We design garments that last. Functional and contemporary pieces in classic cuts that you want to keep close for a long time. We believe in relations that last. Because with long-term partners and friends we build a long-term business. We make resources last. By constantly improving materials, processes and design we create more performance with less impact. We are devoted to make our planet last. The mountains, the streets and the trails is our place for adventures. Yesterday, today and tomorrow. It´s our never-ending expedition.
In a fast-changing world, long-lasting success requires a business to pay attention and integrate sustainability into its business model. We have started that journey by improving our understanding of how our decisions impact sustainability. This year, we have taken important steps to make our business last. Having incorporated corporate responsibility into our business plan, we are launching our first Sustainability Report to show where we are, to demonstrate to our people that we’re proud of their work, and to create alignment around the way ahead.
Brand Vision
To be the world’s leading sports fashion brand for the active consumer.
Brand Mission
To empower an active lifestyle with the perfect mix of style and performance in a commercial, high-quality and sustainable product offering.
Nature has been our playground since we started our company in 1986. We make clothes for consumers who love an active lifestyle. To continue doing this, we must reduce our impact on the environment as much as possible.
The world is changing faster than ever. As the need for action on environmental challenges like climate change, pollution, resource shortages and biodiversity loss becomes more apparent and urgent, we must reduce our impact. Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it must permeate every level of business.
At Peak Performance, we made sustainability part of our business strategy in 2014. Since then, we have continuously updated our approach in response to our changing circumstances, expectations and ambitions.
Our sustainability approach
We take a value chain approach to sustainability, which means we aim to reduce our impact from the sourcing of raw materials right through to how our consumers use and dispose of our products.
In 2018, we updated our sustainability strategy to focus more on the opportunities that sustainability creates. When approached in a creative and innovative way, sustainability can have a hugely positive impact on both our day-to-day work and our business’ impact and long-term growth. It challenges us to think differently about our purpose, our role and our future.
Our sustainability framework
Our value chain approach to sustainability means we have divided our work into three areas: Brand, Product and Partners. Alongside this, we look at sustainability in terms of People, Planet and Profit.
We are using the UN Global Compact and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to further structure and guide our work. We have identified SDG 12 (Responsible consumption and production) as our main goal. However, we also recognise that SDG 17 (Sustainable development through global partnership) is critical to reaching our targets and making a positive impact.
Our sustainability work complements our values of Passion, Winning Spirit and Togetherhood.
In 2017, we conducted our first materiality assessment to identify our areas of greatest impact and greatest potential. We further focused this work in 2018 to fit our strategy refresh. Having identified 25 material issues, we ran risk assessments to identify the most critical and to prioritise our action plan.
However, we recognise all 25 identified issue areas are important, and that focusing on the top few is not good enough. In 2018, we started to map all 25 issues onto the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to make sure our efforts are aligned with the UN’s approach.
Why we work with sustainability
Linear business models are a thing of the past. By shifting towards a circular model and creating products that last longer, we will change our impact for the better – reducing waste, using resources more wisely, and engaging with consumers and employees around their roles, rights and responsibilities.
For us, working in a sustainable way means control over our business practises, conscious decisions about creating our product assortment, and the cautious use of resources. When we get it right, we know it will impact our business positively, giving us a ‘reason to operate’ and – as a consequence - loyalty from our customers and end consumers.
We design products that last. The core of Peak Performance is timeless design sewn in the best materials. Innovation and breaking new grounds is our reason for being. This means it’s not unusual for us to meet a parka from decades ago, or a pair of trousers that has hiked miles and miles all around the globe. It’s always a dear reunion.
Impact
Globally, the apparel industry is estimated to be responsible for between 2% and 10% of GHG emissions. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) predicts that if our industry continues on its current growth and impact trajectory, it would be responsible for 26% of the global carbon budget by 2050. A ‘business-as-usual’ approach isn’t just irresponsible, it’s incredibly short-sighted.
It is therefore imperative that our industry acts to reduce its climate impact for the long-term. To do this effectively, we must tackle the areas of our value chain with the greatest impact.
Most of the apparel industry’s GHG emissions are generated during raw material production, supply chain processing and assembly, transportation, and in customer product care and disposal. According to a recent Quanties report (quantis-intl.com/measuring-fashion-report-2018/), the production, dyeing and finishing of materials and products is responsible for 36% of our industry’s value chain impact. Therefore we are focusing on these areas in our sustainability work.
