Timberland prides itself on a long-standing Code of Conduct program. Over the years, we’ve shifted our work in factories to expand beyond basic compliance, trained our Assessment team to incorporate workers’ voices, and helped factory management build capacity. We include environmental and social/labor conditions in our assessments, and go beyond factory walls to assess whether workers are able to meet their basic needs. We rely on partnerships with stakeholder groups and standards bodies to vet our approach against best-in-class training programs, processes for corrective action plans, and mechanisms for worker empowerment. We don’t have all the answers, but we know that giving workers a voice is critical for leveraging our business to create improved working conditions and quality of life.
So, how are we doing?
In the Goals & Progress section of this website, you can see the results of our assessments worldwide. We’re targeting improvements over time and know it takes cooperation between factories, partners, and workers to get there. We’ve vetted our goals with outside groups to ensure we’re seeking real improvements. But what about the process for getting there? Do we have the right tools, team, and structure to achieve the impacts we intend?
In 2010, Timberland commissioned Social Accountability International (SAI) to review whether our program is implemented in the field as designed. SAI is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to advance the rights of workers around the world. As a Corporate Member of SAI, we share their mission to improve working conditions in our or supply chain in accordance with relevant ILO conventions and national law. We asked SAI to validate our program’s capability of achieving our objectives, including a review of our team’s necessary skills to be effective.
Details of the Evaluation
To accomplish these objectives, SAI reviewed our vendor monitoring and development program, determined if it’s operating in the field as documented, evaluated how it’s is integrated into the business, and assessed it’s impact at supplier factories.
Policy, Procedure and Record Review
SAI compared Timberland’s program to practices from multiple industries by conducting a document review of our audit and vendor development program. They also conducted interviews with over 30 Timberland leaders at corporate headquarters and in the field to gain insight into current systems. The following areas were included in this evaluation: internal audit team formation and training, audit protocol and preparation, audit implementation, factory rating and reporting, corrective action policies and procedures, and post-audit improvement plan and support.
Field Assessment & Survey
For the field audit review, SAI shadowed Timberland assessors on four audits to assess competency, application of protocol guidelines and tools, and calibration across assessments and among Specialists. SAI also used this time in the field to verify the design, scope, and methodology of Timberland’s Code of Conduct program and document opportunities for future training.
SAI then used its Social Fingerprint® program to analyze management systems at 30 of Timberland’s vendors. Social Fingerprint® looked at development and implementation in several categories, such as overall systems, worker communication, complaint resolution, and progress on corrective actions (among others). The results of the Social Fingerprint® self-assessment allowed SAI to compare broad sets of information against Timberland’s rating system to identify areas for improvement.
Finally, SAI separately issued a survey to all Timberland factories to assess the perceived value of Timberland’s Code of Conduct program and the impact suppliers believe its had on the factories’ social compliance.
SAI Findings
According to Craig Moss, project lead and SAI’s Director of Corporate Programs and Training, “Overall, the Timberland Code of Conduct program is extremely sophisticated in its design and places Timberland among the leaders in the field…. we applaud the current inclusion of root cause analysis.”
Program Implementation & Business Integration
According to SAI, suppliers that have a high level of compliance typically perform certain processes well. SAI’s report found that Timberland’s approach is more sophisticated than many because of our inclusion of management systems in the assessment process. However, they also recommended improvements in the management system portion such as focusing more on underlying processes (rather than documentation alone) in order to mitigate risk and help suppliers to see a clear path to capacity building. As a result, Timberland plans to give additional training in 2012 to its Code of Conduct team to increase understanding of social and labor management systems.
Risk is also an important consideration when looking at supply bases. SAI’s findings state that Timberland’s program creates a positive environment for driving improvement among suppliers, especially because of our relatively stable supply chain. Like others in our industry, SAI identified Timberland’s primary risks as exposure to new suppliers coming into the system, licensed products, and products sourced through agents. We continue to manage these issues by requiring a Code of Conduct assessment and approval prior to production with a new supplier, and by ensuring that production via agents and licensees is included in our assessment program.
Risk is managed collaboratively within our business, which is important when considering how our Code of Conduct is integrated with other Business Units. From their interviews, SAI states that Timberland’s business units have a high degree of awareness of CSR and the Code of Conduct program, and that both are critical for our brand identity. “This is an important accomplishment and an indication of senior management commitment,” reports Moss.
