical and impactful topics. In addition, we conduct regular interviews with HR and other business functions to identify existing gaps in the listening program. For other surveys (e.g., candidate experience and exit surveys) we hold quarterly reviews with the stakeholders involved to evaluate the data and assess if any changes to the questionnaire are needed.

Candidate experience survey:

This survey aims to evaluate the experience of adidas candidates globally. It gathers insights about candidates’ application experiences, such as suggestions to improve our interview process, as well as job offer and contract signing experiences. Global results from the survey are analyzed by the People Insights team and communicated to senior management and Talent Acquisition teams, who use them to design measures for their respective area or market.

Participants: All applicants that had an interview with a recruiter for a job at adidas – whether internal or external.

Frequency of the engagement: Ongoing.

Most senior role responsible: SVP HR Strategy & Excellence.

Exit survey:

Our exit survey helps us understand our employees’ overall experience while working at adidas. These insights include understanding their main reasons for leaving, future plans, and intentions to return, if applicable. The survey results help adidas find ways to retain employees. Quarterly insights from the survey are presented to the HR Senior Leadership Team and local actions are driven by HRBPs in their areas of responsibility.

Participants: Corporate employees only.

Frequency of the engagement: Ongoing; results are reviewed quarterly.

Most senior role responsible: SVP HR Strategy & Excellence.

Meetings

Townhall meetings:

Our town hall meetings, hosted from our German headquarters in Herzogenaurach, provide global business and financial updates as well as opportunities for employee-related topics and announcements. Employees can submit questions to the Board and leadership in person at the meeting or via anonymous online submissions before the event. The Board provides answers during the meeting or later on via written follow-up. All adidas employees are invited to the town hall meetings via their company email address. Employee groups in adidas distribution centers without email addresses are offered a live stream link to attend online. The questions and concerns raised by employees provide insights and inform our decision-making on communication strategies, policy changes, reprioritization initiatives, or the need for leadership action.

Participants: adidas Executive Board and the entire global adidas workforce, excluding externals.

Frequency of the engagement: Quarterly.

Most senor role responsible: CEO.

Employee resource groups (ERGs):

ERGs are voluntary employee-led global and local networks that give employees of various backgrounds and perspectives a community of belonging and togetherness. We have over 30 ERGs worldwide, along with diversity ambassador teams that focus on diversity dimensions such as ethnicity, gender, women in tech, LGBTQIA+, experienced generation, faith, disability and caregivers at work. The DEI Team supports and collaborates with ERGs to ensure they are sustainable and to understand the sentiment and feedback of diverse communities. The team receives this feedback through quarterly touchpoints, global activations, and market lead conversations. This input is then used to influence future DEI activations and initiatives. For example, the LGBTQIA+ Equity project directly resulted from the 2023 Pride activations to ensure fair rewards to all employees.

The Global ERG Coordinator also hosts quarterly ERG calls, which are regular check-ins to talk about upcoming events, new learning and development needs, and global activation events during the year. These include International Women’s History Month in March, Pride in June, and the Global Week of Inclusion in October.

Participants: All employees; participation is voluntary.

Frequency of the engagement: Ongoing.

Most senior role responsible: SVP Global DEI.

To assess the effectiveness of our ERGs, qualitative feedback is provided through ERG engagements. We also review the framework every year to ensure it is relevant and effective. In addition, we plan to introduce KPIs to reflect the number of active ERG members and the number of events held by ERGs.

Engagement with workers representatives and works councils

adidas has works councils at local, country, and European levels that maintain regular contact with the employees in their area of responsibility. Employee concerns are passed on via the works councils and influence the organization’s decisions and activities. For instance, in Germany, there are various meetings set up with works councils, such as all-employee meetings and the annual conference of the works councils.

adidas has also established organizational structures to engage, work with, and be kept informed by the works councils. The legal interface between the company and works councils is the Labor Relations team. It advises and consults on all aspects of co-determination rights and the negotiation, conclusion, amendments, and termination of company agreements. The team also helps to improve the working processes and relationships with all works councils.

In Germany, the Herzogenaurach Site HR Lead is responsible for mediating between the Labor Director (part of the Executive Board) and the works councils, representing business perspectives and ensuring that approaches are consistent for specific locations. They also consult and support HR in large- and medium-scale reorganizations. Both are mandated to build a trustful and stable relationship with the works councils, lead and oversee negotiations of company agreements, and provide management if needed. Processes and procedures, in line with German statutory regulations, are in place for regular consultations with the works councils. adidas also has specific company agreements that are aligned and signed by the works councils.

