Asics said it achieved tremendous progress in various areas of its sustainability performance during 2015, as summarized in its recently released 2015 Sustainability Report. The company reduced CO2 emissions by 43 percent, water consumption by 50 percent, and solid waste emissions by 17 percent per pair of shoes manufactured as compared to 2009 baseline levels. It also audited the social and labor standards of 100 percent of Tier 1 suppliers, and all Tier 1 suppliers met or exceeded Asics' basic corporate social responsibility (CSR) supplier standards.

In order to identify ways to reduce the CO² impact of manufacturing, Asics conducted a project aimed to improve energy efficiency at two suppliers' manufacturing sites in Cambodia and Vietnam. The project is a partnership with My Climate Japan, and was commissioned by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. During the first phase of the project, site energy audits identified 36 cost-effective energy efficiency measures, representing a reduction in CO2 emissions of 464 tons per year.

In the area of the management of chemical substances, Asics supported the creation of the first Apparel and Footwear International RSL Management (AFIRM) Restricted Substances List (RSL), and became one of the first companies to adopt it. This global standard helps establish chemical management knowledge, set basic compliance levels, and provide a common base for testing.

In the 2015 Sustainability Report, Asics also explains its 2020 Sustainability Strategy, based on the company's priority material issues and Asics Growth Plan 2020. By 2020, the company targets a 5 percent absolute CO² reduction from direct operations as compared to the 2015 baseline, and a 10 percent reduction of CO2 impact per pair of shoes produced by Tier 1 footwear factories as compared to 2015 baseline levels. Asics committed to the “Science-Based Targets Initiative” for CO² emissions reduction - a partnership between CDP, UN Global Compact, WRI and WWF - prior to the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21).

The 2015 Sustainability Report and 2015 Highlights can be accessed on the Asics corporate website at corp.asics.com/en/csr/csr.