Adidas feeds on the Spanish sun. The fashion and sports equipment company, which operates in Spain through a headquarters in Zaragoza, emitted a total of 164,236 tons of greenhouse gases associated with the company’s own activities. Energy consumption from these operations rose to 494,489 megawatt hours (MWh), according to the company’s annual report.
In 2025, the giant has the goal of reducing these emissions to zero, directly related to the company’s operations in its business in Europe. To this end, Adidas launched a project in 2023 to electrify its distribution center in Caspe (Zaragoza) through a combined system of solar panels and gas combustion, as detailed in its latest annual report.
This action is part of Adidas’ work to electrify all of its own operations in Europe. through “green loans” to other companies to subsidize sustainable energy projects.
Adidas’ commitment to renewable energies in Spain also involves a purchase agreement for 50,000 megawatt hours per year with a Spanish company. The agreement is a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) virtual, which does not imply the physical delivery of electricity. Instead, the parties agree on a contract price, in this case the value of the solar energy, which Adidas will pay to the Spanish company.
Adidas will buy renewable energy for ten years from a Spanish company
Thanks to this agreement, from 2025 the sports giant will cover all your electricity expenses annually with renewable energywhich “will contribute to the long-term reduction of emissions from Adidas operations in Europe.”
“While we remain focused on transitioning to renewable energy in Europe, In recent years we have moved from focusing on short-term initiatives to other measures with greater impactsuch as securing long-term renewable energy sources through PPAs,” the company explains in the report.
As a result, the sports company did not reduce its electricity expenditure compared to 2022, and consequently, neither did its scope 1 and 2 emissions (relative to all of the company’s own operations, such as transportation or lighting). In 2023, Adidas emitted 164,236 tons of greenhouse gasescompared to the 164,149 tons it emitted in 2022, just 0.05% less.
With this agreement, which has a term of ten years, Adidas will achieve its scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction target by 2025. The large part of companies’ emissions, however, come from the value chain chain. In 2023, the sports giant issued up to 5.8 million tons of scope 3 emissions, 22.8% less than in the previous year.
In 2023, the sports giant reduced its scope 1 and 2 emissions by only 0.05%
Supply chain emissions depend on the suppliers contracted by Adidas, which in many cases still use traditional combustion systems in their processes. “In 2023, also We have continued working to collaborate with the industry and find better solutions that promote investments by suppliers to decarbonize the supply chain,” the company says in the report.
Beyond green loans and power purchase agreements, Adidas has also increased the amount of data collected on the energy consumption of its facilities. “In 2023, we have achieved increase the amount of data collected about our own operations by five percentage points to 41% worldwide -explains the sports fashion company-; While their coverage in administrative offices and distribution centers is 100%, that of small offices and showrooms It’s still mostly by estimation.”
