Our goal is to help drive down energy demand for all facilities. One area of focus is our distribution centers, which are some of the largest facilities we operate around the world. Our first distribution center to source renewable energy is located in Enschede, Holland, which today gets 100% of its energy from wind power.

We have additional opportunity to purchase clean energy for our offices, showrooms, and retail stores—where the grid allows. Grid-renewable power from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland is more reliable than other locations, thanks to snow melt from the Alps, according to Alex Crawford, Timberland’s London-based European procurement manager. That power is run by cable to other countries in mainland Europe, such as Italy.

Crawford points out, however, that particular grid does not extend to island nations, like the United Kingdom, where Timberland’s European Headquarters (EHQ) is based. “We wanted to use renewable energy for a long time,” he explains, “but there wasn’t enough supply to meet the demand from businesses.”

Then, in 2010, the British government began investing heavily in renewable power, offering tax breaks and relaxing laws to encourage the creation of power from sources other than fossil fuel. “Power companies erected big wind farms out in the ocean off the coast of Britain, so within the last 18 months, the supply has increased dramatically,” Crawford says.

Timberland’s procurement and facilities teams in the U.K. jumped at the opportunity to support the company’s energy goals in their homeland. With the help of National Utility Services, an integrated energy solutions firm, we were able to consolidate energy suppliers, and now source energy from a single supplier for our EHQ location 20 miles west of London, and another supplier for all retail locations in the U.K. This consolidation has offered a financial benefit, as well as an environmental one: we can buy renewable energy in bulk, resulting in cost savings.

There was a certain amount of upheaval and expense in making the change, since all the meters needed to be replaced and a new reporting system had to be implemented to provide more accurate details about energy usage. Nevertheless, according to Crawford, as of August 1, 2011, nearly all of the energy used by Timberland in the U.K. is derived from renewable sources. “One of the great things about working for Timberland is that we always work as a team,” says Crawford. “Everybody pulled together to deliver this financially and environmentally beneficial result.”

Because of our focus on sourcing clean energy in Europe and elsewhere, Timberland met its goal of purchasing 15% clean energy out of our total energy usage in 2011. Going forward, we anticipate challenges as we look for opportunities to curb energy demand and emissions while still growing our business and expanding our international presence. Stay tuned to updates on Timberland’s Responsibility site for how we’ll tackle this challenge.

-- Download Big Steps to Renewable Energy in Europe as PDF --

At the time the staff began contemplating a move, Evergreen Brick Works targeted the former Don Valley Brick Works—a 12-acre complex of historic but deteriorating buildings in Toronto—for transformation into an international showcase for urban sustainability and green design.

Established in 1991, Evergreen Canada is a national charity that seeks to deepen the connection between people and nature within an urban setting, by creating a community environmental center that inspires and equips visitors to live, work, and play more sustainably.

In restoring and renovating the complex, Evergreen implemented a number of innovative and eco-conscious features, including:

• An on-site garden center selling local produce, with proceeds funding Evergreen’s efforts
• Solar chimneys to improve air flow and reduce the need for air conditioning
• Solar panels attached to the hot water heater, meeting 50% of the demand for hot water
• A roof that reflects light to lower summer building temperatures
• Rooftop grass and wildflower plantings for wildlife habitat and stormwater retention
• Rain-harvesting cisterns

“Even the parking lot was built with the environment in mind,” marvels Josh McKellar, marketing manager for Timberland in Canada. “The porous concrete lets water flow through as if the parking lot wasn’t there. This helps maintain the natural water cycle—reducing stormwater runoff and replenishing groundwater.” McKellar also points out that the LED parking lot lights are designed to direct light downward, keeping the sky naturally dark for birds, insects, and bats and simultaneously reducing energy use by 85 percent.

Evergreen’s efforts to reduce environmental impact have received much acclaim, including LEED® Platinum Certification for its anchor building and recognition as a “Top 10 Geotourism Destination” by National Geographic shortly after the complex opened in 2010. So it’s no wonder that competition among potential tenants was high.