In most adidas locations outside Germany, the local HR Leads are in charge of the employee topics per country and legal entity. adidas has local management structures in place according to the specific local statutory requirements.

Responsibility for engagement with own employees through workers representatives:

In Germany, adidas’ most senior roles with operational responsibility for employee engagement and ensuring that results inform our strategy are the Labor Director (member of the Executive Board), the Herzogenaurach Site HR Lead, and the Head of Labor Relations.

In the other locations, workers’ representation is locally structured. The most senior role of the responsibilities differs depending on the size of the location in terms of employee count.

Responsibility for direct inclusion of employee representatives in management bodies:

• Supervisory Board: Employee, Works Council, and union representatives are part of our Supervisory Board.
• Executive Board: The Labor Director, as part of our Executive Board, representing employees and their needs, as well as our Executive Board member for Global HR, People and Culture.

Engagement on diversity, equal opportunities, and inclusion

Diversity dimensions survey:

Under the operational responsibility of the SVP DEI, the diversity dimensions survey was first conducted in July 2022 and repeated in February 2023. It comprised five questions on the four diversity dimensions of gender, race and ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, and abilities. The survey was made available to corporate, Retail, and DC employees. The results and insights were shared with the Board, HR Senior Leadership Team (HRSLT), and Managing Directors of each market. The results were used to inform the DEI Strategy. The answers revealed a slight increase in the number of employees who felt uncomfortable disclosing their abilities or LGBTQIA+ dimensions. In response, the DEI team focused on these topics with the ERGs to build a better sense of belonging and create safe spaces for all employees. Future DEI surveys will be led at a market level to reinforce compliance with local laws and regulations.

Engagement with vulnerable groups

adidas also recognizes there are people in its own workforce who may be particularly vulnerable to impacts and/or marginalization and has developed focused engagement with these groups. While gender is the main diversity dimension that we track on a global level, we support underrepresented groups based on race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, people with disabilities, age and caregivers through focused engagements on local levels.

S1-3 – Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for own workers to raise concerns

adidas is committed to providing for or cooperating with efforts to remediate negative impacts our own workforce may face. We provide various channels for our employees to raise concerns.

General approach for providing or contributing to remedy:

We leverage various tools to resolve negative impacts on our workforce, such as concerns of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. These tools include coaching, mediation, intervention, and investigation. Globally, all HRBPs receive training on using the tools. It is the Employee Relations and/or relevant HRBP’s responsibility to ensure the situation is remediated using the most appropriate conflict resolution tool.

We use the Case Management System (CMS) to record relevant documentation for each case. Tracking individual cases allows us to identify trends and take a proactive approach. The CMS was introduced in December 2023 and in 2024 we started gathering data to further enhance reporting and insights.

CMS investigation process:

• Intake:
  • Notification of the allegation from the reporter
  • Development of an investigation plan to set the scope and the process of the investigation
  • Intake interview with the reporter to gather relevant information
• Investigation
• Outcome: The investigation report includes a conclusion as to whether the allegation has been confirmed or not, along with a clear recommendation for measures. These measures are then implemented by the business area.
• Documentation
• Aftercare: Reach out to the reporter (if required) and/or witnesses and confirm the resolution of the investigation. Factors such as the case, concerns, actions, and legal framework determine how much information on measures taken is shared with the reporter.

In addition, as mentioned above in the S1-2 part, our approach to remedy negative impacts includes extensive collaboration with ERGs and works councils. It includes holding meetings with works councils and ERGs to ensure we address employee concerns.

In Germany, employee complaint cases brought to the knowledge of the Central Works Council are picked up through the Herzogenaurach Site HR Lead or respective HRBP for further processing. For specific topics, such as performance appraisal escalation processes, company agreements detail the conflict resolution process and procedures. Another example is off-campus working, for which we have a hardship case regulation and escalation process defined in our company agreement.

We strive to continuously improve these processes by reviewing our policies and procedures and updating the Employee Relations SharePoint regularly; this also includes incorporating feedback from employees and parties who are negatively impacted.

Channels for own workforce to raise concerns

adidas has established various channels through which its own workforce can raise concerns. We encourage employees to report concerns through any channel that is comfortable for them. The channels available to all employees, regardless of their position or location, for all material impacts are:

• Line Manager – established by adidas itself
• HR Business Partner – established by adidas itself
• Employee Relations team – established by adidas itself
• Works Council – established where legally required
• Fair Play hotline – external third-party vendor allowing anonymous reporting
• Fair Play web form – external third-party vendor allowing anonymous reporting
• Compliance team – established by adidas itself

These reporting channels are made known to the employees during onboarding and are accessible on the company SharePoint and our corporate website.

