PUMA.Safe Environmental Handbook Volume 1 - About PUMA

HANDBOOK OF ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS 

2012 

Volume 1-Environmental Management 

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Foreword 

At PUMA, we believe that our position as the creative leader in the Sportlifestyle industry gives us the opportunity 

and the responsibility to contribute to a better world for the generations to come. A better world in our vision — 

the PUMA.Vision — would be safer, more peaceful, and more creative than the world we know today. We believe 

that by staying true to our values, inspiring the passion and talent of our people, working in sustainable, innovative 

ways, and doing our best to be Fair, Honest, Positive, and Creative, we will keep on making the products our 

customers love, and at the same time bring that vision of a better world a little closer every day. 

At PUMA, we aim to bring our trading practices in line with the principles of sustainable development. We strive to 

meet the requirements of the modern day without compromising the possibilities open to future generations. This 

means that we do not just want to provide high-quality products, but it behoves us to ensure that these products 

are manufactured in decent workplaces where human rights are respected and environmentally-friendly conditions 

are maintained. 

PUMA takes on its responsibility for everybody involved in this production process, whether a PUMA employee or 

not. However, this responsibility cannot replace nor substitute the responsibility of our production partners within 

their own manufacturing facilities. Our Code of Conduct expresses the expectations we have of our production 

partners. The three PUMA.Safe Handbooks for Environmental volume 1 and 2, Social and Occupational Health & 

Safety Standards elaborate in detail the practical criteria and steps required to implement this Code. 

These guidelines do not necessarily represent the national laws of countries where products are manufactured. It is 

the responsibility of our production partners to ensure that all minimum legal requirements on labor, health & 

safety, environment and product safety are fully complied with. In these Handbooks, we make clear where our 

standards may exceed local requirements and what we expect specific types of partners to meet. These handbooks 

are subject to continuous and periodic updates, so suggestions and comments to improve these handbooks are 

welcome. 

By following these requirements and recommendations, our partners share our vision for a better world which 

they help make real and palpable for thousands of workers and communities. PUMA takes this partnership of 

shared responsibility seriously. We reserve the right to terminate business relations when a partner disrespects 

and seriously violates the letter and spirit of our Code and policies. 

Reiner Seiz 

Chief Supply Chain Officer 

Dr. Reiner Hengstmann 

Global Director, PUMA.Safe 

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Table of Contents 

Foreword ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 

SECTION ONE ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 

1. PUMA Mission Statement & Environment Policy .................................................................................................. 6 

1.1 Mission Statement.............................................................................................................................................. 6 

1.2 Environmental Policy .......................................................................................................................................... 6 

1.3 PUMA Policy against the Use of exotic Skins, Feathers and Mulesed Wool .......................................................... 8 

1.4 PUMA Policy on the use of Nanotechnology ....................................................................................................... 8 

1.5 Environmental Data Collection and Reporting ..................................................................................................... 8 

SECTION TWO .................................................................................................................................................................. 9 

Sustainability targets .................................................................................................................................................... 9 

2.1Puma Sustainability Scorecard ............................................................................................................................. 9 

2.2 Sustainable Consumption of Environment & Natural Resources........................................................................ 10 

2.3 Reduction and Offsetting of Carbon Emission ................................................................................................... 10 

2.4Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting ........................................................................................... 10 

SECTION THREE .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 

3. Environment Management Systems (EMS) ............................................................................................................. 12 

3.1 Legal Compliance .............................................................................................................................................. 12 

3.2 Plan-Do-Check-Act ............................................................................................................................................ 12 

3.3 Reporting of Environmental KPIs ...................................................................................................................... 13 

3.4 Sustainability Charter for own Entities and Suppliers ........................................................................................ 14 

3.5 Corporate Environment Profit & Loss Accounting ............................................................................................. 14 

SECTION FOUR ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 

4. Environmental Key Performance Indicators ............................................................................................................ 18 

4.1 Energy .............................................................................................................................................................. 18 

4.2 Waste ............................................................................................................................................................... 20 

4.3 Water Consumption ......................................................................................................................................... 29 

4.4 Production Related Environmental Standards /Manufacturing RSL (MRSL) ....................................................... 33 

SECTION FIVE ................................................................................................................................................................. 35 

5. More Sustainable Products and PUMA S-Index ....................................................................................................... 35 

5.1 Accepted Certifications ..................................................................................................................................... 39 

5.2 Product Level E P&L .......................................................................................................................................... 39 

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SECTION SIX ................................................................................................................................................................... 40 

6. Sustainability Apparel Collection (SAC) ................................................................................................................... 40 

6.1 Introduction to SAC .......................................................................................................................................... 40 

Useful Links .................................................................................................................................................................... 42 

APPENDIX ...................................................................................................................................................................... 43 

UN Global Compact Principles .................................................................................................................................... 43 

Sustainability Charters for Offices, Stores Warehouses ............................................................................................... 44 

Sustainability Charter for Suppliers ............................................................................................................................ 47 

Enablon Screenshots (Corporate and Supplier) ........................................................................................................... 47 

Introduction 

The protection of the environment through environmentally friendly production, in accordance with established 

environmental and social standards has become an important topic in every industry, as well as in society in general. 

With a mission statement to become the most desirable and sustainable sportslifestyle company worldwide, and as a 

signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, PUMA SE is committed to setting an example on reducing the impact 

on the environment, both from own entities and within the supply chain, as well as, the product usage and end of life 

phase. The production of environmentally friendly products has thus become an essential part of our general business 

practice. As opposed to the manufacturing industry, where most environmental problems occur in conjunction within 

their own manufacturing process, PUMA SE requires that its worldwide suppliers, who are manufacturing PUMA 

products, fulfil set environmental and social standards. 

PUMA SE is seriously looking into all possible ways that will contribute to the protection and preservation of our 

environment. While continuously optimizing the production process, PUMA SE also sets targets to improve all 

environment footprints and mitigate negative impact to the world ecosystem brought about from the different product 

divisions namely footwear, apparel and accessories. In 2010, PUMA set its first ambitious target on its ecological “paw 

prints.” Besides its own entities, PUMA SE aims to bring down by 25% the CO2 emission, energy and water usage, and 

waste generation per unit produced at our Tier 1 manufacturers by the end of 2015. Along with other targets, like 50% 

of products being made from more sustainable materials, PUMA SE developed the 2015 Sustainability Scorecard as 

shown in Figure 1. In this handbook, PUMA also presents the implementing policies and procedures on how we plan to 

achieve those targets. 

Apart from the 2015 Sustainability Scorecard, the PUMA Eco-table also gives a description of PUMA’s general 

sustainability initiatives on a product level. In addition to this handbook, the PUMA.Safe Handbook of Environmental 

Standards, Volume 2: Chemical Management, outlines the company’s guidelines for the regulation of harmful 

substances in PUMA products that must be followed by all employees and factories that are involved in the production 

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of PUMA products. PUMA SE pursues exclusive contractual relationships with licensees and factories that have agreed 

to comply with the guidelines set out in the PUMA.Safe Handbook of Environmental Standards, Volume 1 and 2 as well 

as the Social and Health and Safety Standards. All PUMA SE factories are contractually bound to pursue only business 

relationships with subcontractors that are in compliance with these set guidelines and directives. 

As a safeguard, harmful chemicals such as AZO-dyestuff, allergenic dyestuff, chromium VI, pentachlorophenol, organotin 

compounds, formaldehyde and heavy metals are no longer being used. These chemicals along with those known to be 

persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic to the environment will be phased out by PUMA in its product and production 

processes. The constant observance of Social, Environmental and Health & Safety standards are and will remain an 

integral part of PUMA SE company policies. To ensure the successful implementation of these standards, PUMA SE has 

produced three official handbooks, the Social Standards Handbook, Occupational Health & Safety Handbook, and this 

Environment Handbook volume 1 and 2 listing the company policies and requirements for all suppliers, manufacturers 

and partners. These handbooks are based on four essential pillars: 

1. All social, environmental and health & safety standards, as well as legal threshold limit values, are to be fully 

observed. PUMA SE will not accept breaches of legal requirements or PUMAs internal standards. The company 

reserves the right to ensure that these standards and values are met by implementing auditing and testing 

procedures. PUMA SE has the right to claim compensation, should the standards and values be overlooked or 

ignored. 

