Nike flies to São Paulo as emissions scrutiny continues

Nike’s Gulfstream G650 (N6453) touched down in São Paulo on May 23 after a 10-hour, 59-minute flight from Los Angeles. The trip came weeks after a ProPublica investigation highlighted that Nike’s private-jet emissions have risen nearly 20% since 2015, despite the company’s climate pledges. São Paulo, Brazil’s financial and industrial heart, is a critical hub for Nike’s Latin American operations — home to key suppliers, retail partners, and sponsorship activations.

While the specific purpose of this flight was not disclosed, the pattern is consistent with Nike’s executive travel: the same jet shuttled between Portland, London, and Los Angeles in the preceding days. Nike has said its jets are used for “high-level meetings and events that require executive presence and cannot be conducted remotely.” The company has also moved to block public tracking of its aircraft via the FAA’s LADD list, as reported by oregonlive.com, making flights like this one harder to follow.

The São Paulo landing underscores the tension between Nike’s sustainability messaging and its reliance on private aviation. For a company that touts “Move to Zero” carbon goals, each transcontinental flight — burning roughly 460 gallons of Jet-A per hour, per Celebplanes — adds to a carbon ledger that critics say the company has yet to balance.