Informing and Inspiring the Global Sporting Goods Industry

The World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) is the global body representing sports businesses. Members from across the sector include household name brands such as adidas, Nike and New Balance, as well as manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, federations and trade associations. It aspires to use the power of sport to change the world by providing its members with leadership, guidance and support.

The Challenge

The WFSGI wanted to improve the level of support it was giving its members on corporate responsibility. Members are updated by email on relevant news items and one-on-one advice is always available from the WFSGI’s CR Helpdesk. But the trade body recognised it could and should do more to help those members with fewer resources to commit to corporate responsibility. By communicating what it saw as minimum requirements alongside best practice suggestions on how to tackle key issues, the WFSGI hoped to encourage members to appreciate the value of taking more action and making progress on corporate responsibility.

How We Helped

Working with the CR Committee, Junxion established and managed the process of producing the position papers and accompanying webinars. The members were surveyed to establish the topics to cover. For each paper, we spoke to industry experts within the WFSGI and from our own network to inform the content. We wrote the text, setting out the context and drivers for that particular issue as well as the WFSGI’s position and practical steps to improve performance. The papers also include case studies of best practice—usually from among WFSGI members—and look at where the issue is heading, providing references for more information. We designed the papers and launched each one with a webinar for members.

Measuring Success

The members are much clearer about what is expected of them and how they can implement corporate responsibility programmes. More members now feel comfortable reporting on their CR performance. The project has been a success for the WFSGI as well. Beyond providing guidance and support, it has shown leadership in clearly setting out the minimum expected standards for its members across the 13 issues. And it is showing the broader stakeholder community that the industry is taking steps to address its collective performance on corporate responsibility. The position papers are available on the WFSGI website where you can see how we managed to find an appropriate sporting metaphor for each of the 13 titles!