2. PUMA SE demands full observance of internationally recognized human rights and ILO Core Labor Standards, as 

established in the PUMA.Safe Social, Environment and Occupational Health & Safety Handbook. All PUMA SE 

partners and sub-contractors have to ensure a strict adherence and commitment to comply and implement set 

standards. 

3. All materials are to be tested prior to production to ensure the elimination of harmful substances in PUMA 

products. Certified test results have to be submitted to PUMA.Safe on a regular basis. 

4. PUMA.Safe reserves the right to audit its suppliers and their subcontractors to verify compliance with the 

policies and standards set forth in PUMA.Safe Handbook of Social, Environmental v.1 and v.2 and Occupational 

Health & Safety Standards. 

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SECTION ONE 

1. PUMA Mission Statement & Environment Policy 

1.1 Mission Statement 

PUMA’s mission is to be the most desirable and sustainable Sportslifestyle company in the world. 

Sustainable in a way that PUMA puts in consideration the best interest and welfare of the workers who make PUMA 

products, the consumer, the general public who use our products and the environment that provides the resources to 

make our products. PUMA aim to do this while striving to make our business profitable in order to continuously provide 

the best benefits for all of our stakeholders. 

1.2 Environmental Policy 

As part of our Corporate Mission Statement, Sustainability with its three dimensions Humanity, Ecology and Economy is 

enormously important for PUMA and we recognize that the protection of the environment is an ongoing process and 

challenge. In our aim to carry out more sustainable activities we strive to effectively comply with local and international 

environmental legislations, be transparent to our stakeholders regarding the environmental impact, and to continuously 

improve our performance. Our environmental policy applies to all of our branches worldwide and we request our 

suppliers and service providers to adopt the same principles. 

The key points of our policy are: 

• Ensure compliance to all legal regulations both at PUMA and our business partner and setting standards that 

go beyond legal requirements 

Enforcing the highest environmental standards benefits PUMA economically by avoiding the risks associated 

with illegal non-compliance, being prepared in time for any new regulations and by maintaining a frontrunner 

position to generate a positive momentum on environmental issues within the company and our stakeholders. 

• Fully integrate the Environmental Policy into the Corporate Strategy and align with Key Stakeholders 

Sustainability cannot be achieved by an individual department or brand alone, it requires all the individuals and 

stakeholders involved to serve a common goal. 

• Find Win-Win Solutions for both Financial and Environmental Interests 

We are convinced that in the long term our reduction targets on CO2, energy, water and waste, both corporateand 

production-related, will generate financial savings through reducing resources’ consumption. Our efforts, 

combined with a more sustainable product offering, will also help to keep PUMA staff and consumers loyal and 

to generate new consumers while reducing PUMA’s impact on the Environment. 

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• Communicate the Environmental Policy to different levels of PUMA’s Organization and main Stakeholders 

After setting our standards, we aim to effectively communicate its content amongst all persons working for or 

on behalf of PUMA, in order to, raise awareness and enlist support in improving our environmental performance 

within all divisions of PUMA, our business partners and consumers. 

• Strive for Continuous Improvement 

We strive to undertake more sustainable activities and produce more sustainable products of which are 

continuously monitored against set targets. 

We set specific steps to reduce and prevent our environmental impact. The targets we pursue to achieve include the 

following: 

Use energy as efficiently as possible 

Continue to offset the CO2 Emissions from our own offices, warehouses and stores worldwide 

Work towards becoming a paperless company 

Minimize waste, reuse and recycle rather than traditional disposal methods 

Conserve, reuse and recycle water through the promotion of water recycling and rain water harvesting 

Prefer environmentally friendly products and services for own purchasing decisions 

Develop and offer environmentally friendly products to our customers and the consumer 

Minimize packaging and make essential packaging from more sustainable materials 

Meet or exceed all the environmental legislation that governs us 

Track, calculate and reduce the environmental impact generated by our activities 

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1.3 PUMA Policy against the Use of exotic Skins, Feathers and Mulesed Wool 

With this policy we, PUMA SE, declare that we do not source or process raw materials from any endangered species as 

being defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN. 

Our policy also prohibits using leathers, hides and/or skins from animals that have been treated inhumanely. PUMA SE 

does not distinguish here whether these animals are wild or farmed. In addition, PUMA SE, does and will not use any 

animal fur in its products globally. 

In particular the following listed items are not being used; 

• Furs, hides or skins from exotic animals like crocodiles, snakes, sharks or fish 

• Downs and feathers that are plucked from living geese or birds 

• Merino wool from sources where mulesing practices are still applied, regardless of the country of origin 

For further information on endangered species, please see the following links: 

http://www.iucnredlist.org/news/iucn-red-list-site-made-easy-guide 

http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.php 

1.4 PUMA Policy on the use of Nanotechnology 

Following PUMAs commitment to phase out all hazardous substances until 2020 and use the precautionary principle, 

PUMA will not use any nanotechnology applications unless such applications are analyzed and proved to have no 

potential impact on human health and the environment. 

1.5 Environmental Data Collection and Reporting 

In cooperation with our French parent company PPR, PUMA uses the environmental software tool Enablon for regular 

collection of environmental performance data from both own entities as well as main PUMA suppliers. 

By regularly completing web-based questionnaires on the usage of energy, water and paper as well as the creation of 

waste, all PUMA offices, stores and warehouses worldwide are held accountable for their environmental performance. 

This data collection also forms the basis for PUMAs internal management system as well as the data presented in the 

Annual Financial and Sustainability Report. 

Acknowledging the fact that the majority of the environmental impacts of PUMAs overall environmental footprint is 

created in the supply chain, PUMA includes all major Tier 1 and exemplary Tier 3 suppliers into the regular data 

collection process. 

For more information on the data collection procedure, please refer to the PUMA.Safe Handbooks on Enablon data 

collection as well as the Environmental Protocol from PPR. 

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SECTION TWO 

Sustainability targets 

2.1Puma Sustainability Scorecard 

Figure 1: Sustainability Scorecard 2015 (Version 1) 

Puma’s comprehensive and ambitious targets to reduce our environmental impact and become more sustainable can be 

encompassed in the PUMA Sustainability Scorecard above. 

The PUMA Sustainability Scorecard 2015 summarizes our targets at a corporate, supplier and product level. 

Following a holistic approach starting from product design, covering the raw material selection and manufacturing 

processes, the scorecard lists the company targets including product packaging, more sustainable products, as well as 

waste reduction through design for recycling. 

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Leading by example, PUMAs owned and operated entities are obliged to meet the same ambitious reduction targets set 

for suppliers and logistic service providers. 

In addition, corporate environmental accounting is used to quantify the external damage and benefits caused by PUMAs 

business activities. The PUMA Environmental Profit & Loss Account not only puts a price tag on nature’s services, but 

also provides a useful tool to identify where the largest environmental impacts lie and consequently how those can be 

optimized. 

2.2 Sustainable Consumption of Natural Resources 

PUMA encourages own employees and suppliers to efficiently use natural resources like energy, water and materials. 

Therefore, PUMA set its target of reducing the consumption of energy and water by 25% by 2015 from 2011 baseline 

data. Likewise, in order to promote efficient use of materials, PUMA also aimed to reduce its waste generation by 25%. 

These 2015 targets currently apply to PUMA’s strategic Tier 1 suppliers. We also aim to include key fabric mills, leather 

tanneries and other high impact supply chain operations in the coming years. PUMA supports its suppliers in this effort 

through capacity building projects which include the optimization of production operations and Cleaner Production 

Technologies. 