In addition, in our stores and DCs, posters with the relevant Fair Play phone numbers are displayed for all employees.

Fair Play hotline and web form:

The most formal way to raise a concern is through the Fair Play hotline or web form. They are provided by a third-party service provider who communicates directly with the reporter. They allow employees to raise concerns under their own name, anonymously, or semi-anonymously (their name is known to the service provider but not adidas). All concerns relating to harassment, discrimination, and retaliation are reviewed by the Employee Relations team to determine the most appropriate form of remediation. Within 48 hours of receiving the concern, Employee Relations contacts the reporter to schedule an intake call. During this call, the concerns are discussed with the reporter and the appropriate form of conflict resolution is agreed upon, such as an investigation.

The case manager determines how much information to share with the reporter, depending on the case, concerns, actions, and legal framework. At a minimum, they share the following information:

• HR conducted a thorough investigation.
• adidas is committed to resolving workplace concerns.
• Consequences have been recommended (most investigations produce recommendations, which may include formal disciplinary action, e.g., a coaching conversation).
• adidas does not tolerate retaliation and the reporter should reconnect with the HRBPs if they believe they are being retaliated against.
• Contact details, where applicable, for the Employee Assistance Program for additional support.

adidas assesses the effectiveness of the Fair Play hotline and web form through usage metrics such as frequency of use, types of reports, and resolution times. We also gauge its accessibility and awareness, e.g. by promoting our SharePoint and Fair Play. In 2026, we aim to implement surveys to seek feedback, conduct audits, and set and review KPIs to better assess and improve this grievance mechanism. Each year, adidas publishes statistics on Fair Play to help ensure our workforce is aware of and trusts these processes as a way to raise concerns and have them addressed. It also gives employees confidence that if they speak up, it will always be taken seriously and followed up with action. adidas is currently discussing whether to include questions about speaking up in its annual Employee Listening Survey.

We also have a non-retaliation policy to protect individuals who raise concerns from retaliation. Our Fair Play Code of Conduct clearly states that any adidas employee who reports a reasonable suspicion of an actual or potential policy violation is protected against any form of retaliation, regardless of whether their suspicion turns out to be valid. Conversely, any employee who retaliates or attempts to retaliate against a fellow employee who has reported or intends to report a suspected violation, including by pressuring or threatening them not to report, may face disciplinary action. Any employee found to have made a report with malicious intent may also be subject to discipline.

S1-4 – Taking action on material impacts and approaches to managing material risks and opportunities related to own workforce

adidas has numerous ongoing efforts and invests significant resources into managing material impacts, risks, and opportunities related to our workforce. We aim to provide secure employment and above-average working conditions, giving every individual an equal opportunity to develop, maximize their leadership potential, and achieve the highest levels of performance. Below is a list of our ongoing management approaches and measures, which apply on a global basis unless otherwise stated and are described in more detail throughout this S1-4 part. They include the following:

• adidas supports secure employment with a low percentage of temporary workers, prioritizing internal opportunities for employees affected by organizational changes.
• For parental leave, our flexible re-entry programs and unpaid bonding leave allow new parents to take up to six months off. In cases of termination, fair notice periods ensure consistent and equitable treatment across the company.
• adidas promotes employee engagement with flexible work options, including part-time and full-time contracts, remote work up to 40%, and ten days annually to work from elsewhere. Additional leave options support life events like marriage, caregiving, and moving, in alignment with local laws.
• Our compensation programs are designed to ensure all employees are paid within a competitive range and receive adequate wages for the roles they perform. They are gender agnostic and otherwise unbiased, factors that have a positive indirect impact on gender pay equity at adidas.
• adidas offers a variety of training and skill development programs, combining digital platforms like LinkedIn Learning and Udemy with informal initiatives such as mentoring and networking through the adidas Virtual Café. Leadership development is a key focus, with tailored experiences for all management levels. Programs like the Global High-Potential Program and adidas 360° foster leadership growth and succession planning. adidas Functional Academies also organize learning days to support career development, aiming to build leadership and functional skills, cross-cultural exposure, and strengthen succession pipelines across the organization.
• We aim to maintain an open and constructive dialogue with all adidas employees and their representatives, respecting their right to join organizations for representation. These organizations may engage in collective bargaining if recognized. For more details on the matter, please see the passage ‘Freedom of association and collective bargaining’ below. One way we support social dialogue is through our membership in the German Federal Association of the Footwear and Leather Goods Industry (HDS/L). As an employer association, the HDS/L is responsible for all collective bargaining and social and educational affairs in the shoe and leather goods industry. The HDS/L represents its members with works councils, trade unions, social security institutions, and the labor administration. Through integration in the state and federal associations of the German Employers’ Associations, the federation is also supported in its legal competence.
• adidas is committed to fostering diversity and inclusion of persons with disabilities through various initiatives. The Leading with Inclusion Program, part of our DEI strategy, focuses on developing inclusive leadership at all levels of our company. Further programs like ‘ElevateHer’ support the advancement of women in leadership. Additionally, we celebrate ‘cultural moments’ during the year to promote diversity across our company globally.