From 2014 to today
In 2014, our previous owner conducted a review of the environmental impact of our supply chain, along with four others brands in its portfolio. The report showed that our joint impact comes from the following:
As a result of this report, we could see how and where to prioritise our action to reduce the impact of the fibres we were sourcing for our business.
In 2016, Peak Performance joined the European Clothing Action Plan to better understand and address our fibre impact. At the same time, we created our first Material and Product strategy. This guides us in procuring more sustainable materials. It also helps us choose which suppliers to work with and helps us work with them in a way that builds strong and sustainable relationships. As part of this strategy, we created a ‘fabric library’, which lists our preferred materials, most of which are favoured for their sustainability credentials.
The long view
Longevity has always been important to us. We built our brand on high-quality products that last, and often meet consumers who still use products from our first ever collections. Of course, this makes us proud, but it also sets an high bar when it comes to quality and design. We always have consumers in mind when we’re developing products, with a promise to exceed their expectations. This involves continually working to improve how we deliver those levels of quality.
Innovation
To make sure our garments have their natural place in your closet over time, they need the capacity to handle all adventures to come – endure seasons in both weather and fashion, be durable, withstand tear and physical challenges. By looking into every detail, cut, fabric, function and performance – we invent longevity.
Design
Design is not only about timeless looks and function. It’s every bit as much about acknowledging challenges and understanding that the better design – the better the performance. We celebrate resources. We hate waste. That’s why our design process always starts with understanding who, where, how and why.
Fabrics
Exceptional quality in our products means freedom to explore and focus on the things that matters the most. That’s why we work with the best fabric and trim suppliers in the industry. Our standards are among the highest in the business, and yet we’re only a fraction of our competitors size.
Taking care
Clothes are a part of your history. By taking care of your clothes you reduce environmental impact and increase longevity. That’s why we’re working with Clevercare. Clevercare gives you advice on how to wash and care for your garment in the best way for both the garment and the environment. Read more
Give away
When we develop products, samples is a part of the process to achieve maximum performance out of design. Instead of letting the garments go to waste, we give our overstock to organizations such as Human Bridge – an organization that collects and sends clothes, shoes and textiles to people in poverty. Read More
Our winning spirit drives us to aim for the best outcome. By constantly improving our materials, processes and design, we create better performance with less impact. We are working hard to improve our overall environmental performance and minimise the impact of our use of energy, materials and chemicals, and our waste creation. Reducing our climate impact guides all our decisions.
Our risk and impact
A thriving future for our planet is synonymous with a thriving future for our business: we cannot have one without the other. However, shifting to this mindset is challenging and takes time. In part, that’s because the pace of change is so fast – what was best practice yesterday is no longer good enough. To stay relevant and responsible as a business, we therefore need to dedicate resources to staying part of the debate, and to acknowledge and – where appropriate – embrace new theories and methods for sustainable business.
We also need to consider how a planet that’s increasingly affected by climate change will fundamentally change the nature of adventure. At Peak Performance, we are open to thinking creatively and radically about our role in the future of adventure. What we do know is that, whatever that role is, it will need to be fully sustainable.
Climate change
Our business’ biggest impact on the planet comes from production.
Becoming more sustainable as a business is an active choice that we have to keep making every day – it won’t just happen. We can only keep moving forwards by measuring our impact, evaluating the results and setting new targets. Rolling this approach out across our value chain is tough but necessary and urgent.
To that end, we recently signed up to the Swedish Textile Initiative for Climate Action (STICA) as one of three founding brands. This means we are part of driving change in the Swedish textile industry. We are grateful for the opportunity to show leadership even though we still have a lot of work to do. Because we are quite a small company with limited resources, our fastest way forward is to team up with others and to learn ‘on the job’. Read more
Chemicals
The outdoor industry has a long history of seeing the potential in using different chemicals to enhance the performance of fabrics in terms of water resistance, wind protection etc. But chemicals are also a big problem for biodiversity and nature since many of the substances practically never degenerates and highly affect water and living creatures. How they affect us humans, we yet don’t know. Read more
We see it as our responsibility to take action and carefully monitor and minimize all use of chemicals during production and for our products. For example we have joined Kemikaliegruppen/Swerea – a cooperation to get the latest updates of laws and regulations for chemicals and other environmental related issues. Read more
The welfare of animals
We have a strong belief that all living creatures should be treated with respect and consequently we work to promote animal welfare with regards to any materials derived from animals used in our products. We ensure that materials can be traced to a specific animal and in constant dialogue with our suppliers we ensure that only skins from farm animals such as sheep, cows, goats, rabbits and pigs are used.
