Sportswear brand Nike has announced a new sustainability initiative, Move to Zero, over fears about how climate change will impact sports. It is based on research, carried out in the partnership with The Climate Impact Lab, which suggests that many sports could be threatening by increasing global temperatures. Move to Zero incorporates a number of previously announced projects which are part of Nike’s target of moving towards zero carbon and zero waste.
They include a target of using only renewable energy at all of its facilities by 2025 and eliminating single-use plastics. Nike also aims to reduce carbon emissions across its global supply chain by 30 per cent by 2030, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, and to divert 99 per cent of footwear manufacturing waste from landfills. A Nike spokesperson said: “It is a continuation of Nike’s deep commitment to sustainability and is driven by belief that protecting the planet means protecting the future of sport against climate change.
“Temperature shifts around the world are well documented. Across the globe, the number of days above 90°F has increased by nearly 25 percent since the 1980s. For athletes in all disciplines there are ramifications to climate change. “For example, many US states have adopted rules to keep players safe in increasingly hot and humid conditions, mandating shorter practices, wearing less equipment or even cancelling games. “Without global action, under current trends climate change could decrease time spent on the field by up to two months in parts of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi by 2050. “For those in snow sports, there is danger of literal loss of playing field — the average number of quality snowboarding days around the world has decreased by seven per cent during the past 30 years. By 2050, those days could shrink by 11 to 22 per cent.” The Climate Impact Lab is a research partnership that brings together experts from the University of California, Berkeley; the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago; and Rutgers University.
