According to the latest ranking by Business of Fashion, sports company PUMA took the top spot as the most sustainable brand in the industry, which ranked among the 30 largest companies in the fashion business.
Overall, PUMA scored 49 out of 100 points, well above the industry average of 28. Kering and Levi Strauss followed close behind. PUMA had the best scores for water & chemicals, worker’s rights and transparency while also sharply improving its emissions score compared to last year.
“We welcome the recognition in the Business of Fashion Sustainability Index 2022 and will take our leadership position as an encouragement to take the next step on our sustainability journey,” PUMA CEO Bjørn Gulden commented. “We agree with the conclusions that much remains to be done to bring our industry in line with the Goal of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
As part of its Forever Better sustainability strategy, PUMA announced earlier this year that it had reduced its carbon emissions between 2017 and 2021 from both its own operations (-88%) and its supply chain (-12%), despite strong sales growth in the same period.
PUMA achieved this reduction by purchasing 100% renewable electricity through renewable electricity tariffs and renewable energy attribute certificates, moving the company’s car fleet to electric engines, using more sustainable materials and implementing efficiency improvements at a factory level.
To be transparent about its supply chain, PUMA published its complete list of Tier 1 suppliers and the most critical suppliers in Tier 2 and selected Tier 3 suppliers.
In water & chemicals, PUMA published wastewater tests for its suppliers with wet processing and showed improved compliance with wastewater industry standards such as the ZDHC Wastewater Quality Guideline.
The five weakest performers in the sustainability report were URBN, Skechers, Fila Holdings, Anta and HLA Group — all scoring fewer than 10 points out of 100.
