That includes avoiding the use of PVC pipes and PVC-coated wires and cables in its new European headquarters in Holland. When we ask them to do something or set some requirements that they need to meet, we will always attempt to give them the tools or provide them with the education to meet the requirements. They need to understand what it means and what they need to do to comply with it. This isn't always easy. There are language challenges, of course, as well as cultural ones.
Some factories prefer to be left to their own devices in figuring out environmental challenges.
And there are quirks in each country's regulatory infrastructure. But Nike seems resolute in overcoming such challenges to effect genuine improvement in supplier performance. Wire-mesh walls allow fresh air to reach the building's interior, skylights provide natural lighting, and deep eaves provide protection from rain and direct sunlight. Gillette factories in China, Eastern Europe, India, and Latin America have facility conservation teams that set goals, monitor energy and water consumption, exchange technology ideas, and access regional assistance from government and utility programs. In Ghana, a Lever Brothers soap plant has installed an energy management system that has significantly reduced energy costs while increasing profitability.