Nike Helping Asian Suppliers With Energy Efficiency

While many of the most prominent energy efficiency projects have taken off in Western countries, efforts to reduce energy in Asia may be even more crucial as it has solidified itself as the factory of the world. We have previously covered Nike’s eco-projects and now we find Nike driving an energy efficiency effort in Asia. The first phase of an Nike project to identify the biggest energy saving opportunities has now been completed for their footware suppliers.

According to “Nike’s Energy Efficiency Update 2008,” there were three key findings:

• Energy-efficiency opportunities were dramatically different between the two contract factories. This finding ruled out the opportunity to take a “cut and paste” approach, requiring Nike to conduct energy assessments for each footwear contract manufacturing factory, prolonging this phase of the work.
• The complexity of footwear manufacturing infrastructure is staggering, containing more than 15,500 motors, 10,000 light bulbs, 6,000 sewing machines, four separate compressor farms, six separate chillers and many large boilers.
• Additional work by an energy-efficiency expert is necessary to develop a “blueprint” for implementing energy efficiency within individual footwear contract manufacturing factories. which can be easily applied to implementing energy efficiency within footwear contract manufacturing.

Nike is planning to layout their energy-reducing goals for pilot suppliers May 31, 2008.

Nike: Energy Efficiency Update 2008

[via Sustainable Life Media]