Nike Takes A Walk From U.S. Chamber Of Commerce

Athletic wear behemoth Nike, Inc. has relinquished its position on the board of directors at the US Chamber of Commerce, under massive pressure from shareholders due to the Chamber’s antediluvian position on climate change.

“Nike fundamentally disagrees with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s position on climate change and is concerned and deeply disappointed with the U.S. Chamber’s recently filed petition challenging the EPA’s administrative authority and action on this critically important issue. Nike believes that climate change is an urgent issue affecting the world today and that businesses and their representative associations need to take an active role to invest in sustainable business practices and innovative solutions to address the issue,” stated Erin Dobson, Nike’s Director of Corporate Communications.

Nike wasn’t the only major player to give the Chamber of Commerce the proverbial boot. Levi Strauss and Starbucks, along with massive utilities PG&E, PNM, and Exelon, are all lapsing their memberships with the Chamber. “Extreme rhetoric and obstructionist tactics seem to increasingly market the Chamber’s public stance on this issue,” wrote PG&E CEO Peter Darbee in a letter to the head of the U.S. Chamber.

Nike is a founding member of the Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), a coalition of businesses supporting congressional action to address climate and energy legislation. Over the past few years, Nike has taken several bold strides to clean up its sweatshop-soiled reputation, from forming BICEP to the release of the eco-conscious collection Nike Considered to this recent move to protest the US Chamber Of Commerce. And though stepping down from the board of directors was certainly a step in the right direction, Nike will actually continue to be a participating member of the Chamber in order to “advocate for climate change legislation” from within. Sadly Nike’s moves fall short of impressive. When it comes to massive transformation in a dying ecosystem of a world, there’s really only one directive Nike should consider in its environmental policies: JUST DO IT.