China's ANTA Sports releases 2023 annual ESG report

Article From：fibre2fashion

 

 

ANTA Sports Products Limited ("ANTA Sports" or the "Company", stock codes: 2020 (HKD counter) and 82020 (RMB counter), and its subsidiaries collectively the "Group"), is pleased to announce that the Group recently released its 2023 Annual Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. This marks the ninth consecutive year of publishing the report, which discloses the organization's practices and achievements in the ESG and sustainable development domains. Meanwhile, ANTAZERO, the first carbon-neutral retail store in the Chinese footwear and apparel industry certified by an authoritative institution, was officially launched in Shanghai on April 22. This groundbreaking initiative marks an important step of the Group in exploring a sustainable strategy in the market.

 

As the first innovative retail store dedicated to achieving comprehensive carbon reduction goals from product manufacturing to operation, ANTAZERO fulfils their steadfast commitment to the "Zero Carbon Mission" in all aspects. Starting from concept initiation, store decoration, to display and sales, it progressively identifies and reduces carbon emissions. Throughout the entire decoration and construction process, measures such as preserving the original walls and floors, using old clothes and patchwork fabrics for enclosures, purchasing second-hand equipment, and repurposing air conditioning and lighting fixtures have already achieved over 30% emissions reduction. Furthermore, detailed carbon footprint assessments identified that the largest emissions occur in the building materials and display equipment, leaving room for further emission reductions. Assuming that 100% of the building materials and display equipment are made from recycled and regenerated materials, and 100% of the equipment is purchased second-hand, along with carbon reduction measures in other areas, it is possible to achieve an additional reduction of nearly 60% on top of the baseline of the first zero-carbon mission store. In the future, in-store operations such as product selection, packaging, sales, and consumer interactions will be guided by sustainable principles. The store will conduct a comprehensive carbon footprint assessment and further promote carbon reduction measures.

 

Lai Shixian, Executive Director, co-CEO and Chairman of Sustainability Committee of ANTA Sports, said, "Currently, the development concepts of innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing have become the consensus for promoting high-quality development in Mainland China. ANTA Sports has integrated ESG into its corporate development strategy, committed to creating mutualism value for all stakeholders, and is leading the industry in achieving the transformational upgrade in 'New quality productive forces'."

 

Collaborating with partners to protect the natural ecology

 

Sustainable industry development requires collective consensus across the entire industry chain. As an industry leader, ANTA Sports plays a pivotal role, collaborating with partners to actively fulfil environmental and social responsibilities, striving to achieve the Group's carbon neutrality goal by 2050.

 

The report shows that ANTA Sports has officially joined and is committed to supporting the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In accordance with SBTi standards, the Group plans to set carbon reduction targets for its business, covering the whole value chain. Currently, the Group has promoted 111 suppliers to use clean and renewable energy and assisted these suppliers in obtaining green certifications. ANTA Sports has also established carbon assessment data management and launched an online ESG data collection platform for its supply chain, supporting suppliers to collect carbon emissions and energy usage data through digitization.

 

Driving circular fashion, creating green products

 

Through technological innovation, ANTA Sports has steadily increased the use of environmentally-friendly materials in its products, with the proportion of sustainable products nearing 20% in 2023. Furthermore, the Group launched its first carbon neutral products, the ANTA Storm Mecha Jacket and ANTA Champion Running Shoes 2.0 Pro, in January 2024, which have been certified as carbon neutral according to PAS 2060:2014 standards. Additionally, ANTA Sports is actively promoting sustainable packaging, with sustainable packaging making up nearly 20% of the total packaging material in 2023. The Group has used 9,157 tons of sustainable packaging for its footwear and apparel products, recycled 570,000 shoeboxes, and 18 million sheets of shoe wrapping paper or packaging paper, while 99.9% of its shoe products no longer use plastic bags.

 

Advancing industry collaboration, building a green supply chain

 

ANTA Sports has continuously strengthened the requirements for raw material traceability, joining organizations such as the Leather Working Group (LWG) and the Cascale (formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition), to promote the procurement of sustainable raw materials. The leather used in ANTA and FILA's footwear products, as well as their leather suppliers, are all 100% LWG Gold certified, with over 90% of the leather materials traceable back to their origin.

 

At the same time, ANTA Sports joined the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme and developed and disclosed the "ANTA Sports Chemicals Management Manual". The Group published the "Supplier Sustainability Management Handbook", further clarifying the management standards and creating a mutualism platform with an environmentally friendly, healthy, safe and efficient supply chain. In 2023, ANTA Sports conducted ESG audits on 170 tier 1 suppliers, 119 tier 2 suppliers and 10 tier 3 suppliers respectively. These audits covered environmental and social metrics including labor management, health and safety, labor rights, and green production, among others.

 

Promoting Diversity and Inclusion, fostering employee development

 

ANTA Sports attaches great importance to the diversity of our employees, and advocates a corporate culture of respect, inclusiveness, diversity, and openness. In 2023, the Group recruited and hired employees from 13 countries and regions. Among the new hires, about 2,900 individuals represent more than 40 ethnic minorities in Mainland China. Female executives (director level and above) account for 36.6% of total executives. In addition, the Group is actively building its talent pool, with a training coverage rate exceeding 95% and an average hours of training per employee exceeded 29 hours per year.

 

Contributing to social welfare, deepening value creation through mutualism

 

ANTA Sports adheres to the corporate value proposition of "Value Creation Through Mutualism" and actively engages in fields such as public health, sports education, rural revitalization, environmental protection, and sustainable community development. In 2023, charitable donations of cash and materials exceeded RMB 300 million. The ANTA "Sturdy Growth Charity Project", which has been running for nearly seven years, focuses on youth sports and supports rural revitalization through sports-education integration. With cumulative donations of cash and equipment over RMB 920 million, the charity project covered more than 6.62 million teenagers at 16,115 schools.

 

In addition, the Group cooperated with World Wildlife Fund to consistently promote biodiversity conservation. It became a global partner of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a signatory member of the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles, joining several sustainable development initiatives and pilot projects initiated by the United Nations. ANTA Brand also collaborated with the Chinese Olympic Committee and initiated the "Mountain and River Plan" environmental campaign. Through its own influence, it encourages consumers, employees, and partners to participate in natural ecological protection. In 2023, the Group's employees actively participated in volunteer services, with an accumulated service time over 30,000 hours.