Columbia Sportswear

No leading practices were identified for the company in the governance and strategy area.

Water 

Columbia Sportswear engages with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company discloses its practice of rooftop solar panel installations, workshop air compressor optimization, compressed air pipeline leak repairs, and pipe insulation with its manufacturing partners to reduce over 38,000 m3 water use. The company works with its business relationships to improve their practices regarding access to water and sanitation. The company discloses its practice with Planet Water Foundation to ensure access to support communities in need of access to water and sanitation within its supply chain. 

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability 

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability topics and impacts. While the company discloses some sustainability targets such as GHG emissions, no evidence that the company has group wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain based on the SBTN Sectoral Materiality Tool could be found in the public domain. The company does not report consistently against all its targets.  

While Columbia Sportswear mentions the establishment of ESG Steering Committee, it is unclear whether the committee has the responsibility to implement sustainability strategy. No evidence was found that the company links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics. 

Stakeholder engagement 

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose how it engages with stakeholders, nor the issues it raises during such activities. 

Lobbying 

Columbia Sportswear discloses its membership and collaboration with external organizations and initiatives. However, it should provide a full list of its trade associations for all geographies. The company does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies. 

Impact and dependencies assessment

Columbia Sportswear has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose a commitment to ensure zero conversion. While the company’s down and feathers are certified to the Responsible Down Standard for responsible sourcing, no information could be found regarding sourcing practices for other high-risk commodities linked to the apparel and footwear industry. The company does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment or activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company’s down and feathers are certified to the Responsible Down Standard for responsible sourcing.

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose a commitment to restore ecosystems. The company does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity

No evidence was found regarding Columbia Sportswear’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water

No evidence that Columbia Sportswear reduces water withdrawal across the company’s own operations was found. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not report a decrease in water pollution. The company discloses its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. The company does not regularly report on water pollution. The company does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution.

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution

While Columbia Sportswear commits to aligning with global laws on hazardous substances and established its chemical management policy, no qualitative evidence that the company reduces the production of hazardous substances could be found in the public domain. The company does not disclose a commitment to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. No evidence that the company is reducing the production of hazardous waste was found.

While Columbia Sportswear discloses 100% plastic free in consumer packaging, no evidence that the company reports on the most relevant part of its value chain (such as its products) at the group level could be found in the public domain. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company does not report on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions

Columbia Sportswear is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions compared to the previous year. The company does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Columbia Sportswear is reducing its scope 3 emissions compared to the previous year. The company sets a target to reduce scope 3 manufacturing emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to the baseline year 2019 and reports progress against the target. No evidence that the company’s scope 3 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory was found.

Invasive species

Columbia Sportswear has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous peoples’ and land rights

Columbia Sportswear does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

While Columbia Sportswear states that it assesses the actual and potential human rights impacts, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. The company has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. No evidence was found that the company has a global system to act on its salient human rights issues.  

While Columbia Sportswear discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found. 

Columbia Sportswear has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers.  The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. While the company discloses that it offer competitive wages to its employees, it has an opportunity to disclose a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. No evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. 

No evidence that Columbia Sportswear discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements was found. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those. 

Columbia Sportswear discloses a tax strategy, but it is not applicable to all its operations.  No evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations was found. No evidence that the company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with business relationships was found. The company outlines its approach to lobbying and political engagement but does not formalise this approach in a public policy document. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.