For an example on such capacity building projects, please visit 

http://puma-conserv.org 

2.3 Reduction and Offsetting of Carbon Emission 

Apart from energy, water and waste, PUMA also aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its suppliers by 25% in 2015. 

While energy consumption is directly linked to emission of carbon, PUMA encourages suppliers to tap renewal energy 

sources to curb down carbon footprints. PUMA is an active participant with the Carbon Disclosure Project and has 

been offsetting the carbon footprint (Scope 1 and 2 according to Greenhouse Gas protocol) for its owned and operated 

entities since 2010. 

2.4Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting 

PUMA has been publicly reporting its sustainability performance in accordance with the Guidelines of the Global 

Reporting Initiative since 2004, and to the highest application level of A+ since 2007. Starting from 2010 onwards, 

PUMAs Sustainability and Financial reporting has been merged into one central report. 

Expanding transparent sustainability reporting into the supply chain, PUMA continues to develop its partnership with 

the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) through the Global Action Network for Transparency in the Supply Chain (GANTSCh). 

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Within the course of this project, strategic PUMA suppliers throughout all major PUMA sourcing regions successfully 

complete a GRI Certified training course, received further support from expert consultants and published their own GRI 

Sustainability Reports. 

The GANTSCh project helps to further integrate the concept of sustainability into the supply chain, acts as a 

measurement tool for the overall supplier’s performance and also provides a communication platform to demonstrate 

supplier initiatives and challenges in the field of sustainability. 

For exemplary PUMA Supplier Sustainability Reports please visit: 

https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/reporting-support/support/multinationals/Pages/Puma.aspx 

For the PUMA Annual Financial and Sustainability Report, please visit: 

http://www.puma-annual-report.com/en/ 

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SECTION THREE 

3. Environment Management Systems (EMS) 

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are an important vehicle for improving environmental performance by 

providing various types of organizations with the necessary tools to successfully manage their environmental activities 

and initiatives. 

3.1 Legal Compliance 

Full Legal Compliance forms the basis of every EMS. In most countries, official permits are necessary as proof of 

compliance with legal requirements. For different production processes, different permits may be required, for example 

a discharge permit for dye houses or an air emission permit for factories which operate a large scale boiler or electric 

power generator. Thus it depends on the type and size of production which requirements must be complied with. 

Typically, permits cover air emissions, effluents and legal waste disposal, which apply for both normal and hazardous 

waste. The following permitting documents must be secured by PUMA entities and supplier factories where applicable 

and as required by local laws: 

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) 

• Environment Compliance Certificate (or its exemption) as justified by the EIA 

• Related Permit to Operate a Business following clearance of complying with relevant Environment Protection 

and Pollution regulations. 

• Environment Permit to Operate Wastewater Treatment facilities 

• Environment Permit to Air Emission Sources (e.g. Boilers, Power Generators, Dust Collector, Onsite Incinerator, 

etc.), 

• Environment Permit or Clearance for Transport and Disposal of Solid Waste 

• Environment Permit for Storage, Transport and Disposal of Hazardous Waste 

• Other Environment Permit required by National Environmental Laws 

The PUMA.Safe team expects suppliers to keep up to date with all relevant environmental legislation and act accordingly. 

To ensure that a factory is in compliance with the local legislation and in accordance with the PUMA.Safe standards, an 

inspection of written environmental permits forms part of the PUMA.Safe Audit, which is a precondition for every 

supplier’s production authorization. 

3.2 Plan-Do-Check-Act 

Besides PUMAs own operations, all PUMA suppliers shall implement a sound Environmental Management System to 

ensure legal compliance, effective implementation of an environmental program as well as to achieve continuous 

improvement. In this regard, PUMA encourages suppliers to secure a certified EMS program like ISO 14001 and/or the 

EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme EMAS. 

For more information on the above certified EMS programs: 

http://www.iso.org/iso/iso14000 

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/index_en.htm 

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The implementation of a certified EMS is especially recommended for large suppliers as well as those which are deemed 

to have substantial environment impact such as factory operations involving wet processes or suppliers employing more 

than 1000 employees. 

Basically, an EMS implements a system that is geared to achieve continuous improvement following the PDCA concept: 

Figure 2: Plan Do check Act (from the Vietnam CONSERV project) 

3.3 Reporting of Environmental KPIs 

In order to measure and monitor progress as well as to properly manage its environment footprint, PUMA established 

its Environmental Key Performance Indicators (e-KPIs) in terms of energy, water, CO2 and waste per unit of products, 

square meter of buildings used or per staff full time equivalent (FTE). 

To facilitate a regular data collection, from key suppliers worldwide and to enable monitoring, tracking and publishing 

of the E-KPI performance in its Annual Financial and Sustainability Report, PUMA and its suppliers use the online 

platform Enablon for regular data collection. 

For results of the PUMA E KPI data collection, please refer to the PUMA Annual Financial and Sustainability Report: 

http://www.puma-annual-report.com/en/ 

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3.4 Sustainability Charter for own Entities and Suppliers 

In order to give our offices, stores, warehouses and factories a tool to identify easy improvements in the field of 

environmental protection, the PUMA.Safe team has developed sustainability charters for those sites. 

The site management is encouraged to fill in the charter, thereby indicating which actions have already been taken and 

which are being worked on by displaying a signed charter at the buildings entrance or reception. 

Figure 3: Exemplary Sustainability Charter for Offices 

3.5 Corporate Environment Profit & Loss Accounting 

At PUMA we understand the importance of healthy ecosystems to the future of our business and also recognize that we 

have to be accountable, ethical and responsible to our environment. Towards the end of 2009 we embarked on a 

journey to develop an enterprise and supply chain-wide view of our environmental impacts in monetary terms, so that 

we could take these impacts into account strategically and embed them in our business decision making processes. 

All business operations and supply chains depend on nature for services such as fresh water, clean air, healthy 

biodiversity and productive land. PUMA’s Environmental Profit and Loss Account (E P&L) is the first attempt to measure 

the immense value of these services to a business, and the true costs of a business’s impacts on nature. 

The E P&L measures and values both reductions in ecosystem services and increases in environmental impacts which 

occur as a result of PUMA’s operational and supply chain activities. 

Definition 

An Environmental Profit & Loss Account is a means of placing a monetary value on the environmental impacts along the 

entire supply chain of a given business. 

Profit 

Activities that benefit the environment. 

Loss 

Activities that adversely have an impact on the environment. 

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Environmental impact 

A change in the make-up, functioning, or appearance of the environment. For example, greenhouse gases (GHGs) 

contribute to climate change which is associated with a range of environmental impacts such as reduced crop yields, 

changes in water availability and increases in extreme weather. Waste disposal results in GHG emissions as well as 

environmental impacts from leachate which can affect water courses and local disamenity impacts caused by dust, noise 

and odor. 

By reporting the results of the E P&L we are being transparent about the extent of our environmental impacts. We 

believe this will provide a basis for more meaningful, evidence-based engagement with our stakeholders and enable us 

to demonstrate clearly the impact of our activities to reduce our impacts. 

Ultimately, the E P&L will enable us to make better, more informed business decisions that take account of 

environmental impacts as well as more traditional financial and operational considerations. 

Through placing a monetary value on our environmental impacts we sought answers to several important questions: 

• How can we help our employees, shareholders and our suppliers understand the magnitude and importance of 

our impacts on the environment? 

• How can everyone in the business grasp the significance of the amount of CO2 released, the impacts of land 

conversion required to provide raw materials, or the volume of water consumed and factor this into day to day 

decision making? 

• Relative to one another, which are our most significant environmental impacts? 

• Where in our supply chain should we focus our resources to reduce our environmental impacts? 

• How can we help others understand the challenge of reducing our environmental impacts, and the work we are 

doing to manage them? 

We recognize that we must account for the cost of nature in our day to day business decisions. Most people in the 

business and among our suppliers are not familiar with the language of sustainability and often struggle to put figures 

such as tones of GHG emissions and cubic meters of water into context. 

