14 DAY TRIAL // While competing with other eco-conscious enterprises operating in the same line of business, Puma decides to launch a report in which the it highlights its impact upon the environment, associating the dollar value for its water consumption, GHG emissions, land use, air pollution and waste it triggered in 2010, with the financial value of their products.
The company came up with harmful consequences worth €145 million, only on paper though, according to Triple Pundit.
Putting the numbers where their customers can see them might actually improve Puma's conduct, leading it to the shortest path to sustainability.
“These costs, which will not affect PUMA’s net earnings, will serve as an initial metric for the company when aiming to mitigate the footprint of PUMA’s operations and all supply chain levels,” state the company's officials in the report.
After analyzing all the numbers provided by the report, an observer would notice that the company takes more from the environment than it actually gives back to its customers.
While taking into account the amount of greenhouse gases that reached the atmosphere as a result of Puma's overall activity and its the level of its water consumption, the major brand reveals that it would have to pay €145 million ($193 Million), much more than it initially announced in May, in a previous report that talked about only €94.4 million ($126 million). Despite their honest attempt of evaluating the price they would have to pay for the total damage, it appears to be at least unrealistic to talk about environmental degradation costs, as they are hard to estimate.
Even so, admitting and correcting the wrong steps in different stages of development can minimize the ecological footprint, or at least prevent the profit margins from dropping, as the green buyers might not disregard a major brand's obvious lack of respect for environmental values.
"The Environmental Profit and Loss Account approach provides a robust framework to help companies unlock this complex challenge and embed sustainability at the heart of business decision making. PUMA has demonstrated that accounting for the environment is no longer a ‘holy grail’ objective, but simply makes good business sense," concluded Dr. Richard Mattison, Chief Executive Officer, Trucost.