ESRS 2 General Disclosures

SBM-2 – Interests and views of stakeholders

Our approach to engagement with our stakeholders is reported under ESRS 2 SBM-2. See ESRS 2 – SBM-2 – Interests and views of stakeholders

SBM-3 – Material impacts, risks, and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model

Our people are the key to our company’s success. Their performance, well-being, and personal development have a significant impact on our brand reputation, consumer satisfaction, and, ultimately, our results. In our roadmap to success, we emphasize the focus on our own workforce as a foundational pillar that will guide us in the years to come.

Our goal is to develop a culture that values our employees’ experience, well-being, and performance. To support this aim, we rely on our six values – Courage, Ownership, Innovation, Teamplay, Integrity, and Respect – across our people policies and processes, including how we hire, promote, and evaluate performance. These values are closely tied to our culture and are the essence of our identity. They underscore the behaviors and mindsets we value in our colleagues, represent the attitude we want to see in each other, and help us achieve top performance. These values also build the foundation of our leadership framework called ‘Leadership³_,’ which is built around nine core competencies divided into three key areas: Excel, Empower, and Elevate, which guide leaders in driving performance, building inclusive teams, and fostering innovation.

Our business model is fundamentally driven by people, encompassing skilled and creative individuals. As a result, fostering excellent working conditions and supporting freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are material for us. This includes ensuring secure employment, promoting a healthy work-life balance with flexible and fair working time, enhancing employee engagement and development, creating an inclusive workplace for all employees that leverages everyone’s talents, and providing competitive compensation and benefits. These factors are crucial for attracting and retaining top talent, which in turn guarantees high product quality and the ability to meet customer demands.

Our continued focus on our people can be further explained by our priorities around creating an equal playing field for all, leadership and performance. These pillars seek to focus our efforts on people and culture by:

embedding inclusion and belonging even further into talent processes and our culture in a legally compliant manner;
attracting, developing, and retaining key talent;
developing role-model leaders who empower people;
instilling a mindset of continuous learning;
recognizing and rewarding performance.

The interests, views, and rights of our employees are highly important to us. We engage with them through multiple channels and events to continually adapt our focus on people and roadmap to success.

SBM-3 – Own workforce and material impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs)
Material matter	Material IRO	Classification	Time horizon	Value chain	Description
Secure employment	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Providing a safe working environment for employees contributes to better productivity, well-being (incl. mental and physical health), and financial stability.
Working time	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Providing flexible and fair working time and rules for employees actively supports employee well-being (incl. mental and physical health) and work-life balance.
Adequate wages	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Adequate wages positively impact employees’ financial security and stability, contributing to overall well-being and motivation.
Freedom of association	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Basic human and labor rights positively impact employees’ abilities to protect and enforce their rights and represent their views and interests around working conditions on an institutional level.
Collective bargaining	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Collective bargaining can offer employees the opportunity to negotiate employment conditions at a collective level. Negotiations on a collective level are also possible through representatives elected directly by employees, such as works councils, which can also lead to positive results.
Work-life-balance	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Providing flexible working hours and hybrid working, where job responsibilities allow, helps employees achieve a better balance between their private and professional lives.
Health and safety	Negative Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Negative impacts occur around mental and physical health, impacting an individual’s ability to perform well at work.
Health and safety	Risk	n.a.	Short-term	Own operations	Non-compliance with health and safety regulations or security measures across our operations, risks legal penalties, fatalities, and reputational damage for adidas, particularly when responsibilities are unclear, or awareness is lacking.
Gender equality and equal pay	Negative Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Unfair and unequal treatment of employees leads to financial disadvantages for individuals and negatively impacts career progression and employee engagement.
Training and skills development	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Providing training positively impacts our employees’ engagement, qualifications, professional development, and career progression.
Training and skills development	Negative Impact	Potential	Long-term	Own operations	Lack of training and skills development can result in lower employee engagement and qualifications and hinder career progression.
Training and skills development	Risk	n.a.	Short-term	Own operations	As we rely on a talented and skilled workforce, inadequate training and development may lead to higher staff turnover rates and the loss of key personnel and capabilities, resulting in productivity inefficiencies, disruption of key business activities, suboptimal business performance, and higher costs.
Training and skills development	Opportunity	n.a.	Mid-term	Own operations	adidas relies on the skills and capabilities of its people and leaders to realize its strategic ambitions. If adidas successfully develops an inclusive, and talented workforce that maintains a culture of trust, creativity, and innovation, employee engagement will increase.
Employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities	Negative Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Insufficient employment opportunities and career progress for people with disabilities negatively impact overall employee engagement levels, as employees expect a more inclusive working environment.
Measures against violence and harassment	Negative Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Harassment and violence negatively impact the mental and physical health of all employees. In particular, Retail employees can be exposed to external incidents like criminal activities for example store robberies.
Diversity	Positive Impact	Actual	n.a.	Own operations	Providing an inclusive working environment and fair opportunities for individuals helps employees feel a sense of belonging and engagement.
Diversity	Negative Impact	Potential	Long-term	Own operations	Unconscious and conscious biases in our systems and practices can negatively impact employees’ career development and personal health.
Diversity	Opportunity	n.a.	Mid-term	Own operations	adidas strives to develop people and leaders of all backgrounds with the capability to maintain an inclusive workplace for all employees that is non-exclusionary and is non-discriminatory as well as a culture of trust, diversity of thought, creativity, and innovation. This development can lead to greater employee satisfaction and engagement, as well as innovation, which may enhance adidas’ capacity to execute its strategy and potentially overachieve its financial objectives.
Diversity	Risk	n.a.	Short-term	Own operations	adidas relies on the skills and capabilities of its employees and leaders to achieve its strategic ambitions. If adidas fails to further develop an inclusive workplace for all employees that is non-exclusionary and is non-discriminatory as well as a culture of trust, diversity of thought, creativity, and innovation, this might lead to decreased employee satisfaction and engagement. As a result, adidas would jeopardize its capacity to execute its strategy and achieve its financial objectives.