We chose to convert our environmental impacts into monetary terms to make them digestible and meaningful to a 

much wider audience. In doing so we believe we have shed light on the true scale of our impacts, and enabled simpler 

communication of their implications. 

The results of our corporate E P&L clearly show that the vast majority of environmental impacts are originating in the 

supply chain, and here particularly the raw material stage (please refer to the results figure below). 

While PUMA has also published an E P&L for selected products and aims to release a corporate level E P&L regularly 

going forward, the first results clearly reinforce the need to focus on the raw material stage of the supply chain. As 

indicated in figure 5, Tier 4 or the production of raw materials represent 57% of all calculated costs to the environment, 

while PUMAs own operations (including transport of products from country of manufacture to selling markets) add up to 

only 6% of the total environmental cost calculated. 

For a full report on the PUMA E P&L, please visit 

http://about.puma.com/sustainability/ 

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Figure 4: PUMA Supply Chain taken into account for the E P&L 

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Figure 5: Results of the first PUMA E P&L covering the year 2010 

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SECTION FOUR 

4. Environmental Key Performance Indicators 

4.1 Energy 

4.1.1 Legal Compliance: 

All energy related machinery needs to be in compliance with local legislation. This applies to both a health and safety 

aspect (please refer to the PUMA.Safe Health and Safety Handbook for further details) and an environmental aspect. 

Here particularly large boiler operations, coal burners, etc. need to be registered with the local environmental 

authorities and follow standards on air emissions, safe storage of fuels, etc. 

4.1.2 Targets 

The PUMA Sustainability Scorecards sets a target of 25 % reduction for both energy and CO2 emissions for PUMA direct 

suppliers but also offices, warehouses and stores between 2010 and 2015. 

4.1.3 Carbon footprint and energy efficiency 

During the last years energy costs have risen dramatically. At the same time there is a political, as well as, a social focus 

on the impact of CO2 emissions and climate change. To reduce both energy costs and CO2 emissions, energy efficiency 

programs should be run in every factory, as well as, in larger offices, warehouses and stores. 

A first step towards increasing energy efficiency is to measure and analyze the energy consumption and to consider in 

which areas energy saving measures are feasible. 

Simple measures such as, switching machines off when not in use, or using energy efficient lighting have proven to be 

highly profitable at relatively low or no investment cost. 

Another option is to optimize the heating and cooling of buildings. Typically, air conditioners or heating systems can be 

adjusted in a range to fit the outside temperature (for example 23 instead of 20 degrees Celsius inside at an outside 

temperature of 30 degrees Celsius) rather than just run on maximum power, with a beneficial effect on energy 

consumption. Taking this aspect further, a good insulation of buildings helps to save energy used for heating and cooling. 

Furthermore, waste heat from the production process may be used for heating purposes of the building as well as 

natural ventilation or evaporation cooling effects for energy efficient cooling. 

4.1.4. Best Practice 

A good practice example is the PUMA headquarter PUMA Plaza in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Concrete core 

temperature control is used to efficiently heat and cool the buildings. Three photovoltaic power systems generate 

around 150,000 kWh of electricity per year and thus help save 75 tonnes of CO2 per year while at the same time 

generating considerable financial income as the generated power is sold into the public grid. Besides this, all electricity 

purchased from the public grid runs under a renewable energy tariff, making the whole office Carbon Neutral in terms of 

electricity consumption. Censors, which turn off lights automatically if employees are not at their desks or in stairways, 

were installed to save electricity. Heating required during winter times is generated with a combined heat and power 

plants, party using landfill gas as fuel. 

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Such good practices are, however, not limited to PUMAs Headquarter. Our leading suppliers have started to implement 

similar actions. 

4.1.4.1Milteks, Georgia 

In 2011 Milteks, one of PUMAs key partners in Europe for Teamsport knits, set the benchmark for renewable energy 

usage. An old Water Turbine from 1948 was renovated within one year with a capacity of 876.000 kWh per year to cover 

total energy consumption for their nearby factory. After one year of renovation, the water turbine, river bed recovery 

and cleaning of a 650mt canal and 30mt penstock, the water power was enough to generate electricity for the factory 

with a total capacity of 876,000 kWh per year. The hydro power station went live in 2012, and feeds enough electricity 

into the public grid to offset their entire factory’s electricity consumption. 

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4.1.4.2 Impahla, South AfricaPhoto: Solar power station and William Hughes, Managing Director Impala Clothing. 

Impahla Clothing, PUMAs exclusive garment maker in South Africa producing cotton knit and woven products, has taken 

the lead in powering production processes using solar power. The 30 kWpeak Photovoltaic construction is connected to 

the internal electrical system and provides 25% of required electricity to the production plant without using any 

batteries. The grid-tied system is stable and feeding in the electricity power as needed with a total amount of 48.5 MWh 

per year. The project was co-funded by the ‘Green Energy Efficiency Fund’ by IDC (Industry Development Corporation, 

South Africa). The power plant was launched on 22 May 2012 with the presence of Helen Zille, the premier of the 

Western Cape. 

4.1.4.3 BP Bags, China 

BP Bags, a key bag supplier with now 3 factories in China is a leader in sustainability within the accessories division. They 

have installed solar thermal systems for generating hot water on two of their factories’ dormitory roofs. LED lighting was 

installed in all their offices and energy efficient lighting now lights their production floors. BP bag also invested into 

water cooling curtain systems, which use considerably less energy compared to conventional air conditioning, for 

reducing the indoor temperature during the hot summer months on the production floor. Their latest facility in Hunan, 

north of Guangdong province, was also equipped with an energy efficient air conditioning and lighting system on the 

production floor and a solar thermal system. 

4.2 Waste 


All waste disposal or recycling efforts must meet legal requirements. This includes the usage of officially authorized 

waste and recycling contractors only. Specific standards apply for wastes classified as hazardous waste. Please refer to 

the section on hazardous waste below. 

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Under no no circumstances circumstances should should waste from PUMA suppliers or PUMA entities end up in in illegal landfills, dumped into 

into 

rivers or burned illegally on factory premises or elsewhere. 

4.2.2 Targets 

The PUMA Sustainability Scorecards ecards sets a target of 25% reduction of waste sent to landfill for PUMA direct suppliers 

but also offices, warehouses and stores between 2010 and 2015. 

All waste waste at a certain point of time time was was purchased purchased as a a valuable valuable good or or raw raw material. material. Therefore, Ther it goes without saying 

that waste minimization makes perfect business sense. 

Waste can be classified according to the physical and chemical parameters into in hazardous waste, non-hazardous non waste, 

solid waste, liquid waste but also waste which can be re-used re or recycled cycled or waste which has to be disposed off. 

In accordance with the principles of zero waste or Cradle to Cradle Cradle all waste should be avoided, re-used, re recycled or at 

least used for energy recovery wherever possible. 

4.2.3 Hazardous Waste 

Hazardous waste is special special type of waste that that cannot be disposed of by common means means like like normal normal waste waste as it can or 

could pose substantial or potential threats to public health and/or the environment. Hazardous waste can be in the form 

of gas, liquid or solid. The US EPA defines hazardous hazardous wastes as materials that are known or or tested tested to to exhibit exhibit hazardous 

hazardous 

characteristics such as: 

• Flammable. Flammable or ignitable waste can cause fire under certain conditions and spontaneously 

combustible or have a flash point less than 60 • Reactive. Waste that are unstable under normal condition and can cause explosions, toxic fumes, gases or 

vapour when heated, compressed or mixed with water. Examples are lithium 

• Corrosive. Acid waste with pH less than or equal to 2 and bases with pH greater than or equal to 12.5 that are 

capable of corroding metal containers such as storage tanks, drums and barrels. 

