Adidas collaborates with Allbirds to realize carbon neutrality
Adidas and Allbirds partner to accelerate the pace of the industry and achieve carbon neutrality
Winner of the World Branding Awards, Adidas and Allbirds have announced a joint project to accelerate solutions to reduce the 700 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually by the footwear industry. In addition to researching renewable raw materials, the partnership aims to innovate manufacturing and supply chain processes to achieve the lowest carbon footprint ever recorded for a performance shoe.
To achieve this unprecedented goal, the sports brand and Allbirds will open the doors to a number of sustainable innovations for each other and open the way for a new industry standard in the fight against climate change.
"Our brands not only want to participate in the sustainability talk, but also want to continue to be catalysts and developers of significant improvements," said James Carnes, VP of Adidas Brand Strategy. “The recent advances our brands have made in the name of sustainable innovation have created the perfect impetus for this partnership to influence industry practices forever.
"There is an urgent need to reduce our global carbon footprint, and this mission is bigger than just Allbirds or Adidas," said Tim Brown, Co-CEO of Allbirds. “Whether we do it or not, this is a race that we all bring together as a planet and that surpasses the daily competition of individual companies. I hope that this partnership will set an example for others if we strive for a more sustainable future without CO2 emissions. "
Everything has a carbon footprint – producing a product releases carbon dioxide (along with other greenhouse gases) that contributes to climate change. In order to create a product with the lowest possible carbon footprint, innovations in the entire supply chain are examined in the collaboration – from the selection of materials and production facilities to transport methods that use renewable energies and fuels. The current carbon footprint of a typical pair of synthetic material running shoes is between 11.3 and 16.7 kg of CO2.
"As we prioritize the planet, we remain committed to improving the athlete's experience," Carnes says. "That means the end result shouldn't compromise on athletes or the planet."
The project is dedicated to developing a sports shoe that meets Adidas' performance standards, which are among the strictest in the industry. The shoe's carbon footprint is analyzed using the Allbirds Life Cycle Assessment Tool and Adidas' own carbon footprint tools, which measure total CO2 emissions.
"We very much hope that this partnership will encourage other people to share their best ideas and research results so that we can work together to fight for a more sustainable life," said Brown. "This is a problem that cannot be solved by a single company."
The End Plastic Waste initiative from Adidas makes an important contribution to the company's commitment to achieving a 30% reduction in its carbon footprint by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 across the business to offset whatever is left over to maintain a 100% climate neutral business.