In our application for space at Evergreen Brick Works, Timberland stressed the alignment of the company’s values with those of Evergreen and the potential for collaborating on sustainable innovation and consumer engagement, such as the “Earth Month” tree-planting event that occurs every April.

The application was approved, and Timberland’s Canada staff moved into the new office space in June 2011. “Their vision is to create a community of like-minded groups,” says McKellar. “We became the only for profit company to occupy the Evergreen Brick Works because of our corporate environmental commitment. They felt this would help round out the community.”

The total cost to Timberland was $60,000, a figure that included building out the raw space and moving furniture to the new location. The company also realized immediate savings of $2,000 per month in rent. From an environmental standpoint, the new site provides better access to public transportation, and the building’s energy efficiency features will contribute to Timberland’s ability to meet our 2015 goal of a 50% emissions reduction for our global facilities and air travel. In addition, according to McKellar, “The location will allow us to better interact with and respond to our customers, and we’ll also appeal to consumers who demand more from a sustainability standpoint for our product.”

As a result of this move, the Canada staff earned Timberland’s coveted Carden Welsh Award for Environmental Excellence, an honor established in 2002 and awarded annually to individuals or teams of employees whose actions lead to a sustainable improvement in Timberland’s environmental footprint.

-- Download Timberland Canada’s Sustainable Office as PDF --

As we look ahead to how we’ll continue to make a difference, we’re also taking time to reflect on the journey that brought the Path of Service™ program into its current form. Twenty years ago, the idea of giving employees paid time off to perform community service was unconventional. For many executives, giving back to the community signifies corporate philanthropy. For Timberland, it means sharing our most valuable resource—our employees’ time—to engage and improve communities by building trails, planting trees, creating community gardens and transforming playgrounds.

The inception of service as a core business value began with an introduction from City Year—an education-focused nonprofit that unites young people for a year of full-time service. In 1989, City Year Co-Founders Alan Khazei and Michael Brown approached Timberland with a request for fifty pairs of boots. We granted the request, but Khazei and Brown weren’t finished with us. They invited Timberland to learn more through service and planned Timberland’s first corporate service day. Jeff Swartz, Timberland’s former CEO, was inspired. Never one to back down from a challenge, Swartz introduced the benefit of 16 paid community service hours per year for all employees.

Jackie Mitchell of Timberland’s Human Resources department was there when the idea blossomed and remembers it well: “Jeff, perched high on a fork lift, shared his passion, vision, and dreams for employees to serve in their community and ‘how the private sector can and must be a partner with the public sector to ensure the health of our community.’” On September 18, 1992, our Path of Service™ program was officially born. According to Mitchell, the idea “became a reality when Jeff and a group of employees left work and joined City Year to paint a youth home called Odyssey House in Hampton, New Hampshire.”

Timberland’s community service program has grown from offering up to 16 paid community service hours in 1992, to up to 40 paid hours in 1995—which continues today. Now, Timberland organizes two annual global service events—Earth Day and Serv-a-palooza—to provide company-sponsored opportunities for employees use their hours. Employees are also invited to serve independently or in small groups at projects of their choosing. Additionally, Timberland sponsors a service sabbatical program that grants employees up to six months of paid leave to provide transformational capacity building service to nonprofit organizations.

But it doesn’t end with us. Our service has grown beyond our corporate walls, and our projects now include Timberland vendors, distributors, supplier factories, consumers, community members, and friends and family. As of 2012, Timberland has performed more than 800,000 hours of service around the world. “We’re a relatively small company with a big impact,” notes Atlanta McIlwraith, Timberland’s senior manager of community engagement. “Last year, 40 percent of the volunteers at Timberland-sponsored service events worldwide were business partners, and we hope to increase that percentage in 2012.”

To celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary, we’re gearing up for a special celebration at our fall Serv-a-palooza event, and our Global Stewards are helping us maximize engagement around the globe. For example, our Taiwan and Hong Kong offices are inviting consumers to serve at various Timberland-sponsored service events throughout the year. Consumers in Taiwan who serve 24 hours at Timberland events in 2012 will receive a free Timberland® T-shirt, and those who serve 40 hours will get a free pair of Earthkeepers® boots.