• Toxic. Waste that are containing 

are expected to cause injury or illness to human health or harm to the environment. 

o Flammable or ignitable waste can cause fire under certain conditions and spontaneously 

C. . Examples are waste oil and used solvents. 

. Waste that are unstable under normal condition and can cause explosions, toxic fumes, gases or 

vapour when heated, compressed or mixed with water. Examples are lithium-sulphur sulphur batteries and explosives. explosive 

Acid waste with pH less than or equal to 2 and bases with pH greater than or equal to 12.5 that are 

capable of corroding metal containers such as storage tanks, drums and barrels. An example is battery acid. 

Waste that are containing concentration of certain substances that exceeds regulatory threshold which 

are expected to cause injury or illness to human health or harm to the environment. 

toxic 

corrosive flammable 

reactive 

Factories must comply with ith all International International and National National laws laws related related to Storage, Storage, Handling, Transport Transport and Final Disposal 

of hazardous waste. In many countries, companies companies are are required required to to register register the the type type and quantity quantity of of hazardous hazardous waste 

waste 

that are being generated from their operat operations. ions. Every factory is also required to have trained personnel to handle 

hazardous waste. waste. National National environment authorities authorities also require require a legitimate and duly authorized hazardous waste 

waste 

transporter as well as a legally authorized hazardous waste disposal and treatment facility. PUMA strictly requires all 

suppliers s to comply with these relevant hazardous waste regulations. 

4.2.3 Solid (Non-Hazardous) Waste 

21

The increasing volume of waste during manufacturing processes as well as missing regulations for the treatment and/or 

disposal of the waste in developing countries has to be seen as a significant risk for the future. The occurrence of waste 

cannot be avoided in most of the production phases but the reduction of waste should be considered for all 

manufacturing steps. All parties involved in the production of PUMA products should take measures to encourage the 

options that deliver the best overall environmental outcome. 

Figure 6: Waste Hierarchy 

4.2.3.1 Prevention: 

Waste prevention is closely linked with improving manufacturing methods and influencing consumers to demand 

greener products and less packaging. It is important that before a production process will be planned and finally 

implemented, the generation of waste during this will be taken into account. Possible ways have to be taken into 

account to discuss the avoidance of at least a certain percentage of the waste. 

4.2.3.2 Reuse 

Means any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for 

which they were conceived. Reuse also means using items as many times as possible, which helps to save resources. In 

case there are fewer possibilities for the avoidance of the waste during the production process, opportunities for 

utilization have to be taken into account. Meaning, possibilities for the reuse of remaining production left-over like 

cartons, plastics etc., in a respective and responsible manner. 

22

4.2.3.3 Recycling 

Means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances 

whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material but does not include energy 

recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations. 

4.2.3.4 Energy Recovery 

Energy recovery from waste is the conversion of non-recyclable or reusable waste materials into useable heat, electricity, 

or fuel through a variety of processes, including combustion, gasification, pyrolization, anaerobic digestion, and landfill 

gas (LFG) recovery. This process is often called waste-to-energy (WTE). Waste-to-energy meets the two basic criteria for 

establishing what a renewable energy resource is—its fuel source (waste) is sustainable and indigenous. Waste-toenergy 

facilities recover valuable energy from waste after efforts to “Prevent, Reuse, and Recycle” have been 

implemented. 

4.2.3.5 Landfill & Incineration without energy recovery 

If none of the above possibilities are feasible to use, the only final way for the waste treatment will be the disposal or 

the incineration of the waste. Therefore, it is important to recognize that the disposal of waste to landfills can only be 

seen as a temporary solution because physically it is only a movement of the waste to another place. In case landfills will 

be used for the final disposal of the waste, it has to be sure that these landfills will be safeguarded to avoid any 

migration of harmful substances into the ground. Incineration without energy recovery, on the other hand, is not 

encouraged because it totally destroys the material removing the possibility of recovering its remaining value. 

In any case, all relevant laws and regulations of the applicable country have to be followed and the disposal route of 

waste must be entirely documented by official waste contracts or invoices. Following this procedure is even more 

important for any hazardous waste which may be generated. 

4.2.4 Waste reduction, re-use and recycling examples 

Depending on the type of production there are many existing good practices on how to minimize waste to landfill or 

incineration and focus on material efficiency or re-use and recycling instead: 

4.2.4.1 Reduce: Increase marker efficiency to minimize cutting waste 

Use of automated cutting systems to minimize cutting waste 

Optimized fabric orders to minimize the amount of unused fabric 

4.2.4.2 Reuse: Reuse the unused fabrics for other production 

Reuse of fabric cut-outs for other purposes (smaller items or as filling for 

23

cushioning, etc.) 

Reuse of cones from yarn manufacturer 

Reuse of cardboard boxes for sending out products 

Reuse of wooden pallets 

4.2.4.3 Recycle: Recycling of fabric off-cuts cuts into recycled cotton or recycled polyester 

4.2.5 Benchmarks 

Recycling of cardboard boxes and paper from offices into recycled cardboard/paper 

Usage of organic waste from canteens to generate compost or natural gas 

Recycling of metal parts (old machinery, needles) into new metal usage 

Recycling of plastic foil or bags by manufacturer or specialized recycling company 

4.2.5.1 Reuse, reduce, recycle – Alliance One, Vietnam 

One of the outstanding projects about waste management has been initiated by one of our apparel factories in Vietnam: 

Alliance One. The The RRR principle was launched with a big event event day where workshops were were held and training training offered offered to 

to 

all people responsible for waste sorting in different departments. Every department was made responsible for their own 

waste production/reduction with a dedicated Sustainability team to do random random checks to to monitor monitor if if proper proper handling 

procedures were being followed. In order to continuously create awareness - once a week (Friday) - the green RRR Tshirt 

must be worn by the responsible person in each department. The The whole procedure is described and and noted in in the 

the 

waste management policy policy and the organizational structure structure has been implemented accordingly. 

4.2.5.2 Fabric waste recycling: Valley in El Salvador 

24

Valley, one of PUMAs main suppliers in El Salvador is not only separating separating waste waste into different different categories for disposal by 

service providers, but but they they also look look into into partnerships in order to make new products out out of the waste. Within Within the 

company’s ny’s strategy strategy all all cutting cutting waste waste is is sorted sorted into into cotton and polyester polyester materials and also into into their their respective colors. 

Each color is pressed into bales and shipped to the next stage of production - for cotton, cotton new yarn is created out of the 

material. The polyester yester waste is sent to a carpet maker in order to produce rugs out of it. In this way the 1.5 1 tons of 

cutting waste per month can be used to create new quality products out of it. 

4.2.5.3 Waste Segregation- Awan Sports, Pakistan 

One of our football suppliers in Pakistan iimplemented 

mplemented a detailed and colorful waste management system. Posters are 

easily noticeable around the factory grounds and the bright color bins are easy to differentiate. Each type of materials 

and sorts of waste has been identified and are presented in details in their offices. Waste sorting is part of the new 

employee’s training. 

25

4.2.6 Waste Water 

4.2.6.1 Wastewater Effluent Standards 

Before the final discharge of wastewater into the public sewer system the water has to be controlled according to the 

National laws set forth by the corresponding governments. 

Figure 9: Under no circumstances should wastewater be directly discharged into natural water bodies (including ground 

water) without proper pre-treatment. 

The table on the next page reflects a list of minimum parameters to be controlled by the factories. In case of an onsite 

wastewater treatment plant, the discharge of the treated water has to be controlled according to the parameters 

mentioned below and according to local environmental regulations. The following recommendations for the parameter 

COD tot., the total Chemical Oxygen Demand, and BOD (the Biological Oxygen Demand) should be achieved for waste 

water. These values are to be seen as recommendations only. All factories should follow the national environmental 

regulations for the discharge of wastewater into the public sewer systems. 