All employees in adidas’ own workforce that can be materially impacted are included in the scope of our disclosures under ESRS 2.

Types of employees affected by workforce-related material impacts

Employees – all employed by the company:

Corporate: Employees working across a diverse range of functions that are located in corporate offices around the globe. These roles fall under various job family groups, including Brand Management & Communications, Corporate Services, Data Analytics & Data Science, Digital, General Management & Business Development, Legal & Regulatory, Merchandising & Planning, People & Culture, Product Development & Operations, Real Estate & Facilities, Sales, Sourcing, Supply Chain Management, and Technology.
Retail: Employees responsible for adidas retail operations, including the promotion and sale of in-store products and services directly to end-consumers. This group includes both front-line staff with direct customer interaction – such as shop floor personnel, cashiers, and sales associates – as well as back-office roles focused on store administration and management.
Distribution Centers (DCs): These employees include those working in both operational and administrative roles. This encompasses back-office functions such as administration and management, as well as logistics and planning teams responsible for productivity, inventory, quality control, and reporting. Operations teams within the distribution centers manage the receipt, storage, and shipment of products, ensuring efficient flow and accurate documentation throughout the process.
Production: Responsible for setting up, operating, maintaining, and troubleshooting manufacturing production (i.e., machining, processing, assembly, or modifying) equipment for any factories and centers. They help to ensure innovative and cost-efficient production processes with optimal capacity utilization.

Non-employees – external workforce types:

Contingent labor: Individuals who are sourced on a role or project basis. There are two different types of contingent labor:
- Temporary labor: Individuals employed by temporary staffing agencies for the purpose of being assigned to other companies temporarily. Temporary labor workers perform internal adidas roles and are directly supervised and managed by adidas employees.
- Individual suppliers/employed professionals/employed consultants: As experts in their fields, these individuals advise companies within their area of expertise; however, unlike temporary labor workers, they typically work independently while offering guidance and advice on strategic, legal, financial, or other matters.
Services Procurement: In the area of Services Procurement, external service providers are companies that deliver people-based services to a company in an autonomous, liable, and self-reliant way. These include technical consulting companies, specialty services, marketing agencies, and maintenance companies. They are typically retained to perform project-based work under a contractual arrangement often called a Statement of Work (SOW).

Our employees are affected by both positive and negative material impacts to varying degrees due to the nature of their work:

SBM-3 – Material negative impacts – systemic or individual
Material topic		Material negative impact – systemic or individual
Health and safety		Individual – due to incidents in the workplace that could be related to physical violence, accidents in the workplace, or interaction with hazardous materials.
Gender equality and equal pay		Systemic – countries with laws restricting women from employment are more at risk of having unequal pay and lower workforce gender diversity.
Training and skills development		Systemic – due to the availability of training and skill development offerings across countries and functions.
Employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities		Systemic – due to inclusion in terms of hiring and accessibility for disabled persons in the workplace.
Measures against violence and harassment		Individual – due to incidents in the workplace that may be related to physical violence between employees or between non-employees and customers.
Diversity		Systemic – countries with laws limiting rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, women’s employment, or restrictive immigration laws are more at risk of having lower diversity.