What’s more is that VF, Timberland’s new parent company, stands behind our commitment to service. According to Patty Pierce, Vice President of Human Resources for VF’s Outdoor Coalition (of which Timberland is a part), “VF recognizes that service is a critical element of Timberland’s culture. We joined Timberland in service at last year’s Serv-a-palooza and saw the benefits service brings to the work environment, the community, and to the business. We were inspired and decided to expand our own service commitment. VF’s Outdoor Coalition and VF’s Action Sports Coalition are excited to expand their community service and will now join Timberland in having two Coalition-wide service days each year, Earth Day in April and a second day in September.”

As we reflect on what we’ve accomplished in 20 years, we’re proud to say we’re just getting started. We’re excited that more consumers and partners than ever before will be joining us this year in creating positive change around the world.

-- Download 20 Years of Positive Change as PDF --

Our Earthkeepers® line is grounded in a philosophy of reducing our impact on the planet while making premium gear. To do that, we strive to incorporate organic and recycled materials into the design, seek to minimize environmental impacts in our manufacturing processes, and offer transparency in the form of our Green Index® rating, which lets you compare the impact of one pair of Timberland® footwear to another.

So, when Pete Lankford, Design Director for Earthkeepers and Timberland Boot Company, began thinking about a new Earthkeepers® collection, he wanted to create something that would exemplify the philosophy.

Four materials, expertly combined

“The Hookset Handcrafted collection is all about simplicity,” Lankford says. “We started with the question: ‘If we could only work with four materials, what would those be?’ We knew the materials would have to be things people were familiar with—things that they trusted. But we also knew they had to be attractive and durable.”

The four materials the team chose are:

• Organic cotton
• Natural rubber
• Aluminum
• Leather pieces

Lankford notes that all of these materials are eco-conscious. Latex rubber, for example, is sourced right from the living tree, and organic cotton is grown without toxic fertilizers or pesticides. Even the leather represents clever repurposing: some of the leather details in the Hookset Handcrafted collection were sourced right from the cutting room floor—and all leather in the collection is LWG silver-rated. In fact, the footwear has proven so popular that the factory ran out of leather scraps and used non-scrap LWG silver-rated leather to fulfill some of the orders.

The Earthkeepers® Hookset collection is made by hand and dyed individually, honoring Timberland’s proud tradition of handcrafted footwear. Because the collection is handmade and requires less machinery to make, it’s cost-effective to produce. Additionally, using fewer materials and making shoes by hand reduces its environmental impact, allowing the collection to achieve an average score of 3.5 out of 10 on Timberland’s Green Index® scoring system—the lowest score in the history of the company.

“When we set out to create the Earthkeepers® collection, our goal was to produce footwear that’s every bit as premium as everything else we make, and made with less impact to the planet,” says Lankford. “The Hookset Handcrafted collection marks a major milestone—proving that quality, durability and craftsmanship can coexist with eco-sensitivity and create a remarkable shoe.”

Hear from Pete Lankford directly and learn more about the collection here.

-- Download Simple Design, Reduced Environmental Impact as PDF --

As a values-driven company, Timberland is always looking for ways to walk the walk as we talk the talk around our Earthkeepers philosophy. Of course, it’s not always easy. When it comes to community service, we often face questions from employees about how to take time out of the office to serve while staying on top of their job duties and growing the business.

That’s the task at hand for Rob Rizzotti, Director of National Accounts for Timberland’s U.S. Field Sales Team, a group of fifty-plus field-based sales reps. In this role as a Global Steward, Rob works to inform, inspire and engage the team by sharing our CSR programs and values. Chief among these values is giving back as we serve in our communities. But how do you convince a team of highly career-driven sales reps who are scattered around the country to shift gears and get out to serve?

At a December 2011 sales conference, backed by senior sales leadership, Rizzotti presented Timberland’s four CSR pillars (climate, product, factories and service), to the North America sales team. Much like Timberland’s senior management team, who supports and champions responsible business practices, Rizzotti sees service as an integral part of the sales team’s strategy for success.

