The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) received one of three 2012 C.K. Prahalad Awards Monday for leadership by collaboration at a special ceremony hosted by the Corporate Eco Forum (CEF).



SAC was recognized for its pioneering efforts to unite the world’s apparel and footwear companies around a shared vision to reduce environmental harm and have a positive impact on communities. The Coalition is developing an Index to measure the environmental and social performance of apparel and footwear products across the value chain.

 

Since its 2011 launch, the Coalition has grown to include companies representing over one third of the world’s apparel and footwear industry. Coalition member companies in attendance and highlighted for their special contributions included Patagonia, Nike, Hanesbrands, Kohl’s, and Timberland.

 

Patagonia and Timberland were among the original and biggest supporters of developing an Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) Eco Index to help apparel and footwear companies gauge their environmental impact, which handed over much of its work on apparel to the SAC in 2011. Many outdoor product companies are now collaborating to develop tools for other aspects of the supply chain under the umbrella of the OIA Sustainability Working Group.  


“The Coalition is moving with a pace and on a scale that is enviable for business leaders in other sectors and offers the world a powerful new model for 21st century value chain collaboration,” said P.J. Simmons, CEF executive director and co-author of The Green to Gold Business Playbook.


“We are honored to be recognized by CEF for the leadership and collaborative spirit that exists within the Sustainable Apparel Coalition,” said Jason Kibbey, executive director of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition. “The apparel industry is changing rapidly, and members of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition are working together to make sure it grows sustainably and responsibly.”

The C.K. Prahalad Award was created to honor the vision and life’s work of the late Dr. C.K. Prahalad, one of the world’s most influential business strategists. Towards the end of his illustrious career, Prahalad focused his enormous talent on the link between sustainability and long-term business success. In a 2009 Harvard Business Review cover story he co-authored with CEF founder MR Rangaswami, Prahalad argued that over the next decade “traditional approaches to business will collapse, and companies will have to develop innovative solutions. That will only happen when executives recognize a simple truth: Sustainability equals Innovation.” Dr. Prahalad was a senior adviser to the Corporate Eco Forum before his untimely death in 2010.


The Prahalad Awards were presented at The Ritz Carlton Battery Park in New York City during the Gala Dinner of the 5th Anniversary Annual Meeting of the Corporate Eco Forum. The CEF Annual Meeting is bringing together more than 200 senior executives from companies that represent 18 different industries and combined revenues of over $3 trillion to focus on defining “Breaking Barriers and Forging New Ground” in corporate sustainability during two days of discussions and working sessions.