adidas has taken the following actions to prevent or mitigate material negative impacts (health and safety, gender equality and equal pay for equal work, training and skills development, employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities, measures against violence and harassment in the workplace, and diversity) and/or risks for its business arising from its impacts and dependencies on its own workforce (health and safety, diversity, training and skills development), and to provide or enable a remedy in relation to an actual material impact (health and safety, gender equality and equal pay for equal work, measures against violence and harassment in the workplace, and employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities). All actions are ongoing.

Improving health and safety culture in the workplace

We believe physical, mental, and social well-being are equally important and form the cornerstone of sustainable performance. Through this holistic view, we aim to provide optimal conditions for our employees that ensure their well-being, health, and safety. Focusing on prevention, education, and support, our comprehensive and inclusive portfolio caters to the diverse needs of our employees.

To prevent the risks of work-related injuries, adidas carries out risk assessments for all locations (offices, DC´s, own retail stores) at least every 2 years or in the event of changes or after an occupational accident. Risk assessments on the building and machinery are also conducted before the opening of a corporate location.

• Health and safety trainings are regularly conducted. They cover topics such as compliance with safe work practices, knowing responsibilities regarding workplace safety, and being able to identify hazards present in the workplace. There are also trainings on how to respond to an incident or safety concern and ensuring employees know where to locate resources.
• Regarding the remediation of existing actual health and safety impacts, all occurring corporate and retail accidents are investigated, and findings are shared globally with relevant stakeholders to prevent their recurrence. This approach leads to improved practices and risk mitigation in our workplaces. In the case of work-related accidents, adidas follows the local regulatory requirements and market practices regarding any insurance, which may include workers’ compensation covering work-related injuries, sicknesses, medical insurance, or any other employee benefits.
• In 2024, we put focus on mental health and prevention and thus extended our well-being offerings. Highlights include psychosocial risk assessment combined with a comprehensive program to implement improvement measures in affected areas. Furthermore, a mental health compass for both employees and leaders has been launched as one-stop-shop for all topics concerning mental health. Our aim is to strengthen individual mental health knowledge and awareness of leaders to better care for themselves and their teams. The rich portfolio includes carefully curated content and resources for self-care, team-care and the duty of care. An all-year program with selected talks, workshops, courses etc. for various employee groups complements the preventive approach.
• To support a healthy lifestyle and mental well-being, our employees have access to a wide range of sports activities, events, and facilities. We have corporate gyms at many locations worldwide. Many of our office buildings have lockers and showers, allowing employees to include sports in their working day or cycle to work. To meet employee needs in a hybrid work set-up, programs are both local and virtual to support teamwork and a healthy lifestyle. Offerings include hybrid sports classes, medical and psychosocial consultations (in-person and virtual), tools for digital disconnection, and carefully curated sessions on life topics.
• Employee benefits include monetary and non-monetary programs that supplement wages or salaries on a discretionary or non-discretionary basis and are based on benchmarks. Programs can be offered globally, regionally, or locally and can be statutory or supplemental. Employee benefits may consist of medical, disability, accident, or life insurance. They also include initiatives to support physical, mental, and social well-being (i.e., employee assistance programs) in line with our rewards strategy to attract, retain, and motivate individuals through remuneration and benefits that are inclusive, fit for purpose, and competitive in the marketplace based on external developments. These measures enable us to achieve our strategic objectives.

Pay equality analysis addressing gender equality and equal pay

In 2021, adidas conducted a gender pay gap analysis as a pilot in seven major locations to ensure equal pay within similar roles. The analysis focused on comparing total direct compensation for employees in clusters of similar positions (job codes). Where we identified significant pay gaps between male and female employees, adidas evaluated whether differences could be justified based on factors such as recent entry into the position, qualifications, or potential. In the vast majority of investigated cases, the differences could be justified. In the remaining cases, we implemented immediate adjustments. This proactive step highlights adidas’ commitment to addressing pay disparities and fostering gender equality in its workforce. In addition to pay adjustments, adidas tracks women in leadership targets globally and has launched a sponsorship program aimed at closing the gender gap at senior levels, further reinforcing its efforts to promote gender equality.