The business model of adidas is expected to be impacted by climate change only in the long term, as described in the topical standard ESRS E1 Climate Change. Most of our environmental impacts occur in our upstream value chain. Therefore, our primary efforts to reduce environmental impacts focus on increasing the use of green energy in our upstream value chain, developing new materials, and changing the existing mix toward lower-impact materials. We do not anticipate any restructuring or employment loss as part of our response to climate change. Instead, we see the transition to greener operations as a potential opportunity to create new jobs and upskill our own workforce on environmental topics. See ESRS E1 – Climate Change

We have also identified risks and opportunities that relate to specific groups of people rather than the entire workforce:

SBM-3 – Material impacts on employee groups
Material topic	Corporate/Retail/DC	Non-employees
Secure employment	Job security has a greater positive material impact on corporate employees, but it is less significant for DC and Retail workers due to the seasonality of workforce demand. Employees with non-guaranteed working hours – who are more common in retail, albeit only in certain markets – and temporary workers may be at a higher risk for adverse impacts due to the nature of their employment arrangements.	Demand volatility contributes to circumstances where non-employees may face more unpredictable employment conditions or are subject to short- or fixed-term contracting compared to employees.
Working time	Working time has a more positive impact on corporate employees, who have more flexible working options, whereas Retail and DC employees work on-site. Time tracking is simpler in Retail and DCs as these utilize system check‑ins and check‑outs, while corporate time tracking is trust‑based and completed online in many locations, and varies in line with local regulatory requirements.	The positive impact is lower for non-employees as they are subject to working time tracking and benefits from their direct employer.
Work-life-balance	The actual positive impact on employees, particularly corporate workers who do not work in shifts, stems from the availability of flexible working hours and hybrid work options.	The positive impact is lower for non-employees as they are subject to working time tracking and benefits from their direct employer.
Adequate wages	Differentiation is driven by geography, could also differ by employee groups.	Potentially different impact as non-employees may be subject to conditions offered by their direct employer.
Freedom of association	No differentiation due to common framework.	Less material impact as non-employees are subject to rights from their direct employer.
Collective bargaining	No differentiation due to common framework.	Less material impact as non-employees are subject to rights from their direct employer
Health and safety	Health and safety is a greater risk for DC and Retail employees due to the physical nature of their jobs, which exposes them to potential accidents or hazardous materials. Retail employees working in busy urban areas also have a higher exposure to violence as their workplaces provide open access to customers.	Non-employees benefit from the same on-site health and safety measures as employees.
Gender equality and equal pay	No differentiation within types of employees due to common salary frameworks applicable to these types of employees.	Potentially different impact where non-employees are subject to conditions offered from their direct employer.
Training and skills development	This opportunity is most pronounced for corporate employees, who generally have broader access to digital infrastructure, online training, and in‑person learning within the office environment. In Retail, access to development opportunities has improved through enhanced connectivity to corporate platforms, expanded digital learning options, and new in‑person formats, especially for store management. In DCs we took major steps in 2025 improving technical access and digital learning availability for our DC frontline employees and strengthened DC leadership development across all leadership levels.	Potentially different impact as non-employees are subject to offers for training and skills development from their direct employer.
Employment and inclusion of persons with disabilities	Greater risk for DC and Retail employees due to the physical nature of their jobs and the physical limitations of retail stores and DC warehouses, which make the inclusion of disabled persons more complex.	Greater risk for non-employees in DC and Retail environments due to the physical nature of their jobs and the limitations of the environment.
Measures against violence and harassment	Retail employees face a greater risk due to direct consumer contact, which can impact workplace security. In contrast, corporate and DC employees experience no increased risk, as access to their workplaces is restricted or closed.	Non-employees benefit from the same on-site health and safety measures as employees.
Diversity	Diversity in DC and Retail workers is represented by local ethnicities and diversity demographics, as hiring practices primarily focus on the local and seasonal workforce, and international mobility packages are less common. All DC, Retail and corporate employees benefit from a more positive impact regarding diversity.	Similar to employees.

SBM-3 – Material risks and opportunities arising from impacts relating to specific groups of people
Risks and opportunities of material topic	Corporate/Retail/DC	Underrepresented groups	Employees in crisis/conflict areas
Health and safety	Health and safety is a greater concern for DC and Retail employees due to the physical nature of their jobs and higher exposure to potentially hazardous situations and materials.	n.a.	Potential health and life threats (not work-related) in active military conflict areas and in crisis areas due to natural or environmental disasters.
Training and skills development	More opportunities for corporate employees due to the nature of their work, better access to digital infrastructure and online training programs, and in-person training conducted within the office environment.	Global inclusion and belonging training, together with strong Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), helps create a more inclusive environment and enhances working conditions, particularly for underrepresented groups.	Fewer opportunities to conduct on-site training.
Diversity	Higher risk for DC and Retail employees due to hiring practices that rely more on local workforces.	Risk: Lack of non-exclusionary and non-discriminatory practices can negatively impact the careers and personal health of employees. This may also result in lower representation across different levels, especially across higher-ranking roles. Opportunity: Engage in measures that provide an inclusive environment and fair opportunities for all individuals, helping employees feel a sense of belonging and engagement.	n.a.

Annual Report 2025

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ESRS 2 General Disclosures

SBM-2 – Interests and views of stakeholders

SBM-3 – Material impacts, risks, and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model

Types of employees affected by workforce-related material impacts