Few are willing to take a risk when it comes to openly discussing the problems business face, in fact sometimes firms will do all they can to hide their problems. So, when I began seeing the reports that Nike had publicly released a report that highlighted their own problems I was impressed…. and this comes after an announcement they made last week that China’s Labor law in their view was still not meeting ILO standard.

In the release (I have not seen the full report yet), Nike highlights the following problems: The report shows there are problems at Nike contract facilities, including management not understanding or implementing moves to meet Nike’s minimum standards. Other problems include falsifying documents such as payroll records, a practice that can hide excessive overtime and inaccurate payment of wages — and help keep prices low. In many cases, there were problems with workers using false identification as they compete for limited jobs. A self-assessment program found 167 cases of workers who were under the minimum age to work but are now 18 or older. There were only two current cases of workers in Nike contract facilities under age 18, according the report. There were more than 1,000 other cases of people who were of age but had incorrect information on their identification.

Through this report, and through their partnerships with NGO, I am confident in saying that Nike has taken a pretty bold step. There is little doubt in my mind that the job they face is difficult, and while speaking to others in the industry, it is clear that these problems are ones that everyone faces. Perhaps if others would take similar steps, some of the underlying issues would be better addressed as firms would begin to take accountability for their choices and the partners. Last year, this was something I focus on because of product recalls, but on a wider level the same investment in quality control needs to exist to protect workers of those in factories not controlled by the brands. So, to the folks at Nike, I applaud this step. Surely there is more to the report than the release provides, but where so many CSR reports only focus on the good a company does.. perhaps focusing on the work ahead could become a standard part of the reports as well. UPDATE: You can download the report here