Employee learning, training and skills development

adidas nurtures high-performing and high-potential employees through its Global High Potential (GHIPO) program. This initiative is designed to identify and develop future global leaders capable of taking on more complex responsibilities at higher leadership levels. Through continuous investment in the growth and development of GHIPO participants, adidas strengthens its leadership succession pipelines across global, regional, local, and functional levels. This investment in talent development helps employees enhance their performance and career growth, leading to increased loyalty and retention.

To avoid skill gaps that could negatively impact business performance, adidas offers a wide range of functional learning programs in key areas such as brand, digital, analytics, and commercials. These programs ensure that employees are prepared to perform in their roles and adapt to the constantly evolving market landscape. Learning offers are reviewed and updated regularly. In addition, learning teams respond to emerging external trends and create relevant offers to address the learning needs of the employees. To ensure this, the learning teams work together with external and internal experts. This focus on continuous learning supports the company’s commitment to employee development and business sustainability.

Our global performance development approach, called #MYBEST, remains a key enabler of our high-performance culture. In 2024, we focused on enhancing our quality performance conversations, enabling our people to set clear performance expectations, engage in continuous feedback, and provide holistic, fact-based, and inclusive assessments.

Measures against violence and harassment in the workplace

adidas leverages various tools to resolve negative impacts on its workforce relating to violence, harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. These tools include coaching, mediation, intervention, and investigation. Globally, all HR Business Partners (HRBPs) are trained in using these tools on an annual basis. The Employee Relations team and/or relevant HRBP are responsible for ensuring that any potential situation is remediated using the most appropriate conflict resolution tool (see S1-3 part for more details).

Employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities and diversity

adidas actively works to prevent discrimination in the workplace, as no employee should face discrimination based on their gender, socio-economic background, beliefs, or any other personal characteristics. To this end, adidas has developed and plans to implement education and capacity building activities in this area over the next two years. As part of the DEI strategy released in October 2022, the DEI team launched the Leading with Inclusion Program to build inclusive leadership competencies starting at the top of our organization.

• In 2024, adidas prioritized its executives (S level), with over 160 executives successfully completing the Inclusion for Transformation workshops.
• In 2024, additionally, over 300 leaders of our middle management (M1 and M2 level) have also participated in and completed the Managing Inclusion workshops.
• adidas also provided self-service options in 2024 to ensure all employees are aware of DEI basics through the availability of various learning resources and tools.

Our DEI Executive Council, comprising a diverse group including all members of the Executive Board and leaders from each market, continued its work in 2024 to increase accountability for global DEI initiatives, address emerging DEI issues impacting our brand, and drive the execution of our DEI strategy. Within their individual functions and markets, Council members have committed to providing solutions to DEI challenges and identifying and removing cross-functional and market barriers. In 2024, the DEI Executive Council invited employees of all backgrounds to provide feedback to senior leadership.

adidas has identified the risks of not addressing diversity, which include losing competitiveness in the job market. A new Disability Hiring project headed by Talent & DEI will address these risks. It will allow us to evaluate options, collect and monitor disability related diversity data globally and locally to understand representation, increase disabled representation in a legally compliant manner, and ensure workspaces are inclusive to disabled employees. We consider external benchmarks and developments when setting targets and defining the relevant measures. In addition to complying with local legislation, this project will help create a greater sense of belonging among employees.

Actions with the primary purpose of delivering positive impacts for adidas’ own workforce (secure employment, working time, adequate wages, freedom of association and collective bargaining, work-life balance, training and skills development, and diversity) and pursuing material opportunities for adidas regarding our own workforce (training and skills development and diversity) include the following:

Secure employment

• In the case of organizational changes, business transformations, or reorganizations, we aim to secure jobs for our impacted employees by offering them other internal opportunities aligned with their existing or transferable skills. We prioritize employees at risk based on restructures when it comes to internal hiring decisions; this is the case globally, but specifically in Germany, where it is done in partnership with the German Works Council.
• For family-related leave and re-entry, we have programs to provide employees with options for their return to work. For more information, please see the ‘Working time and work-life balance’ section below.
• Protection in case of termination: adidas agrees upon termination notice periods for both the employer and the employee in the respective employment contract. These may refer to statutory notice periods or alternative periods chosen by the employer in a standardized manner that ensures equality.