26

Figure 7: From “Environmental Standards in the Textile and Shoe Sector” published by the German Federal Environment 

Agency 

27

Figure 8: From “Environmental Standards in the Textile and Shoe Sector” published by the German Federal Environment 

Agency 

28

4.2.6.2 Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) 

In 2011, a group of major apparel and footwear brands and retailers made a shared commitment to help lead the 

industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals (http://www.roadmaptozero.com/index.php) by 2020. PUMA 

and other Participants published the release of a joint roadmap towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals in the 

supply chain. The roadmap is highly ambitious; it is a plan that sets a new standard of environmental performance for 

the global apparel and footwear industry. It includes specific commitments and timelines to realize this shared goal. 

The joint roadmap towards zero discharge can be found here: http://www.roadmaptozero.com/joint-roadmap.php 

The current Joint Roadmap brands have developed The Governance Policies and Procedures: 

http://www.roadmaptozero.com/pdf/3-July-2012_Final_ZDHCGovernance.pdf 

The purpose of this Governance Model is to document and describe the roles, responsibilities, structures, and processes 

that the ZDHC Program will abide by in order to support the ability of the members to work as a group to achieve its 

2020 Joint Roadmap objectives. The Governance Model will support the delivery of the Joint Roadmap by providing dayto-day 

instructions and processes that guide the ZDHC Program. 

For more information, please refer to the PUMA.Safe Environmental Handbook Volume 2 – Chemicals Management and 

to: http://roadmaptozero.com 

4.3 Water Consumption 

Water is a precious natural resource. Despite the fact 

that the earth’s 3% volume of fresh water supply is a 

renewable resource, the supply of clean, fresh water is 

steadily decreasing as the world’s population 

continues to rise. Awareness of the global importance 

of preserving water needs to be strongly 

communicated. Water conservation programs 

including appropriate monitoring management, 

efficiency improvements, accurate measurements and 

constant savings should be implemented at all levels of 

the supply chain. 


All suppliers should have the necessary permits and licenses from their local authorities to extract and discharge water, 

may it be from underground sources, surface water or public supply. 

For more information on waste water discharges legal compliance documents, please consult the Handbook for 

Environmental Standards Volume 2- Chemical Management. 

29

4.3.2Targets 

The PUMA Sustainability Scorecards sets a target of 25% reduction of water usage for PUMA direct suppliers but also 

offices, warehouses and stores between 2010 and 2015. Water re-use and recycling as well as and rain water harvesting 

is highly encouraged and can make an important contribution to the availability of fresh and clean water. 

As for the T1 Suppliers; 25% Reduction of water usage for dye houses of vertically integrated suppliers is targeted. 

4.3.2 Waste water treatment and water efficiency of dyeing mills 

The largest waste stream from most textile mills involved in their washing, bleaching, and dyeing operations is 

wastewater. Textile mill wastewater is often contaminated with process chemicals (dye, salt, bleach, detergent, etc.), oil 

and energy from hot water discharges. (See the Handbook for Environmental Standards Volume 2- Chemical 

Management for more details) As a result, wastewater discharge permit limits, such as BOD (biological oxygen demand), 

COD (chemical oxygen demand), aquatic toxicity, and metals content, are often difficult to meet. Water usage in a 

typical mill can easily top 1.5 Mio m³ per day costing more than $30,000 annually in water and sewer fees. Only 3 % of 

the available water of the world is potable water, which has to be protected wherever possible. 

Spills and cleanup can be a major source of water pollution. Process chemicals are stored, mixed, transported and spilled 

unfortunately in most mills. Seemingly minor spills can have major impacts on wastewater. A spill of 5 pounds of salt will 

contaminate 10,200 m³ of water. If a 50-pound bag of salt bursts during handling, 1.2 Mio m³ of water could be 

contaminated. 

If a liquid product is spilled, dry cleanup, using absorbent clay and sweeping, is a much better and safer solution than 

thinking of washing it down the floor drain. 

Water usage can be reduced in mills by making simple housekeeping changes in addition to process modifications. 

A single hose left running will waste 27,200 m³ of water daily and cost more than $5,000 annually in increased water 

usage. A very simple solution for example is to attach a spring loaded nozzle, costing less than $5, to the hose. 

Leaks may also cause water inefficiencies in mills. Heavy use of salt, acid, and caustic often results in valve and piping 

failure. Replacing steel valves and piping with plastic is a low-cost way to reduce leaks. 

Process changes can make substantial reductions in water and energy use. Water flow through a rinsing process can be 

reduced by 50% if counter current or two-stage rinsing is used. 

4.3.3 Counter current rinsing 

Counter current rinsing is a process where the "dirtiest" fabric contacts the "dirtiest" water first; clean water rinses the 

fabric as it leaves the process. Continuous rinsing processes are usually designed with counter current rinsing. Batch 

processes can be modified to use two-stage or multi-stage rinsing; water used for rinsing the previous bath is used to 

provide initial rinsing of the next batch. This water is then discharged and clean water is used to provide final rinsing. A 

two-stage process like this one may replace three separate rinsing cycles using clean water to achieve the same level of 

cleanliness. There are many opportunities to reuse wastewater in a textile mill. 

For example, final rinse water from dyeing can be used as make-up water for the dye bath. Final rinses from scouring 

and bleaching may be used for makeup water in desizing. Wastewater from many sources may be suitable for washing 

30

process equipment and floors (after sweeping or other dry cleanup). Some mills have reduced operating costs 

substantially by installing water reuse systems. 

Some dye-houses have successfully implemented heat exchangers in their wastewater stream and others realized a 

closed water cycle by filtering and re-using their process water. 

Suggestion for Pollution Prevention for Textile Mills- A Check List - 

• Store dry materials, such as bags of salt or dye drums, off the floor and away from liquids by placing catch pans 

beneath the material. 

• Plug floor drains in material storage areas. 

• Build curbs around storage areas to keep spills in and water out. 

• Remove water supplies from storage areas. 

• Use dry cleanup methods; provide brooms, vacuums, and absorbent. 

• Provide suitable work areas, handling tools, and training to operators so they can avoid creating spills. 

• Provide recipes for each mixtures. 

• Provide measuring equipment, in addition to recipes, to operators. 

• Optimize chemistry; correct temperature can reduce the use of salt and dye. 

• One size does not fit all; use small volume equipment for small production runs. 

• Place spring-loaded nozzles or timers on all water supplies to turn off when not used. 

• Select valve and piping material to minimize corrosion and leaks. 

• Avoid filling process equipment with water from unmetered hoses; place meters on water supplies feeding 

process equipment. 

• Use counter current or multi-stage rinsing to reduce water use. 

• Reuse wastewater from other processes that do not require high quality water. 

• Test incoming water supply for minerals or chemicals that negatively affect the process. 

Figure 11: Example of counter current rinsing in fabric dying process 

31

4.3.4 Benchmarks 

4.3.4.1 Rain water collection for toilet flushing at 

To reduce water expenses, in 2010 PUMA Supplier 

built 4 water storage tanks, 80m 3 4.3.4.1 Rain water collection for toilet flushing at Sao Viet - Vietnam 

PUMA Supplier Sao Viet 

each to collect rain water 

for toilet flushing (Please see the Picture on the right). The 

initiative saves the company money every month and 

therefore, two more rain water holding tanks, 60m under construction now. At a Sao Viet’s 

are also building a rain water collection tank of 40m 

same purpose. 

3 each are 

Sao Viet’s sister company, they 

also building a rain water collection tank of 40m 3 for the 

4.3.4.2 Water recycling: Ningbo Shenzhou, China 

Ningbo Shenzhou is one of PUMAs key 

vertically organized apparel partners in China 

with a total capacity of 13 Mio io pieces per 

month. As water is one of the limited resources 

in China, Shenzhou Ningbo has continuously 

been investing into water recycling since 2005. 

In 2011, the capacity has been increased up to 

15,000 tons of recycled water er every day, which 

originates from the fabric washing process, is treated in the recycling plant and used back in the process to provide 25- 

30% of water consumption in the fabric washing. 

