Puma's short pounce forward

Good to see Puma is making some moves to address its environmental and social footprint, but I still see some gaps in their system.

For one, employing big accounting firms to run your corporate social responsibility program might sound impressive, but my experience is that they are not always the best options. Such firms are generally very adept at knowing what they can get away with and in a context where legislation doesnt really exist - as is the case with big corporations using off-shore supply lines - it's often more a case of what can be got away with; a very minimalist approach.

Second, it is concerning that the company still hasnt set up systems to ensure its social impact is even being assessed, let alone decreased. As the article suggests, this is still to be established.

In today's world, this should already have been done long ago.

For the Kick Project, it is important that we are closely examining the social profile of those with whom we work, as partners and donors. Clearly, in working for the benefit of kids, we cant take advantage of kids working in slave-like conditions.

Football equipment, especially balls, is largely made in a place called Sialkot, Pakistan where, until fairly recently, and child labour was rife (its likely pockets of child labour still remain there). While the football community can be congratulated for more or less stamping out this industry, it has been remiss in not following through and establishing alternative education opportunities for the kids and income replacement for the families.

For instance, rather than stitching soccer balls, local kids have simply shifted to other less responsible industries in the same region, such as brickworks and metalworks.

A barely noticeable dip in profits for massive sports goods companies, such as Puma, Nike and Adidas, could have funded facilities and infrastructure to help local communities deal with the changes in their livelihoods.

It's the least could do for exploiting the region's communities for decades.

So, kudos to Puma, but our advice is don't stop there. The journey to sustainability for the football industry is still making baby steps.

Comments

Post-UNOSDP - Is the IOC fool's gold?

This is a longer version of an article published on SportandDev.org With the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace closed down by the global body, there is undoubtedly a void in this space in which many of us here work. But, for all the high profile oomph the UNOSDP added to the world of sport for good, it’s passing need not be seen as devastating. For one, the work the UNOSDP has already done in its 16 years of life has laid a platform for the development of sport for social justice. While many of us knew for years that sport had a wider purpose beyond mere business or entertainment, the UNOSDP has provided a base of credibility that may have otherwise taken much longer to establish. While much of the work is, in many ways, still to be done, the UNOSDP has left a positive legacy on which we can all build. More problematic is the shifting of the UNOSDP’s brief to the IOC. Obliging the IOC to administer to the peace and development facets

Statement on Funding for the Rohingya Football Club

We are very pleased to announce that The Kick Project has received a $AUD16,500 donation from the Australian Government to fund a pilot soccer program with Rohingya refugees in Malaysia. The funds, coming through the Australian High Commission in Malaysia, will allow the charity to support the Rohingya Football Club which has become a vital part of the exiled Rohingya community in Kuala Lumpur. The program entails kitting out the team, providing transport to games and establishing a sports and community hub where Rohingya people can access sporting equipment and coaching. Young people, and girls in particular, are the long term focus of the initiative. The Kick Project founder James Rose says the Rohingya are in dire need of assistance. "The UN has called the Rohingya arguably the most persecuted group in the world. They've been forced to flee their homelands in Myanmar, where they have been made stateless by government decree, and many have lost their lives

House of Cards: What Might a Post-FIFA World Look Like?

With news that FIFA bigwigs Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini and Jerome Valcke have been "red carded" by FIFA and will have to sit out the next three months, it looks like finally the dead wood is being pruned at the world game HQ. However, worse may be yet come. What can be done to get the people's game back to the people? The current danger is that as the poison is leeched from FIFA, nothing will be left. If corruption is as rife as many - including us here at The Kick Project - believe then more will be shown the door and still more, aware that the gravy train has terminated, will move on voluntarily. The result may well be a vacuum at the heart of the world's most valuable sport. The immediate consequences of this may be no Confederation Championships and no World Cup in three years time or beyond. That's bad enough, but the real concern is who or what will fill this void. There are essentially three likely outcomes. One, would be to hand FIFA over to e

The Kick Project

Search This Blog