Working time and work-life balance

adidas offers flexible working concepts, leadership competence related to work-life integration, and family-oriented services, which improve employee engagement by supporting their unique needs and promoting working efficiency.

• We offer part-time and full-time contracts; working hour changes are handled in line with local legislation and laws.
• We also provide flexibility in working locations, part of our Remote Working Concept and Working from Elsewhere Policy. The Remote Working Concept provides corporate employees with the possibility to work from home 40% of the time and manage their daily working hours. The Working from Elsewhere Policy gives corporate employees the possibility to work from anywhere outside of their office location for ten days a year.
• Along with annual-, maternity, paternity, and parental leave, we provide various additional time off options (excluding sick leave), such as time for moving house, marriage, sabbaticals, and leave to take care of close relatives and family members. These vary by country in line with local needs and legislation.
• For parental leave and re-entry, we have programs in place to provide employees with advice early on and options for their return to work, taking into consideration flexible working hours and work locations. In Germany, employees on parental leave are guaranteed their original positions, which are only filled temporarily. In the US, in addition to regular parental leave for new parents (up to ten weeks at home at 70% of their salary), adidas offers an extra two weeks of paid parental leave. Furthermore, our special parental bonding allows parents to stay home for up to six months within the first 12 months after their child’s birth or placement. While unpaid, it offers parents the opportunity to stay home longer to take care of their new arrival and adjust to their new lifestyle. Latin America provides an extended parental leave approach across its market, giving mothers 24 paid weeks to spend with their children, while fathers and partners receive 20 paid days. In addition, mothers can work fewer hours for one month immediately before and after their maternity leave period.

Employee learning and development offerings

We offer a wide range of learning and development opportunities, including online learning resources and interactive learning that facilitate employees’ personal and professional growth. We provide various digital learning and development opportunities on platforms such as LinkedIn Learning, Udemy and DataCamp. They offer equitable access to learning content and allow employees to upskill or reskill based on their needs.

Our extended learning and development offerings are both formal and informal. Our informal learning is supported by networking platforms where employees can connect with each other across the organization. Our informal training is available through our adidas mentoring program and the adidas virtual café, enabling employees to connect with others with similar interests and development goals. When participating in our informal learning offerings, over 90% of employees said it made them feel more connected to the people and culture at adidas and would recommend the program to others.

adidas knows that to continue being successful as a company, we need to help our employees develop essential skills and leadership behaviors. We aim to inspire and nurture talented and diverse leaders who exemplify our culture and leadership skills. We offer various ongoing formal learning initiatives to elevate and enhance our leadership pipeline:

• Leadership development experiences: Interactive learning sessions designed for every level of management across all markets and functions. They include our People Leader Experience (PLE), Manager Development Experience (MDE), Director Development Experience (DDE), and Executive Development Experience (EDE).
• adidas Functional Academies: The Functional Academies organize regular learning days (quarterly or yearly) for respective employees to focus on their career development.
• Global High Potential (GHIPO) Program: The GHIPO program gives us the opportunity to identify and develop global leaders who are ready to step up their leadership responsibilities. It aims to strengthen the participants’ business acumen skills, build peer relationships, and provide cross-functional and cross-cultural exposure.
• adidas 360°: After a successful pilot in 2022 and a final introduction in 2023, we continued adidas 360° as a leadership development tool in 2024. It involves soliciting feedback from multiple sources, including managers, direct reports, and other stakeholders, to gauge how senior leadership’s behavior is perceived. It provides valuable and critical feedback, driving both professional and organizational growth.

Compensation

Our Global HR Rewards Compensation Programs (particularly our salary determination and review process) are designed to ensure all employees are paid within a competitive range and receive an adequate wage for the role they perform. This approach is gender agnostic and otherwise unbiased and has a positive indirect impact on gender equity for pay at adidas. Our compensation management approach comprises various elements that help ensure the following:

• All employees are assigned a job role using a global job architecture based on their job profile, ensuring we can compare jobs on a like-for-like basis.
• A salary range is assigned to each job role, this salary range is calibrated using external market data.
• The compensation of employees is based on their assignment to a job role and the associated salary range, independent of gender or any other diversity criteria.
• Upon hiring employees or in cases of position changes, such as through lateral moves, promotions, or demotions, individual salaries will be based on the ranges assigned to the job roles. This encompasses the employees’ relevant experience for the role they are performing.
• These determinators are also applied during salary reviews, which are typically conducted annually.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining

We are committed to an open and constructive dialogue with all people employed by adidas and, where applicable, with their representatives. Our employees are free to join organizations of their choice that represent them consistent with local organizing laws. These organizations may, if recognized as the appropriate agent, engage in collective bargaining according to applicable law. Employees who act as representatives are neither disadvantaged nor favored in any way. In locations where employees have decided not to appoint representatives, we promote direct and open communication between employees and management.