We do not accept:
If you want to know more about the initiatives we are taking in terms of CR, you are welcome to contact us at [email protected]
Even though we like remote adventures, no man is an island. For us, cooperation is fundamental. We believe in relations that last.
Our employees are key to combining and creating the best solutions for our products and our planet. We believe in growing every day. Employee capacity building and taking part in an active lifestyle is an important part of building our company values.
At the same time, successful sustainability work needs strong collaboration. We partner with the best to be able to influence and have a positive impact on our suppliers. We also work with other brands. We aim for a transparent supply chain that all partners can be proud of and take part in. We are capacity building with our partners and working with common standards.
Our employees
At Peak Performance, we celebrate our differences, bringing together people who are energetic, sporty, urban and dynamic. We love unique personalities and abilities because everyone’s contribution creates our success. Our employees all play their part in creating the best solutions for our products and our planet. With a healthy dose of humility, we perform – win or lose - as a team.
Our values of Togetherhood, Passion and Winning Spirit are the source of our performance and productive engagement. We aim for a top-class working environment that is built on workflow and healthy, active lifestyles.
To achieve our business results, we need a high-performing team. To create this, we have set a clear People Strategy that is focused on strong leadership, stretch goals, a culture of feedback and cross-functional collaboration. Our strategy aims to ensure sustainable business success today and in the future. It is designed to attract and retain talent, to develop and motivate our employees and to create a high-performing working culture. It creates a highly engaged and motivated workforce with a collaborative and growth focused mind -set.
We have designed our People Strategy to align with our company strategy and business initiatives. We are always striving to grow and, by connecting our capability building with the acquisition and development of talent (internally and externally), we are building an organisation that is fit for the future.
Our Partners
We work hard to improve the whole supply chain of our business. By creating long and deep relations we ensure that we are working towards achieving meaningful and long-term results.
Our partners are carefully selected with sustainability performance as a major criteria. We believe that by using a partnership approach, we can promote and impact a responsible supply chain through constant dialog. Every year, we conduct workshops together with our suppliers to improve their understanding of sustainability as well as to listen how we can improve our own performance and help them with the challenges that they face.
Supplier management
Supplier partnership
Partner – These suppliers can offer us quality products and a high level of innovation, capacity agreements and responsible business. They have a stable history and have been with us for more than three years. Today, we have 12 partner suppliers, which represent 87% of our total value for 2018. Some of our partners have been with us more than 15 years.
Preffered – These suppliers are fully approved and audited, and have maintained good relations with our business for at least one year. We usually create a strategy with our Preferred partners for how they can become a partner. They are tracking well according to our KPI’s of value, quality compliance and delivery. Today, we have 16 preferred suppliers, which represent around 10% of our total value.
Potential– These suppliers either offer niche products or are new to us and must prove themselves over several seasons. They must meet minimum set of requirements, including compliance and sustainability measures.
Social compliance in our supply chain — risk and challenges
Today, we work with 33 suppliers with 46 facilities in different countries. Almost 100% of our production takes place in countries outside Sweden, most of which are defined as risk countries from a human rights perspective according to Amfori/BSCI. These risk countries include China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Turkey and Romania. A country qualifies as a ‘risk country’ if it scores poorly in the Worldwide Governance Indicators’ following six metrics:
Voice and Accountability, Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law and Control of Corruption.
We carefully track our global footprint to maintain a well-diversified geographic mix of markets. In recent years, this has required cost-effective reallocation initiatives that were completed without any compromise on quality or social compliance issues. We also track our footprint to scan and monitor human rights risks in each of our supplier countries. To do that properly, we work with (among others) the following partners.
Our network
A successful sustainability work needs strong collaboration. We partner up with the best to be able to influence and have a positive impact on our suppliers. As well, we do work with other brand as well, close communication and sharing is key.
We join forces with:
Peak Performance and Better Cotton Initiatives
Peak Performance is a member of Better Cotton Initiative and we support the Initiative by sourcing our cotton as Better Cotton. Supporting BCI means that we are part of making the cotton industry more sustainable and responsible. Our goal is to source 100% more sustainable cotton by the year of 2020, including Better Cotton and Organic Cotton.
Customers
Our customers are not only our biggest inspiration, they are also our most important and challenging stakeholder. Their determination, winning spirit and high demands is something that motivates us to constantly evolve and find new ways and ideas. It’s our goal to make their adventures last. We do so by keeping our ears and eyes open, and continue to innovate, design and manufacture garments that meet their needs and desires.
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