In recent years, sustainability requirements have become deeply embedded in global industrial chains, with companies' green technology reserves, supply chain management, and environmental disclosure capabilities joining product quality and brand influence as new foundations of competition.
On October 20, at the 2026 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference, ANTA Sports (HKEX: 2020) Executive Director and Co-CEO Wu Yonghua delivered a keynote speech on "Upholding Mutual Benefit and Win-Win Cooperation to Build Sustainable Global Competitiveness." He stated that green access thresholds in global markets are continuously rising, and leading enterprises need to shoulder the responsibility of driving green transformation across their industrial chains. "For Chinese companies today, sustainability has shifted from 'whether to do it' to 'how to do it well.'"
According to Wu Yonghua, ANTA Sports has incorporated sustainability into its core corporate strategy, proposing a "1+3+5" sustainable strategic blueprint, with practices spanning product innovation, industrial chain collaboration, and global operations. In 2025, ANTA Sports had its MSCI ESG rating upgraded to AA, achieving a four-notch improvement within three years; its CDP climate change rating reached A level, earning a place on the A List, making ANTA Sports a representative example of how a Chinese sporting goods company can integrate sustainability into its operations and enhance global competitiveness.
Green Innovation Embedded in Product Strength
During his speech, Wu Yonghua emphasized: "Sustainability must reach consumption scenarios that consumers can see and touch." The value of green innovation needs to be realized through products. For a sporting goods group like ANTA Sports, whether it can maintain professional performance, user experience, and price competitiveness while reducing environmental impact determines how large a consumer market green technology can enter.
Jackets are a typical product for observing this process. As representative outdoor gear, they need to balance multiple performance requirements including waterproofing, breathability, lightweight design, and comfort in wind and rain environments, placing high demands on materials and craftsmanship. In the past, to achieve these performance characteristics, some high-performance waterproof-breathable membranes used fluorine-containing polymers, and water-repellent finishes on fabric surfaces also widely used fluorine-containing chemicals. As environmental persistence concerns around certain fluorine-containing substances have drawn attention, exploring fluorine-free alternatives has become an important direction for industry research and development.
In 2022, ANTA Sports and Donghua University jointly established an innovation research institute, conducting research on new materials for athletic footwear and apparel, fabric technology, and sustainable technology fabrics. The team improved breathability through highly moisture-conductive bio-based polymer materials and micro-nano structure regulation, and continued tackling challenges in fluorine-free water-repellent surface modification and fluorine-free adhesives, ultimately developing the fluorine-free ANTA membrane. Subsequently, the team conducted over one hundred mass production experiments and outdoor real-world verifications, continuously optimizing application results and manufacturing processes, bringing the technology to fruition as a new material with stable processes and practical applicability.
Wu Yonghua introduced at the conference that the fluorine-free ANTA membrane is priced at one-third of comparable international products, giving high-performance green materials the opportunity to enter a broader consumer market. The Storm Armor equipped with this technology, on top of being fluorine-free, also applies carbon capture technology, using raw materials derived from recycled carbon dioxide for polyester fiber production, further exploring ways to reduce dependence on traditional petroleum-based feedstocks.
Multiple brands under ANTA Sports are also advancing similar green practices, integrating environmental requirements into product development based on sports scenarios and material needs. Some products in the FILA EXPLORE series use degradable polyester fibers, DESCENTE BIRTH cycling jerseys reduce water usage in traditional dyeing processes through masterbatch coloring technology, and some KOLON SPORT jackets use post-consumer recycled polyester fibers. According to the group's latest 2025 ESG report released this year, calculated by order volume, its sustainable products accounted for over 38% in 2025, with more than 100 million sustainable products launched to serve global consumers. Nearly 430,000 products across multiple brands under the group completed full lifecycle carbon footprint assessments.
Supply Chain Collaboration Deepens Green Transformation
Wu Yonghua also noted that ANTA Sports, as an industry leader, needs to push sustainability further upstream, extending it into the industrial chain. To this end, ANTA Sports first continuously optimizes the operations of its own facilities, practicing green and low-carbon operations. According to the group's 2025 ESG report, the group's total Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 63.3% year-on-year on a market basis, a reduction of approximately 107,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. This is closely related to adjustments in energy usage: self-generated and self-consumed electricity from photovoltaic projects at its own operating factories and logistics centers increased by 74.2% year-on-year, while procurement and use of green electricity and green electricity certificates covered nearly 343,000 MWh of electricity consumption.