Promoting diversity and inclusion

adidas is committed to fostering a culture of equity, inclusion, and belonging to ensure we continually attract, develop, and retain top talents and athletes from our diverse markets. Through structured initiatives such as targeted leadership programs, recruiting efforts, and employee-led groups, we create equal opportunities for all employees to thrive.

Promotion of women in leadership

‘ElevateHer’ is a one-year accelerated journey to develop and advocate for the advancement of talented and high-potential women. It offers sponsorship relationships, exposure and connection opportunities, and practical learnings to amplify skillsets and confidence. We launched the program in October 2024 across all seven of our markets. Each of the 82 participants was paired with a senior leader sponsor who provides mentorship, opens doors to new opportunities, and advocates for their growth within our organization. The program will track the participants’ retention and development rates (both vertical and horizontal) compared to the rest of the organization.

Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

We continued supporting and expanding our ERGs throughout the company by developing a new ERG framework and operating model. It provides governance, oversight, recognition, and upskilling for our ERG members. ERGs are employee-led networks that give employees with differing backgrounds and perspectives communities of belonging and togetherness. We have over 30 ERGs worldwide, as well as diversity ambassador teams focused on diversity dimensions such as ethnicity, gender, LGBTQIA+, experienced generation, faith, disability, and mental health. Participation in these groups is voluntary and inclusive to all employees.

Cultural moments

Since 2022, our DEI team has been committed to carrying out three ‘cultural moments’ globally in addition to any relevant local moments. Each cultural moment includes an ‘Inform’ session to provide updates on progress and new initiatives, an ‘Inspire’ session with a panel talk and videos, and an ‘Educate’ session that shares new DEI training and workouts. All details on activations can be found on the dedicated internal SharePoint and are available to all employees. Each year, we carry out the following activations:

• March: International Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day involves a full month of activations.
• June: Pride is a month with global activations.
• October: Global Week of Inclusion started in 2020.
• Local moments vary by market and include Lunar New Year, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Black History Month (in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and US), International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, Juneteenth, Latin Afro-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women’s Day, Amsterdam Pride, Hispanic Heritage Month, World Mental Health Day, Race Day, Transgender Day of Remembrance, and International Day of People with Disabilities.

In addition, we acknowledge other cultural moments on an ad-hoc basis through the Advancing DEI Together channel on our internal social media tool.

Processes through which adidas identifies what action is needed

We regularly review key HR KPIs to guide our strategic actions. These indicators – including recruitment experience, engagement, women in leadership, and participation in DEI training – are assessed by senior management, who determine any necessary actions based on performance trends. For instance, when the representation of women in our leadership was not developing as intended, we introduced a sponsorship program and pulse checks to gather additional insights. Similarly, when our employee learning hours were not meeting expectations, we revamped our 2024 learning offerings to improve processes, communications, and user journeys, which reduced the drop-off rate.

In 2024, we redesigned the corporate employee listening survey to prioritize manager-driven, team-level actions over global themes. Each manager received supporting materials, learning recommendations, and suggested actions alongside their team’s survey results to drive meaningful improvements within their teams. Many of them have created personalized action plans, reflecting a diverse range of topics and indicating a shift away from a one-size-fits-all approach. In 2025, we plan to conduct additional surveys for broader, centrally driven topics. For retail and distribution center (DC) environments, we apply a mixed approach of manager-led and centrally driven actions, managed by local market teams. In Germany, consultation with works councils is integrated into our decision-making processes, helping identify and shape required actions.

Additionally, learning opportunities are aligned with adidas’ strategic objectives and cultural mindset, as identified through learning needs assessments conducted by academies and senior business stakeholders. We also use employee surveys to capture relevant insights. Every year, we conduct interviews and present a summary of findings to senior stakeholders to prioritize additions to our learning portfolio for the year.

Our standardized enterprise-wide risk management procedures further support our decision-making by assessing risks and opportunities semi-annually. The reviews examine the severity and likelihood of potential issues, such as health and safety, diversity, training and skills development, gender equality, inclusion of persons with disabilities, and anti-discrimination measures. If our current actions are deemed insufficient, we develop additional measures to mitigate elevated risks. The results of these reviews are shared with the senior management team during the management review, ensuring our strategic direction responds to emerging needs and challenges and informs the materiality analysis for the Sustainability Statement.

