Sustainability Initiatives by Nike: A Case Study Analysis

Assessment Task 1: Case Study Analysis
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................4
Identifying the sustainability initiatives...........................................................................................4
Analysing and evaluating the authenticity of the selected Sustainability initiatives.......................5
The contribution of the selected initiatives for enhancing social and human outcomes for Human
Resources.........................................................................................................................................6
How outcomes might differ for the same initiatives in a different business context......................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference List................................................................................................................................10
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Introduction
CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) reflects upon a business approach that takes active
participation in contributing towards sustainable development by providing environmental,
economic and social beneficiaries to the stakeholders. While CSR is perceived as a
conceptualisation with varying viewpoints of authors, it is at the front of corporate sustainability
initiative across the globe (Angeles, 2014). Companies are taking the needful strides for
enhancing their sustainability initiative by getting all the stakeholders and consumers on board.
The purpose of this report is to redefine sustainability initiatives by Nike, evolving from CR
concerns towards innovation and driver of growth. The sustainability initiative taken by the
company takes active participation in addressing global trends, which influences business
operations, enhancing commodity prices, and rising expectancy level of the consumers. The
underlying ideology was to shift the focus from the utilisation of scarce resources and
emphasising on supply chain resilience. The case study analysis emphasises the following areas:
Identifying the sustainability initiatives:
The first initiative was the movement of the CR department in an upstream positioning within
the procedure of corporate decision-making. The second initiative revolved around the
development of multiple indexes for rating the sustainability initiatives, concerning independent
manufacturer of contract.
Analysing and evaluating the authenticity of the selected sustainability initiatives: This
section would examine the authenticity of the selected action in a broader context. It will
emphasise the actual intention of companies for initiating a sustainable practice.
The contribution of the chosen initiative to enhance e positive social and human outcomes
for human resources: This section would reflect upon the effectiveness of better working
environment and sustainability training programs as a mean for attaining social and human
issues.
Differentiation of outcomes for similar initiatives within a variant context of business:
Lastly, the study will examine the results of the selected sustainability initiative by Nike in
regard to a dairy company (Argi- Mark)located in the USA.
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Discussion
Identifying the sustainability initiatives
In the year 2009, Nike took active participation in implementing several sustainability initiatives,
which had a substantial influence over the Oregon Headquarter of Nike in accordance to
manufacturing base across the globe. A useful step that Nike initiated was to influence of its
sustainability programming involving the movement of CR division as a model of strategic
alignment within organisational context and development of guiding tools for the creation of new
procedure of product creation in decision-making. As stated by Lueg, Pedersen & Clemmensen,
(2015), the CR Department of Nike did not play a monitoring role. Instead, the company took
active participation in transforming the CR team to Sustainable business and innovation team. As
per the viewpoint of Barkemeyer, Preuss & Lee, (2015), the approach initiated by Nike served as
a sustainability initiative for human resource department as it took active participation in
identifying the root reasons for the labour and sustainability-related issues. In this regard (),
stated that creation of innovative business models and innovative solutions would reflect upon
putting the workers with the creative supply chain management. As per the case study, the
unified approach of recruitment and training is taken into consideration, by preferring referrals
from present employees combining with an exclusive training program prioritising behavioural
patterns within the organisational value. Particular impetus was also given to cooperate with the
employees over the skill sets of trainees. The initiative discussed here fits within the model of
HR and responsible management initiated by George & Regani, (2019), which takes active
participation in identifying five phases of HRM procedure aimed for attaining a cultural and
sustainable practice of business. As argued by Barkemeyer, Preuss & Lee, (2015), the traditional
approach of training and development was ignored by the HRM department. According to the
viewpoints of Cavaleri & Shabana, (2018), more impetus was given on prioritising soft skills
over the traditional importance of hard skills. It is obvious that motivated employees in a safe
working environment contribute towards organizational success in the competitive environment.
To promote innovation and enhance Sustainability, Nike took active participation in creating an
index that ill measure sustainability as per product and production designing is concerned.
Specific metrics were created for identifying the influence of energy, waste, chemistry and water.
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