One final area for improvement that SAI identified was is to increase assessors’ information sharing as a way to strengthen our global approach. Despite Timberland’s prescriptive approach for evaluating supply chain issues, Assessors’ judgment plays a role when categorizing the seriousness of issues. Because judgment is always required to evaluate situations, SAI suggested providing additional forums for Assessors to share experiences as part of an ongoing calibration process–which Timberland will add to our training next year to build a more unified context and intent behind actions observed during audits.
Perceived Supplier Value & Impact
From their survey of 142 factories, SAI’s findings show that Timberland suppliers feel they’ve improved their performance since becoming a Timberland vendor. For example, 84% of suppliers stated their systems are “Slightly Better” or “Significantly Better.” Suppliers also stated that Corrective Action systems and Worker Involvement & Communications were improved (81% and 75%, respectively) as a result of being a Timberland vendor. These findings validate Timberland assessors’ feelings about their impact, as captured by one of SAI’s interviews: “We’re not so focused on finding problems,” the Assessor said. “Factories are more open with Timberland because they feel we’re sincere in wanting them to improve.”
SAI’s survey also found that Timberland’s suppliers feel that our Assessors’ attitude, skills and knowledge are better than other Code of Conduct auditors, as evidenced by 76% of suppliers stating that Timberland Assessors are “Slightly Better” or “Significantly Better” (56% said “Significantly Better”). Moss confirms this finding in SAI’s own analysis: “We feel that Timberland has taken real steps to work with their vendors to drive improvement,” he reports. “Their concrete approach contrasts with many companies that talk in vague terms about ‘shifting from auditing to capacity building.’”
Validation & Next Steps
As a result of this process, we have concrete examples and recommendations for further improving our impact. As Colleen von Haden, Timberland’s Senior Manager of Code of Conduct, states: “SAI’s thoroughness and inclusion of supplier perspective enabled this process to truly validate the effectiveness and impact of our program.”
SAI’s final report also confirms this: “Timberland has created a strong Code of Conduct program that has had a positive impact on its suppliers. We agree with the direction that the program is heading. Prioritizing resource allocation will be important to balance short-term improvements with undertaking the strategic initiatives that can keep Timberland in a leadership position.”
We plan to build on this final recommendation in the coming year. Adds von Haden: “We look forward to further partnering with SAI on areas of improvement.”
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Timberland’s Partnership with HERproject
Timberland is proud to work with BSR on HERproject – a factory-based women’s health education program (HER stands for Health Enables Returns) – in an effort to meet the needs of workers who produce our products. BSR started the project to promote women’s health awareness and access to health services. Factory-based education programs are carried out by a coalition of partners, including international companies, their supplier factories and farms, and locally-based NGOs.
Through focus groups and surveys, HERproject and its partners assess the needs of female workers’ health and well being in emerging economies around the world. Timberland’s support for HERproject emerged from several Code of Conduct assessments that revealed little awareness of health issues among workers in our factories. Our assessments focus both on compliance with Timberland’s Code of Conduct , as well as conditions beyond factory walls – that is, whether or not workers are able to meet their basic needs and/or have opportunities for betterment of life. Within this context, Timberland began supporting HERproject in 2009 as a way to address needs for health awareness and access in specific factories in China. We have since expanded engagement to additional factories in China, as well as Vietnam and India. We are exploring new opportunities in Indonesia and Bangladesh in 2012. Overall, this program allows us to partner with our suppliers to improve worker well-being within the workplace and beyond.
Joining forces with HERproject in India
One of our more recent experiences working with HERproject began in June 2010 at the Farida Group’s factory in Ambur, Tamil Nadu, India. Management at this factory has been supportive of worker training in the past, but mostly focused on skills development, not health. Our Code of Conduct assessment revealed that health awareness was lacking in the factory. And so factory management, with support from Timberland, partnered with HERproject to improve workers’ knowledge and health behaviors. In India, HERproject is implemented by the Department of Community Health at St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore. The HERproject Curriculum has been designed by St. John’s Medical College, specifically by Dr. Bobby Joseph and his colleagues.
HERproject uses a peer education methodology that combines training with employee and management education on health and nutrition issues. At the Farida Group’s factory in Ambur, a group of women were selected as peer educators, to be trained on key general and reproductive health topics, and then to share that information with their peers.
