Nike's Journey Towards Low-Carbon Corporate Development in the Green Supply Chain

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In February 2021, the State Council of China issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment of a Sound Green, Low-Carbon, and Circular Development Economic System," which emphasized the need to establish a green supply chain and enhance the production system for green, low-carbon, and circular development.

A "green supply chain" involves integrating the principles of environmental protection and resource conservation throughout the entire process of a company's activities, from product design and raw material procurement to production, transportation, storage, sales, usage, and disposal. This ensures a coordinated upstream and downstream supply relationship that harmonizes economic activities with environmental protection.

Nike's Zero Carbon Journey: Supplier Climate Action Plan (SCAP)

Setting Scientific Carbon Targets (SBTi)

Nike's Journey to Zero Carbon: As one of the world's most renowned sportswear brands, Nike is acutely aware of the urgency of climate change and the imperative of sustainable development. The company has set ambitious science-based carbon reduction targets (SBTi) – a 65% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and a 30% reduction in Scope 3 emissions. By 2050, Nike aims to achieve a 90% reduction in emissions across all three scopes.

However, this carbon reduction ambition cannot be realized by Nike alone; it requires collaborative efforts from its upstream and downstream supply chain partners.

Leading the Way as a Supply Chain Leader

In May 2020, Nike launched a new climate action initiative called the Supplier Climate Action Plan (SCAP). This initiative encourages its suppliers to develop comprehensive, company-wide, long-term climate mitigation plans strategically addressing climate change issues. The goal is to mitigate risks associated with energy, extreme weather events, and government policies and regulations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Source:FY21_NIKE-Impact-Report

The Nike Supplier Climate Action Plan (SCAP) mandates that suppliers:

  • Translate this passage to make it sound coherent and in line with how native English speakers would express it:

    "Establishing a greenhouse gas emission inventory - getting a clear picture of our carbon footprint.

  • Setting science-based emission targets for all footwear and apparel activities (including non-Nike) in Scopes 1 and 2 emissions - setting carbon goals.

  • Publicly disclosing climate-related information through CDP - disclosing carbon information.

  • Collaborating with Nike to explore climate-related risks and opportunities in the extended supply chain - identifying new carbon risks.

Building a green supply chain across all channels through chain master influence

Currently, a collaborative group responsible for 65% of Nike's strategic supplier greenhouse gas emissions has committed to participating in the program. Nike plans to expand SCAP to all its strategic suppliers this year, reinforcing overall green supply chain management, while also driving transformation within the footwear and apparel industry, especially in the textile sector. This will accelerate cross-industry low-carbon collaboration, unlocking emissions reduction potential throughout the supply chain.


Technology empowers green supply chain management, providing seamless access and rigorous source control

How should businesses go about green supply chain management?

In addition to formulating a green supply chain management strategy and establishing clear work objectives and measures for implementing green supply chain management, establishing a robust supplier management system is also crucial.

One could argue that a series of climate change mitigation measures such as the Supplier Climate Action Plan (SCAP) and the Collaborative Climate Action Plan represent a powerful combination for Nike to achieve its corporate carbon goals. Therefore, we have reason to believe that technology empowerment will serve as the "boxing gloves" for effectively enhancing the efficiency of green supply chain management and reducing corporate climate risks.

What are the challenges that businesses face when it comes to implementing green supply chain management?

1. Carbon accounting in the supply chain is fundamentally deficient, especially in industries with a wide variety of products, numerous suppliers, lengthy supply chain processes, and extensive scopes. Data gaps are a serious issue, and the level of digital information technology services is low, leading to high data management costs.

2. Unconscious "greenwashing" risks arise due to a lack of compliance certification in the supply chain. Companies in the supply chain lack professional guidance or tools for carbon footprint certification compliance. This results in unconscious "greenwashing" risks, and when establishing carbon neutrality goals, they might fall into the trap of overestimating their efforts, potentially subjecting their businesses to government penalties or public resistance.

3. Carbon emissions reduction and sustainable development hold a lower priority in business development. The imbalance between short-term investments in carbon reduction and the associated returns causes many companies to hesitate in their carbon reduction efforts. Even influential large enterprises can only directly influence first and second-tier suppliers through supplier management, struggling to establish a seamless chain.

Carbon Newture empowers businesses to manage their green supply chains.

In response to the deep demand from our customers for green supply chain management, Carbon Newture provides a green supply chain management platform that offers "one-touch access and strict traceability," enabling businesses to efficiently, effortlessly, and cost-effectively establish green supply chain management platforms and achieve carbon reduction in supply chain management.

The platform empowers the main enterprises in the supply chain to dynamically monitor carbon emissions, manage carbon footprints, and handle carbon asset quotas. It also grants suppliers the ability to manage their own carbon emissions, collecting supplier data to track real-time progress in emissions reduction throughout the supply chain, facilitating data linkage between upstream and downstream components.

Additionally, Carbon Newture can assist customers in accessing external certification from internationally recognized third-party organizations to ensure compliance with carbon footprint certification, mitigating the risk of greenwashing.

Reference:

https://api.goalfore.cn/a/3698.html

https://www.ipe.org.cn/GreenSupplyChain/BrandStoryDetail.aspx?id=81