Nike to set up sustainable business and innovation lab
US sportswear brand Nike is setting up a new project aimed at helping start-ups focused on alternative energy and promote more efficient manufacturing.
The venture-capital offshoot is called the Sustainable Business & Innovation Lab and will also seek out companies that promote healthy lifestyles, Nike says.
“Nike sees sustainable business and innovation as an integral part of how we can use the power of our brand, the energy and passion of our people, and the scale of our business to create meaningful change,” reads a statement from the brand. “The opportunity is greater than ever for sustainability principles and practices to deliver business returns and become a driver of growth, to build deeper consumer and community connections and to create positive social and environmental impact in the world.”
The effort is in its early stages and hasn’t made investments, which would need to be approved by management, according to Mary Remuzzi, a spokeswoman for Nike.
Nike’s lab will primarily make equity investments in young companies focused on alternative energies. It will also finance partnerships with government and nongovernment organisations.
