NIKE Culture of Safety Maturity Assessment (CoSMA) Journey

Overview

Since 2018, we have been appointed by NIKE as one of four global consulting partners supporting the Culture of Safety Maturity Assessment (CoSMA) Program across Asia Pacific. Our mandate was to uplift safety culture across NIKE’s vendor network and support the achievement of its 2025 target: all Tier 1 factories reaching CoSMA Level 3. We are proud to have contributed to this milestone by supporting 20 NIKE suppliers across seven countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, and Thailand) in achieving CoSMA Level 3.

• Client: NIKE
• Products / tools delivered: CoSMA (Safety Culture), HeroCODE™, Culture Change™, IOSH Programs (Managing Safely, Working Safely)
• Timeframe: Since 2018 till present (8 years)

Client Background

• Client: Nike, Inc.
• Industry: Footwear & Apparel Manufacturing
• Regional Footprint: 150–200 factories across Asia Pacific
• Workforce: 200,000+ employees
• Context: Global leader in Footwear and Apparel with complex, multi-tiered supply chain operations

The Challenge Objectives / Success Criteria

Driving safety culture transformation at scale across a diverse and decentralised manufacturing network presented several challenges:

• Engaging large workforces (up to 20,000 per site) across varied operational contexts 
• Navigating multi-cultural and multi-lingual environments (often up to seven languages per site) 
• Aligning differing cultural norms, beliefs, and leadership styles with a unified safety culture vision 
• Moving beyond compliance to embed sustainable, behaviour-led safety practices

Our Approach

We implemented a structured, culturally adaptive transformation approach combining global frameworks with local contextualisation:

• Deployment of CoSMA as the core maturity framework 
• Integration of proprietary tools: Culture Change™ and HeroCODE™ 
• Local capability building through regional partnerships and in-country delivery 
• Establishment of strong stakeholder alignment across leadership, management, and frontline workforce 
• Collaboration with Institution of Occupational Safety and Health to enhance credibility and technical rigour

Execution Highlights

• Built a strong ecosystem of regional delivery partners across Asia Pacific
• Successfully embedded proprietary methodologies within NIKE’s CoSMA program
• Delivered transformation initiatives across diverse cultural and operational contexts
• Expanded impact beyond safety into psychological safety, gender equity, and leadership behaviours 

The results

Quantitative Outcomes

• 20 supplier factories across 7 countries achieved CoSMA Level 3 
• Continued progression, with one supplier on track for CoSMA Level 4 by 2026

Qualitative Outcomes

• Strengthened safety leadership capability across multiple tiers 
• Improved workforce engagement and ownership of safety practices 
• Established a strong track record within the footwear and apparel manufacturing sector 
• Recognised as a trusted partner by NIKE and IOSH

Why It Matters

• Direct contribution to NIKE’s 2025 sustainability and safety targets
• Demonstrated ability to scale safety culture transformation across complex, global supply chains
• Tangible uplift in safety standards across the Asia Pacific manufacturing ecosystem

If you operate in manufacturing and are seeking to elevate your safety culture maturity:


• We bring deep knowledge and expertise in safety culture transformation, grounded in real-world, multi-country delivery
• We have a proven track record across complex supply chains, including large, diverse workforces
• We understand what it takes to achieve and sustain CoSMA maturity outcomes
• We can partner with you to accelerate your journey towards higher safety performance and cultural resilience