4.3.4.3 Rain water harvesting: Square Fashion, Bangladesh 

In 2009, one of of our our key key partners partners in in Bangladesh Bangladesh has set set up a a rain water collection system with 2 ponds and the total 

capacity of 8,389m³ of water. In 

2010 the system was completed by 

adding a Filtration Unit with a 

capacity of 360m³ per day and treats 

the water in order to use it for the 

production of steam, used for 

ironing and other purposes within 

the manufacturing processes. The 

amount of of rain rain water water usage depends on rain fall density and and the total qty could be increased from 6,711m³ 6,711m³ in in 2010 (24% 

(24% 

of boiler water ater consumption) to to 12,585m³ 12,585m³ in in 2011, which which is is almost 45% 45% of the the total total water consumed consumed by the boiler. The 

The 

total area contains 100,000 sqf on-site site of the factory complex. complex 

32

4.4 Production Related Environmental Standards /Manufacturing RSL (MRSL) 

In line with PUMA’s PUMA’s environmental environmental policy and the PUMA.Vision, production production related related standards standards for for the the protection protection of of the 

environment supplement our Restricted Substances List (RSL) policy and PUMA’s own environmental efforts. This part 

of the manual is also referred to as Manufacturing or (M) RSL which can be consulted in 

in the Handbook for 

Environmental Standards Volume 2- Chemical Management. 

Management 

4.4.1 .1 Soil and ground water protection 

Wastewater, chemicals, oils or other toxic liquid substances represent a risk of contaminating minating the soil and ground water. 

It is important to avoid migration of any of these liquids into the ground (see Figure 12) 12 or the aquatic environment. 

Those hazardous and toxic substances must be stored in a secondary containment. Factories must ensure that storage 

areas and containers are designed and operated to minimize minimi e the risk of any releases. To achieve this safeguard, storage 

areas should be located away from watercourses and sensitive boundaries, as well as avoid being adjacent to areas of 

public use and they should be protected against vandalism. These storage areas areas should be clearly marked, marked 

signed and 

containers should be clearly labelled. All factories are urged to to not not exceed the maximum storage capacity capacity of of their 

their 

storage areas. It is important that containers be regularly inspected. The whole storage area should be built as a 

secondary containment, for for example example by using using special special paint paint to to make make the floor impermeable and building building surrounding 

surrounding 

bund walls. Alternatively, when hen secondary containment installations are not possible, protection trays may be used for 

all containers. It It is the the producer’s obligation to have emergency emergency plans plans ready ready in in the the event of of accidents accidents or cases of 

of 

damaged or leaking containers. 

The storage of open containers, even if empty, in an outside area should be avoided. Otherwise rainwater might mix 

with the the rest rest of of the the chemicals chemicals and and contaminate contaminate the the soil, ground water or adjacent adjacent water-bodies. water 

Any storage must be 

bounded and sealed, as explained above. 

Figure 12: Migration of f toxic toxic substances substances into into the groundwater, prevention through through secondary containment 

33

4.4.2 Oil Contamination 

Minor oil spill and leakage are often the most unnoticed if not ignored in many factories or plants. This usually comes 

from lubricants, fuel oil, etc. Oil contains hazardous and toxic chemicals such as heavy metal lead that can contaminate 

the soil and ground water where drinking water might be extracted, which can pose a direct risk to human health. In 

run-off, like in case of rain, the spilled oil will be carried into the public drainage system and ends up into the surface 

water system like rivers and seas. Oil does not dissolve in water and it can form a very thin film on the water surface 

and therefore a smaller amount of oil can pollute vast area of surface water. Apart from the toxic effect to aquatic 

organisms, the oil film covering the surface of the water prevents natural biochemical process, like photosynthesis, from 

happening and therefore endangers the aquatic ecosystem. 

All factories should make all employees aware of the risks coming from improper handling of oil, oil spills and leakages. 

All oil containers, big or small, should always be provided with secondary containment and prevent oil spill or leakage to 

the ground or drainage at all times. It is even not advisable to allow oil to contaminate the wastewater stream even if it 

will go to wastewater treatment facility because oil is not only difficult to remove from the water but will also affect the 

physical-chemical process of wastewater treatment. 

It is always advisable to contain all oil spill and leakage because even if oil is dirty, many technologies are available to 

reprocess the oil and reuse it either as low grade lubricant or fuel again. 

4.4.3 Air Pollution Control 

All suppliers must be aware of and strictly follow the local regulations pertaining to air pollution. Depending on the type 

and size of operations devices for the prevention of air pollution might be necessary. Typical examples would be: 

• Filters for exhaust systems carrying volatile organic compounds (solvents); 

• Dust filters for exhaust systems from dusty areas, e.g. knitting departments; outsole grinding or buffing in shoe 

factories; 

• Filters for larger burners, i.e. for steam generators or heating systems. 

Regular checks on the quality of discharged air must be performed to ensure that all equipment is working properly. The 

records from these checks should be kept for a minimum of two years. 

34

SECTION FIVE 

5. More Sustainable Products and PUMA S-Index 

The PUMA E P&L revealed that over half (57%) of all environmental impacts are associated with the production of raw 

materials such as leather, rubber or cotton in PUMA’s supply chain. More than ever we have started to identify more 

sustainable materials to be used for our products in order to reduce the extensive environmental impact occurring at 

the level of raw material production and processing. 

In order to promote the usage of more sustainable materials and deliver an added value to both nature and the 

consumers, PUMA has the developed the PUMA Sustainability Index or S-Index. 

More Sustainable PUMA Products will only be awarded with an S-Index Icon from the PUMA Eco-Table (see graph below) 

if they contain 50% or more environmentally or socially preferred materials and in addition are manufactured in a 

supplier with a PUMA.Safe Audit rating of A or B+. Such an audit rating ensures that only very proactive or proactive 

suppliers in terms of social, health & safety and basic environmental standards are used for the manufacturing of S- 

Index approved products. 

Please find below an overview of environmentally or socially preferred materials accepted under the PUMA S-Index: 

S-Index approved Material Footwear Apparel Accessories Packaging 

Cotton and other Natural Materials 

Organic Cotton x x x 

Cotton made in Africa 

Recycled Cotton (min 25% recycled content) x 

Hemp x 

Linen x 

Jute 

Tencel 

Polyester and other Polymers 

Recycled Polyester x x x 

Recycled Polypropylene 

Recycled Nylon 

Recycled TPU x 

x 

x 

35

Bluesign Certified Fabrics x x 

Apinat Bio (100% biodegradable) x x x 

Water Repellent Coatings non PFC based x 

Water based Polyurethan x x 

Biobased Polymers 

Leather 

Leather from Leather Working Group certified 

Tanneries (minimum Bronze Level) x 

Chrome-free Leather x 

Recycled Leather 

Rubber 

Recycled Rubber x 

FSC certified Rubber x 

Latex/Natural Rubber x 

Paper and Cardboard 

Recycled Paper and Cardboard 

FSC Certified Paper and Cardboard x 

Fairtrade 

Fairtrade certified Sportsballs 

Fairtrade certified Cotton x 

Cradle to Cradle 

C2C certified products x x x 

Figure 13: S-Index Approved Materials 

x 

x 

x 

36

Figure 14: The PUMA Eco-Table 

37

5.1 Design for Recycling 

Following PUMAs partnership with the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (EPEA) and Cradle to Cradle® 

inventor Prof. Braungart, PUMA is actively working on Design for Recycling and closing the material loops. 

In this context, PUMA has created an InCycle Collection which can be brought back to PUMA Stores where the products 

are recollected by our global recollection partner I:CO. The collection thereby optimizes products for the technical or 

natural cycle (see figure 14 below). 