Tracking the effectiveness of the actions

To ensure continuous improvement and accountability at adidas, we regularly review key HR KPIs such as employment type (temporary vs. permanent), employee fluctuations, full-time vs. part-time work ratios, and others. Senior management assesses these metrics regularly, supported by further specific analyses in targeted areas:

• Learning and development impact: adidas’s effort of measuring the impact of learning programs is based on the so-called Kirkpatrick Model. Not all learning initiatives will be measured using the four levels of the model; most of them will be measured at level 1 and 2. Only in some specific instances (especially in some of our functional academies) the impact will be measured up to level 4.
• For reference this model’s four levels of learning evaluation are as follow:
  1 – reaction (degree to which participants find the training favorable, engaging, and relevant to their jobs),
  2 – learning (degree to which participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, attitude, confidence, and commitment based on their participation in the training),
  3 – behavior (degree to which participants apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job), and
  4 – results (degree to which targeted outcomes occur as a result of the training and the support to business results). Evaluation levels are chosen based on factors like skills gaps and strategic relevance.
• Employee engagement: Our annual employee listening survey, launched in May 2024, achieved a record 87% participation rate, up 13 percentage points from 2023. Covering a wide range of employment topics, the survey results demonstrated a positive trend in engagement, particularly in corporate settings. Managers received tailored insights to drive team-specific actions, and global HR teams are using these findings to refine employee-facing programs.
• Total compensation management and gender equity: We track the impact of our compensation management approach, especially salary reviews, through management reports. They monitor employee positioning within salary ranges, budget allocations, and, if applicable, investments needed for pay equity, while including an annual gender pay snapshot. In Germany, we work closely with the Central Works Council to analyze overall pay positioning. We also conducted a comprehensive equal pay review in 2024 to monitor gender pay equity.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): adidas uses HR and DEI management reports to track DEI progress monthly. This data provides insights into the achievement of DEI targets and identifies any emerging issues, such as shifts in female senior leadership representation
• Measures against violence and harassment: To uphold a safe and inclusive workplace, discrimination and harassment cases are followed up with impacted individuals and tracked. This tracking enables a proactive analysis to help us identify trends and areas for improvement.
• Employee health and safety: All workplace accidents in both corporate and retail settings are reported immediately, thoroughly investigated and the findings are shared with relevant stakeholders.
• Freedom of association and collective bargaining: As adidas already complies with all related laws and regulations, no further actions and tracking of effectiveness are planned.

Through these systematic reviews and proactive measures, adidas reinforces a commitment to transparency, data-driven decision-making, and progress toward organizational goals.

How adidas ensures that its own practices do not cause or contribute to material negative impacts on its own workforce

Data use

The Global Privacy Management Policy states our privacy ambition: adidas is committed to complying with all relevant privacy laws and regulations and will actively work to identify and close privacy gaps.

The following internationally recognized privacy principles are part of our Global Privacy Framework and shall be applied in the light of applicable local privacy law and regulations:

• Accountability: The Global Privacy Framework ensures alignment between business strategy and privacy principles and records how we implement the Executive Board’s privacy commitment.
• Lawfulness and fairness: We are committed to lawful, fair, and transparent processing that ensures individual rights can be effectively exercised.
• Purpose specification and limitation: We will ensure our data collection and use is limited to appropriate and defined purposes.
• Data minimization: Personal information we collect will be limited to meet the purpose of the collection and we will consider pseudonymization if and where appropriate.
• Use and disclosure: We will establish a culture and practice of respecting privacy in the way we use and share personal information, both within adidas and with third parties.
• Security: We will implement appropriate technical and organizational safeguards to assure the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of personal information we store and process.
• Data management: Our data management capabilities will ensure adequate data quality, avoid excessive data retention, and enable privacy principles from a technical perspective.

Any activity that could or does involve the processing of personal information must complete a Privacy Impact Assessment to identify significant privacy risks in high-risk processing activities, define measures to mitigate these risks, identify further privacy requirements imposed by local laws or regulations, and convert risk mitigating measures and further requirements or opportunities into comprehensive implementation criteria to be signed-off and implemented by the Privacy Action Owner. The Global Privacy Officer is responsible for taking action in the event of a privacy breach.

Resources allocated to the management of material impacts

adidas invests significant time and resources into addressing material impact, risks, and opportunities in its global workforce. These efforts include having dedicated teams distributed across HRBP functions to actively manage material issues in the workforce.