Iconic sportswear brand Nike has drawn ire after perhaps pulling too much inspiration from its namesake — and joining a federal program in an apparent attempt to obscure its activities.
As detailed by ProPublica, tracking website FlightAware removed Nike's pair of Gulfstream G650ER jets from its platform after the FAA added the jets to its "Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed" list, or LADD, which restricts public flight data and makes it more difficult to obtain.
The move came one month after a joint report from ProPublica and the Oregonian/OregonLive revealed that its corporate jets released 20% more carbon pollution in 2023 than in 2015 despite promises from the company to drastically reduce harmful pollution.
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According to Our World in Data, even though aviation generates just 2.5% of carbon pollution, its warming impact is stronger — up to 4%. Rising global temperatures are associated with troublesome issues like more intense extreme weather and increasingly ideal conditions for the spread of deadly diseases.
To address this, major airlines and plane manufacturers hope additional research will help them optimize their routes to limit the enhanced warming effect from contrails — the white, wispy streaks planes leave in the sky. Sustainable aviation fuels are also gaining traction.
Nonetheless, aviation pollution remains a significant area of concern, and Nike isn't the only brand or business leader under scrutiny for its corporate travel policies. For instance, British Airways rolled back an employee benefits program offering discounted trips on private jets.
Previously, Nike has garnered positive buzz for its programs aimed at reducing material waste, including its Move to Zero and Nike Grind recycling initiatives. Regardless, Chuck Collins, a program director with the Institute for Policy Studies, decried Nike's addition to the FAA list as dodging accountability, telling ProPublica it sent the message: "We don't want ProPublica to bother us. We don't want to show up in the newspaper.'"
He also explained that plane data is generally public because taxpayers put money toward the country's air traffic control system. However, FAA records indicate that 24% of registered aircraft in the U.S. have blocked tail numbers following a failed proposal requiring plane owners to prove they have a "valid safety concern to block tracking," per the report.
"Unfortunately, rather than righting a wrong and doing what's best for the planet, some businesses will find a way to bury their transgressions exposed by investigative journalism even deeper," one reader suggested on X, formerly Twitter, after the story broke.
ProPublica added that it can now track executive travel through the FAA's automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast, or ADS-B, system. Nike has not commented on the matter.
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