Case Study: adidas Group Benefits from 3 Year Investment Pla

Today, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)’s Retail Energy Management Program released an Implementation Model outlining the adidas Group’s success in overcoming internal financing barriers for energy projects through their greenENERGY Fund. The first of several to be released in the coming year, this model was completed with support from the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Better Buildings Initiative, and serves as a case study for other retailers facing similar financing challenges.  

adidas Group established the greenENERGY Fund in 2012 to operate like an internal venture capital fund that provides financing, expertise, project management, and monitoring and verification to facilitate investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects – while delivering a net profit. Since its creation in 2012, the Fund has allocated $5.5 million to 49 different energy projects across the company’s retail stores, data and distribution centers, and corporate offices with a forecasted project portfolio IRR of 33% and 10-year NPV of $2.5 million. 

“Helping retailers identify innovative ways to approach energy project financing is a key objective of RILA’s Retail Energy Management Program,” said Erin Hiatt, RILA’s senior manager of sustainability & compliance. “adidas Group’s success in this space demonstrates a replicable industry approach for investing in energy efficiency that yields positive results financially and across business operations. We look forward to sharing this Implementation Model with other retailers as they look to accelerate their own energy projects.”  

“We are pleased to work with RILA and highlight adidas Group’s leadership in financing energy efficiency projects through their greenENERGY Fund,” said Holly Jameson Carr, energy technology program specialist at DOE. “We hope this example inspires other retailers to consider implementing similar funds in their organizations.” 

Examples of projects adidas Group’s greenENERGY Fund financed include an exterior LED lighting retrofit in a distribution center, additional efficient HVAC units for a large showroom, and wireless intelligent LEDs for a large distribution center.  

The complete Implementation Model can be viewed here. 

###

RILA is the trade association of the world's largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.