Sporting apparel giant Nike is working to achieve a sustainability-oriented goal deemed by top executives as the "North Star," reports the Beaverton Valley Times.
In the early 1990s, Nike was targeted by protesters who were upset about poor working conditions in its factories around the world. Following the unwanted attention from the press, the company made an internal commitment to corporate and environmental responsibility, hiring its first executive in charge of social and eco-consciousness in 1998.
Since then, the organization has created its "North Star" goal, which represents the highest possible level of achievement in the realm of sustainable business.
"The 'North Star' is that we completely decouple the economic growth profit model from scarce natural resources," Hannah Jones, Nike's vice president of sustainable business and innovation, told the source. "We will do that by thinking about new ways to bring new products into the market – by looking at new materials and products that don’t rely on fossil fuels, that any water we use is given back clean to the community, and we’re looking at zero-waste ambition."
According to its website, Nike recently came one step closer to reaching this benchmark, as its efforts to reduce carbon emissions earned the company the Gigaton Award for Energy-Saving Programs.
