[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 103 (Friday, June 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S5940]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               NIKE INC.

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I wish to highlight the importance 
of acknowledging and celebrating extraordinary efforts by individuals 
and companies that are leading the way in protecting and preserving 
America's natural resources. I am honored to congratulate the 
leadership and employees of Nike Inc., headquartered in my State of 
Oregon.
  According to a new scorecard released by nonprofit group Climate 
Counts, Nike ranked first among the United States' most climate-
friendly companies. The scorecard, first released in June 2007, grades 
major corporations in well-known consumer sectors from apparel to 
electronics to fast food--on their commitment to reversing climate 
change. Nike was judged to have one of the strongest and most 
transparent programs to reduce climate change among well-known brands 
across nine industry sectors.
  Nike has taken aggressive steps to address climate change, including 
establishing clear goals for lowering carbon emissions at its 
facilities around the world, designing sustainable products with 
environmentally preferable materials, purchasing renewable power, and 
offsetting the emissions from Nike business travel. More importantly, 
Nike is exporting not only their world class products, but they are 
also exporting the values of sustainability throughout the world as 
they continue their efforts to reduce the company's carbon footprint in 
its contract manufacturing facilities in Asia.
  We can also see Nike's commitment to this effort in another very real 
way. Nike has been a leader in developing sustainable products and 
components since its inception. Most recently, Nike unveiled the Air 
Native N7 shoe designed for Native Americans. The N7 in the name is a 
reference to the seventh generation theory, used by many Native 
American tribes to look to the three generations preceding them for 
wisdom and the three generations ahead for their legacy. By designing 
this sustainable shoe, Nike is looking ahead to a future that must 
include greater awareness in protecting our environment and natural 
resources for the generations to follow.
  My home State of Oregon continues to build on a long history of 
innovation in environmental policy and practice. Nike proves once again 
that everyone doing their small part can achieve huge successes. Nike's 
legacy continues to grow as they lead the way as an extremely 
successful company but not forgetting about how important it is to 
preserve and protect the natural resources around us. I commend the 
leadership and employees with the Nike team for their stellar efforts 
and pledge my full support as they move forward.

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