Nike steps up sustainability drive

Nike Inc has caught onto the sustainability trend in China in a bid to capture young shoppers' hearts, as demonstrated when it opened a state-of-the-art logistics facility last week.

The sportswear giant officially launched the latest phase of its Nike China Logistics Center in Taicang, a county-level city within Suzhou, Jiangsu province, last Thursday.

"The completion of the CLC's third building marks an important milestone for Nike's development in China. It also demonstrates Nike's great confidence in Taicang's investment climate and China's future economic development," said Angela Dong, vice-president of Nike.

The company said it hopes the move will considerably increase its supply chain capacity. It also demonstrates its corporate social responsibility commitments.

"In China, we have developed tiers of logistics nodes with opportunity and commitment to stay closer to our Chinese customers. Nike's focus on the consumer is relentless," said Keith Lambert, vice-president of Global Logistics for Nike.

The new logistics center places a heavy emphasis on sustainability, adopting a customized design to cut carbon emissions and energy consumption. The facility harnesses natural light, recycles cardboard boxes, uses recyclable plastic packaging and circulates river water instead of air conditioning to cool the factory.

Yang Zhiping, vice-mayor of Suzhou, said Nike's efforts in technological innovation, environmental protection and sustainable development are in line with the city's current development priorities.

Nike's sustainability drive reflects Chinese consumers' growing awareness of environmental concerns and brands' CSR efforts.

More than 90 percent of Chinese consumers now have increased awareness of sustainability issues, and believe individual purchasing decisions will have a positive impact on the environment, according to a 2018 report from SynTao-Sustainability Solutions, an independent consultancy specializing in CSR.

The report said 43 percent of consumers made purchasing decisions based on manufacturers' CSR commitments in 2018, up from 28 percent in 2017.

"It is an inevitable trend that companies will integrate the concept of sustainability into their company strategy as public awareness of sustainable shopping grows," said Lang Hua, a partner at SynTao.

"Companies need to focus on the younger generation's preferences and develop more affordable and environmentally friendly products, as well as making products more convenient for consumers to recycle," she said.

Nike said it holds a similar belief, citing a report by Cone Communications that showed 94 percent of "Generation Z", born between 1996 and 2010, and 87 percent of millennials think companies ought to address social and environmental issues.