Our overall aim for logistics is to improve the carbon intensity of our operations - in other words, achieving growth in revenue and units while decreasing emissions. Our aim is for each of Nike's regions to thoroughly understand and take responsibility for the climate impact of its logistics. We also ask regions to provide data so that we have central oversight and the ability to note trends and shape the way we operate. It's an ambitious task, given that this requires local ownership, coordinated efforts, collaboration with transport partners in our supply chain and new systems for tracking all variables in shipping decisions.
Our analysis shows that inbound logistics accounts for 23 percent of Nike's climate impact. It is the largest single area of impact in our supply chain outside of manufacturing. Inbound logistics - getting product from factories to distribution centers, typically across continents - is largely managed by transportation partners. We continue to measure our logistics CO2 emissions with a first-generation carbon calculator tool co-developed with the University of Delaware.
While net revenue for Nike brand grew 70 percent, CO2 emissions increased only 14 percent from FY03 to FY09, largely as a result of better container utilization and a significant reduction in the use of air freight. This resulted in a 4-percent improvement in emissions intensity (number of units shipped per tonne of CO2). These results are largely the result of business-driven shipping decisions focused on optimizing cost, not a direct effort to reduce carbon emissions.
We need to be able to understand the carbon impact of decisions we make as part of forecasting. And to realize our goal of an absolute reduction, we need to do more.