PUMA’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer of PUMA’s majority shareholder PPR Jochen Zeitz who received the award from Federal Environment Minister Dr. Norbert Röttgen at the award ceremony in Düsseldorf said: “We are very pleased that PUMA’s extensive endeavours to become not only the most desirable but also the most sustainable Sportlifestyle Company worldwide have been recognized and rewarded with the German Sustainability Award. I am convinced that it must become a given that every company has to be sustainable and I am grateful that the German Sustainability Award acknowledges sustainable business strategies and hence underpins the imperative for corporations to change their business practices for the better.”

PUMA has been collecting E-KPIs (Environmental Key Performance Indicators) from all its offices and stores worldwide for the last five years and identified several key areas that need to be dealt with in order to further reduce PUMA’s “paw print”. To address these issues, PUMA has laid out ambitious targets to be achieved by 2015 as part of the company’s long-term sustainability program. Within this context, PUMA will introduce a Sustainability Index, the so-called S-Index that serves as an internal benchmark for sustainable products and communicates the products’ sustainable features to consumers. 50% of PUMA’s international collections will be manufactured according to the PUMA S-Index standard by 2015, using sustainable materials such as organic cotton, Cotton Made in Africa or recycled polyester as well as applying best practice production processes.

Furthermore, PUMA wants to reduce CO2, energy, water and waste in PUMA offices, stores, warehouses and direct supplier factories by 25% over the next four years. Introducing a paperless office policy will curtail paper usage by 75% and more efficient product transport solutions by our logistic partners should reduce their CO2 emissions by 25%. To monitor these objectives PUMA has also established an external Advisory Board of experts in sustainability to consult on PUMA’s mission and audit PUMA’s sustainability program.

The German Sustainability Award which runs in its third year has been established to reward role model corporations which combine business success with social responsibility and environmental protection. Special focus is on consistent sustainability management of business and brand. 560 companies had entered their application into the competition.

“The goal of our PUMA.Peace initiative is to create programs that foster a more peaceful world than the one we live in today,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO of PUMA. “Each of us can make a difference in this world as individuals, as corporations and through strategic partnerships. Moreover, at PUMA we feel that we are uniquely positioned to contribute to making the world a better place for generations to come. Our PUMA.Peace program recognizes the power of sport to bridge divides and unite people around the world through a common language. We are extremely honored to receive a Peace and Sport Award in support of our endeavors.”

PUMA works towards a better world for generations to come through the PUMAVision platform. Through the initiatives of PUMA.Peace, PUMA is providing real and practical expressions of this vision by strategically implementing long-term partnerships, creating initiatives and raising global awareness for these projects. PUMA.Peace works to inspire and educate individuals around the globe that peace is possible and utilizes sport as a vehicle to achieve this goal.

PUMA continues to raise awareness for the United Nations International Day of Peace; an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on September 21, and partners with the non-profit organization that inspired the days creation, Peace One Day. In 2008, PUMA.Peace and Peace One Day launched One Day One Goal, a global football movement that celebrates Peace Day with goodwill matches played around the world, and in many cases between communities previously in conflict. In 2010, over 3,000 One Day One Goal commemorative football matches were played around the globe on or around Peace Day in every UN Member State.

PUMA.Peace initiated a symbolic truce with adidas in 2009, after a 6-decade rivalry started by the companies founding brothers, as a commitment to Peace Day and to establish a new legacy of peace between the companies. The companies played a mixed One Day One Goal football match between employees, including CEOs Jochen Zeitz and Herbert Hainer, and in 2010 the town of Herzogenaurach where the companies are headquartered also joined in and put aside its history of conflict to play for the “Peace One Day Cup”.

In 2010, PUMA launched a long term partnership to champion independent documentary films, with Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation. Through the establishment of the PUMA.Creative Documentary Fund, the company will dedicate financial support, creative counsel and industry recognition to international documentary filmmakers, whose creative storytelling highlights social justice, peace and environmental issues.

PUMA.Peace will continue to develop initiatives that promote and support peace across the globe. In addition to PUMA’s Award for the Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiative, five other Peace and Sport Awards were distributed last night including: the Grand Prix for the Peace and Sport Image of the Year, the Award for Best Peace Project from an International Sports Federation, the Award for the Sports Event for Peace of the Year, and the Award for the Sports Non-Governmental Organization of the Year. Winners were selected by a jury composed of eminent figures, invested at the highest level in activities for the promotion of peace through sport.

The Guardian Sustainable Business Awards (GSBAs) reward best practice in sustainable business, showcasing innovative corporate initiatives that tackle the most pressing environmental and social challenges businesses face and that are part of a comprehensive sustainability strategy.

Both the “Biodiversity sponsored by Friends of the Earth” and the overall awards went to PUMA’s Environmental Profit and Loss Account (E P&L). Last year, the Sportlifestyle company published this worldwide unprecedented Environmental Profit and Loss Account for the first time, analyzing environmental factors such as water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions throughout its core business and supply chain operations. As part of PUMA’s long-term sustainability plan, the analysis was commissioned in recognition that producing and selling PUMA products has a wide impact along the entire supply chain. By identifying the most significant environmental impacts, PUMA will develop solutions to address these issues.