However, a company's own operations are only part of the athletic footwear and apparel production chain. A pair of athletic shoes or a jacket may involve multiple stages including raw material production, textile dyeing and finishing, processing and manufacturing, and transportation. A large number of processes are completed by external suppliers, and achieving overall emission reduction targets is impossible without supply chain cooperation. As Wu Yonghua said at the conference: "The green transformation of the supply chain cannot be achieved by one company alone, but leading enterprises can drive the entire chain."
Compared to internal management, supply chain emission reduction involves more independent operating entities. Suppliers differ in equipment, funding, energy conditions, and management capabilities, and some small and medium-sized enterprises face difficulties such as high technology upgrade investment and weak environmental data foundations. Addressing these challenges, ANTA Sports clarifies key improvement areas through supply chain emission reduction roadmaps, ESG data collection, and supplier audits, while promoting energy-saving technology upgrades and clean energy application. The group has also formulated "General Technical Guidelines for Supply Chain Decarbonization" to provide technical references for suppliers, and supports implementation through regular communication and training. As of 2025, the group has guided over 130 suppliers to adopt clean and renewable energy, completed comprehensive ESG audits of tier-one and tier-two suppliers, with over 88% of suppliers receiving a rating of good or above.
For ANTA Sports, these investments not only serve environmental goals but also help the company gain a clearer understanding of partners' production and management situations, laying the foundation for supply chain transparency and collaboration capabilities needed for global operations.
Long-Term Responsibility in Global Operations
As its global business expands, ANTA Sports faces increasingly diverse consumers, employees, and partners. Beyond products and supply chains, employee development, community relations, and ecological protection have also become key factors affecting the group's long-term development. In the "1+3+5" sustainable strategic blueprint, ANTA Sports has set a clear goal of achieving group-wide carbon neutrality by 2050, and has built a "five mutual benefits" value system centered on consumers, employees, partners, society, and the environment.
In 2025, ANTA Sports invested over 480 million yuan in employee benefits and training development for approximately 69,100 employees from 28 countries and regions worldwide. Meanwhile, the group supports employees in participating in environmental practices, rural education support, and other activities through paid volunteer leave, volunteer associations, and annual charity days. For example, ANTA Sports has partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature to advance biodiversity conservation around endangered species such as the Yangtze finless porpoise and Asian elephants, and encourages employees to participate in related volunteer services, connecting the company's social and environmental investments with employees' practical actions.
Additionally, sports philanthropy has long been an important way for ANTA Sports to participate in social affairs. In China, the "ANTA Growth Charity Program" supports youth sports education in underdeveloped areas through sports equipment donations and physical education teacher training. To date, the program has donated over 1.5 billion yuan cumulatively, benefiting more than 10 million young people. In international cooperation, ANTA Sports and the UN Refugee Agency launched the "Sports Lights Up the Future" charity project in 2023, providing 1.5 million US dollars and 1.2 million pieces of sports equipment between 2023 and 2025, creating conditions for refugees to access education, participate in sports, and integrate into community life.
Conclusion
The research and implementation of sustainable products, supply chain energy-saving upgrades, employee development, and sports philanthropy constitute different facets of ANTA Sports' sustainability practices. For ANTA Sports, these practices not only create environmental and social benefits but also accumulate long-term capabilities for its product innovation, industrial chain collaboration, and global operations. This also echoes the theme of Wu Yonghua's speech: "Upholding Mutual Benefit and Win-Win Cooperation to Build Sustainable Global Competitiveness." For Chinese sporting goods companies going global, ANTA Sports' practices provide a concrete example: while improving products and operations, companies can also leverage technology, resources, and management capabilities to drive partners forward, jointly expanding long-term value for industry and society. The effectiveness of "mutual benefit and win-win cooperation" is ultimately reflected in these concrete actions.
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