Building on earlier surveys conducted by St. John’s Medical College, factory management in Ambur surveyed employees in more depth about specific food habits and nutritional beliefs. Workers shared what kind of food they packed for breakfast and lunch, food “fads”, and what they liked and disliked. The survey resulted in some unexpected queries from employees, such as: “Do vegetables have cold or hot effects on the body?” It was believed that pumpkins were cold and eggplants were hot. They also wanted to know what vegetables should be avoided by women during pregnancy or menstruation. These types of questions demonstrated the widely held cultural beliefs tied to food, which in some cases were negatively affecting the health of the female workforce.
The survey also showed that workers’ diets were deficient in vitamins and protein. As a result, the Farida Group decided to provide supplemental foods like carrots, beans, green leafy vegetables, sprouted grams, chickpeas, and eggs in the dining hall during lunch at no cost to workers. Factory employees were very happy about this intervention, and now better understand the need to change their eating habits not just at work, but at home with their families too.
“Initially employees were overwhelmed with this type of training, so there was shyness in the early stages and some wondering why it was being done,” reports Mukthar Ahmed , a manager at Farida. “Now, workers realize the importance of the trainings, and are eagerly asking for further information.” Following the success of the food survey, factory management has decided to conduct additional surveys to identify other areas where training would be beneficial.
According to HERproject, the factory management’s extraordinary response has made the peer educators more motivated and empowered, and, consequently, very happy to continue to share information about health improvements related to nutrition and beyond.
In Timberland’s opinion, projects like HERproject could be the future of how corporations help workers meet basic human needs that have gone unattended to for far too long. And the more companies that sign on, the better off we’ll all be.
A version of this case study will appear in the January/February 2012 issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence, published by John Wiley & Sons.
At Timberland, service is a way of life. A belief in the power of people to transform their communities is one of our core values.
We live this value by offering our thousands of creative, dedicated, hardworking employees a number of ways to become involved. But it’s important to us to encourage others to engage with us in community service, as well—from business partners, stakeholders, and consumers to workers at the factories that manufacture our products.
In this way, we hope to share the benefit of our community service learnings with factory partners who can work to improve their employee morale, productivity, retention and community engagement, too.
Our assessors all over the world are trained to share the value of service with all of our suppliers. While all factories in our supply chain are encouraged to engage workers and their local communities, here are just a few examples of those vital partnerships taking place with factory partners in China:
Jiangmen Yi Xin Tanning Company Limited
At Jiangmen Yi Xin Tanning Company Limited, management wanted to prevent soil erosion and water loss, reduce noise, and maintain an ecological balance because they wanted to increase workers’ awareness of environmental protection in the area surrounding the tannery—not to mention provide them with a comfortable working environment. So, between 2009 and 2010, they organized the planting of nearly 2,000 larch seedlings on the mountain slopes surrounding the factory. Little by little, those larch seedlings have grown into a burgeoning forest.
Timberland conducted its initial assessment of the tannery soon after the factory began their initial tree-planting effort. The tannery realized that tree planting initiative could benefit from Timberland’s experience serving communities. Timberland offered suggestions to help the factory be more organized, ensure the program had meaningful impacts, create systematic processes, and engage more workers. “Timberland plays the role of facilitator and helps call for more volunteers,” says Nina Lin, one of Timberland’s Code of Conduct Asessors. “That way, more workers can participate in community service and enjoy it.”
Simona Tanning
Desertification is also a concern of workers at Simona Tanning, another of Timberland’s tannery suppliers. Since trees are vital to human life and the environment, a group of 30 employees set out to plant trees alongside a road for China’s National Tree Planting Day (March 12). “Even without Timberland, Simona would carry out the community engagement program because they are committed to being a responsible enterprise,” reports Jackson He, Timberland’s Regional Manager, Code of Conduct in China.
To enhance this community engagement, Timberland supported the supplier’s efforts. As a result, the tannery, its workers, and other volunteers were armed with saplings, shovels, and buckets. In just two hours, they lined the road with 100 little trees. “The volunteers were tired, but full of happiness when they saw the saplings swinging gently in the breeze,” reports Leeka Li, Timberland’s Code of Conduct assessor who works with this tannery. In this way, we can see the connection between Timberland’s assessors’ engagement in factories and a supplier’s commitment to community service and environmental protection.
Making A Difference
These are just a few of the ways that Timberland and our factory partners not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk, by taking a leadership role in engaging employees and stakeholders in activities that have a lasting impact on their local communities … all around the world.