Figure 15: Biological and Technical Cycle of Puma 

For more information on Cradle to Cradle® and Design for Recycling please visit the website of the Environmental 

Protection Encouragement Agency: http://epea-hamburg.org 

38

5.2 Accepted Certifications 

In the context of PUMA S- Index approved materials, PUMA accepts the following product level certifications or 

standards from suppliers: 

• Global Organic Textile Standard GOTS (http://www.global-standard.org/) 

• Organic Exchange (http://www.ecocert.com/en/organic-exchange-oe) 

• Recycled Polyester certified by Global Recycle Standard GRS (http://textileexchange.org/content/global-recyclestandard) 

• Cotton made in Africa (http://www.cotton-made-in-africa.com/en/) 

• Blue Sign certificated Fabrics (http://www.bluesign.com/index.php?id=home) 

• Leather Working Group certified Leather (http://www.leatherworkinggroup.com/) 

• FSC Certified Rubber, Paper and Cardboard 

• All Cradle2Cradle certificated Materials (http://www.mbdc.com/detail.aspx?linkid=2&sublink=8) 

• Fairtrade certified cotton or Sportballs (http://www.fairtrade.net/) 

5.6 Product Level E P&L 

Further to the corporate level E P&L as described in Chapter Three, PUMA has used the methodology developed for the 

E P&L, as well as product lifecycle assessment tools, to also quantify the damage to nature on a product level. For this 

study, 19 exemplary PUMA products were selected and the environmental cost for each product was calculated for the 

same 5 impact categories Greenhouse Gases, Water, Waste, Air Emissions and Land Use Change. 

The product level E P&L was further more used to compare and quantify the benefits of more sustainable PUMA 

products against conventional PUMA products. Please find below the results from an exemplary comparison of two 

lifestyle sneakers, the classic PUMA Suede with a leather upper as well as the PUMA InCycle Basket, which was 

developed as PUMAs first fully biodegradable shoe. 

As indicated in figure 16, the overall impact on the environment of the InCycle Basket compared to a traditional PUMA 

Suede is approximately 30% lower for our more sustainable product. The comparison of a fully biodegradable T-Shirt 

made from organic cotton to a conventional PUMA cotton T-Shirt, for example, also resulted in approximately 30% 

lower cost for the InCycle cotton shirt. 

39

Figure 16: Product Level EP&L exemplary results 

SECTION SIX 

6. Sustainability Apparel Collection (SAC) 

6.1 Introduction to SAC 

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition is an industry-wide industry group roup of over 60 leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, 

suppliers, nonprofits, and NGOs working working to to reduce reduce the the environmental and and social social impacts of of apparel apparel and footwear 

footwear 

products around the world. 

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition was founded by a gro group up of sustainability leaders from global apparel and footwear 

companies who recognize recognize that that addressing addressing our industry’s industry’s current social and and environmental environmental challenges challenges are both both a 

business imperative and an opportunity. 

Through multi-stakeholder stakeholder engagement, the Coalition seeks to lead the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability 

built upon upon a a common common approach for measuring and evaluating apparel and and footwear product sustainability performance 

performance 

that will spotlight priorities for action and opportunities for technological te innovation 

PUMA became an active member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition SAC in 2011. The aim of the coalition is to work 

together to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products around the world. PUMA is 

40

actively engaged in several environmental and the social working group within the coalition. Active membership in the 

SAC gives PUMA and the PUMA Suppliers the opportunity to work in collaboration with our industry peers on common 

goals, whether these goals are related to environmentally friendly products and production processes or to improving 

working standards within the supply chain. 

In 2012 the Sustainable Apparel Coalition launched the Higg Index. This index measures the environmental impact for 

Brands, Manufacturing Facilities as well as Products. 

Comprising of three modules for Brands, Manufacturing Facilities and products, the Index can be downloaded for free 

under: 

http://www.apparelcoalition.org/ 

PUMA has tested the HIGG Index for selected apparel products and recommends all key apparel suppliers to 

complete the Facilities module (Self-Assessment Questionnaire) as preparation for future PUMA product scoring as 

well as valuable source of information on sustainability trends and best practices. 

Footwear Index testing will start at the end of 2012. PUMA will inform its footwear supply chain of the further 

proceedings. 

41

Useful Links 

Puma Safe: http://safe.puma.com/us/en/?Supplier Reports 

Global Reporting Initiative: https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx 

BVT Guidance (German Environmental Agency): http://www.bvt.umweltbundesamt.de/ 

Greepeace Detox (ZDHC): http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/water/detox/ 

UN Global Compact: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ 

UNEP Carbon Neutral Network: http://www.unep.org/ 

Sustainable Apparel Coalition: http://www.apparelcoalition.org/ 

Bluesign: http://www.bluesign.com/ 

Leather Working Group: http://www.leatherworkinggroup.com/ 

Textile Exchange: http://textileexchange.org/ 

Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency (Cradle to Cradle): http://epea-hamburg.org/index.php 

42

APPENDIX 

UN Global Compact Principles 

The Ten Principles 

The UN Global Compact's ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anticorruption 

enjoy universal consensus and are derived from: 

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 

• The International Labour Organization's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 

• The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 

• The United Nations Convention Against Corruption 

The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set 

of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption: 

Human Rights 

• Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; 

and 

• Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. 

Labour 

• Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to 

collective bargaining; 

• Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour; 

• Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and 

• Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. 

Environment 

• Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; 

• Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and 

• Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. 

Anti-Corruption 

• Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. 

43

Sustainability Charters for Offices, Stores Warehouses 

Sustainability Charter for PUMA Offices 

In PUMA, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and we have clear goals to 

achieve this. In this office we… 

CO 2 

… Promote environmentally friendly means of 

transportation for employees 

… Switch to a more environmentally friendly car 

fleet 

… Promote local/organic food at the canteen 

… Support the “Meat Free Monday” Campaign 

… Promote conference calls or video 

conferences instead of business trips where 

feasible 

Energy 

… Monitor and analyze consumption quarterly 

… Use efficient lighting in offices 

… Install a main switch to turn off all electronic 

devices 

… Install motion sensors for lights 

… Use cooling and heating wisely 

… Promote use of renewable energies 

… Install appliances with a good energy rating 

… Undertake regular maintenance to ensure all 

devices are working correctly and efficiently 

… Activate energy-efficient mode in all 

computers, printers and copiers 

… Raise sustainability 

awareness amongst staff 

Please contact sustain@puma.com if you have any 

ideas on how to make our offices more sustainable! 

Water 


… Install water saving devices on basin 

faucets/taps 

… Install water-efficient toilets 

… Recover rainwater where feasible 

… Use environmentally friendly cleaning products 

… Water green areas wisely 

Waste 

… Recycle ink cartridges 

… Sort and recycle waste wherever possible 

… Reuse and recycle envelopes and packaging 

… Safely dispose all fluorescent bulbs/batteries 

… Remove disposable tableware from the canteen 

Paper 

… Promote a paperless office policy 

… Use recycled paper or paper from certified 

sources 

44

Sustainability Charter for PUMA Stores 


achieve this. In this store we… 

CO 2 




/truck fleet 




feasible 

Energy 


… Use efficient lighting in stores 


devices 

… Install motion sensors for lights in staff room 











ideas on how to make our stores more sustainable! 

Water 



faucets/taps 




Waste 






Paper 

… Promote a paperless store policy 

… Use recycled paper/cardboard or 

paper/cardboard from certified sources 

… Re-use cardboard boxes 

Customer and Products: 

… Use environmentally friendly and re-usable 

shopping bags 

… Support Bring Me Back Program 

… Highlight products with Eco-label 

45

Sustainability Charter for PUMA Warehouse 


achieve this. In this warehouse we… 

CO 2 




/truck fleet 

… Use more fuel/energy efficient forklifts 

… Promote local/organic food at the canteen 




feasible 

Energy 


… Use efficient lighting in warehouses 


devices 

… Install motion sensors for lights 











ideas on how to make our warehouses more sustainable! 

Water 



faucets/taps 




… Water green areas wisely 

Waste 






Paper 

… Promote a paperless warehouse policy 

… Use sustainable or recycled paper/cardboard 

… Re-usage of cardboard boxes 

46

Sustainability Charter for Suppliers 

Enablon Screenshots (Corporate and Supplier) 

47

PUMA.Safe Environmental Handbook Volume 1 - About PUMA

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