“It’s not just who we are—it’s also good for business. Service strengthens relationships with retailers and business partners in a way that taking them out to lunch doesn’t,” Rizzotti says. “You see a different side of people when you’re rolling up your sleeves and working for a common cause.”

Rizzotti recognizes that the sales team has unique opportunities to engage customers, whether they’re large national retailers or small independent retailers. On a local level, service can be as simple as joining with a Timberland® retail store to gather canned goods for a food drive. For larger retailers, service reps can partner to serve charitable organizations that the account already knows, or create a new initiative. Rizzotti has also found websites like VolunteerMatch.org helpful for identifying local, established service opportunities for sales reps across the country.

Timberland’s North America sales team’s service initiatives aren’t a new idea, but an expansion of what’s been happening for years. For the past five years, Account Executive Jim Bohmer has organized a service event with Camp Cheerful, an Ohio-based camp for children and adults with disabilities. At Camp Cheerful, Timberland volunteers work side-by-side with members from our Lucky account. Lucky brings up to fifteen of their own employees, who grow as a team and grow in service with their Timberland partners.

Alongside camp volunteers, the team assists children in therapeutic horseback riding program and distributes donated boots. Rizzotti notes that this kind of engagement with accounts and partners “goes deeper than just having a good dinner—it humanizes our relationship.”

Timberland’s sales teams have also been serving in groups with their accounts for years—and even inspiring Shoe Carnival, a key Timberland account, to begin its own tradition of service. Every September 11th, a Timberland sales team serves at a school in the Bronx, commemorating the same day in 2001 when they first served at a school in that community before knowing the historic events that would unfold. In 2012, Rizzotti’s New York sales team plans to serve on Earth Day with partners from Macy’s, Nautica, North Face and Paragon Sports.

Rizzotti staunchly believes relationships are the core of the business. “I know in my heart and I’ve seen it firsthand, that when you’re serving with an account, planting flowers and trees and working with kids side-by-side, it makes a huge difference in building trust and a deeper relationship,” he says. “As a sales rep, when you do something like this, it shows what you’re made of—that you’re a person with a heart, you want to give back, and you want your business to honor that as well.”

At Timberland, we’re optimistic that this type of interaction will continue to create different conversations and new partnership opportunities – and that’s simply good business.

-- Download Strengthening Relationships Through Service as PDF --

• The Global Employee Survey
• Path of Service™
• Global Stewards
• Integrity Line

• Surveys and focus groups
• Nutrition Label and Green Index®
• Civic Engagement
• Timberland Community

• Earth Day
• Serv-a-palooza
• Factory Engagement in Service
• Sustainable Living Environments
• Employee Engagement in Nonprofit Boards

• Adherence to Code of Conduct
• Annual Supplier Summit
• Capacity Building
• Human Rights initiatives

• Direct collaboration on CSR objectives
• Annual planning and review
• Focused feedback on CSR activities

• Press Releases
• Meetings and briefings

• Engagement on regulatory issues
• Adherence to laws where we operate
• Advocacy on climate change

• Industry alliances and associations
• CSR ventures (consumer and community)
• Conferences and trainings

You can’t make good shoes without good-quality leather. And that has long posed an ethical issue for Timberland. Namely, as an environmentally progressive firm, what can we do to reduce the environmental impacts required by the tanning process?

We’re not the only ones to have asked that question. Several brands have been conducting audits over the years—bringing confusion and even conflicting standards to the tanneries. In April 2005, Timberland and a number of other brands formed a coalition called the Leather Working Group (LWG), an organization with the objective of developing and maintaining a protocol that assesses the compliance and environmental performance of tanners, and promoting sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry.

“Initially, there was pushback from the tanneries, who said, ‘We don’t need another audit’” reveals Rick LaTouch, Senior Manager of Leather Development at Timberland. However, once tanneries realized the benefit of creating alignment on environmental issues the improvement was exponential. LWG environmental audits are conducted 18 months apart, and the results between first and subsequent audits for all participating tanneries were overall reductions of 15 to 20 percent in water and energy use. Tanneries have also seen improvements in air emissions, water effluent quality, waste, and restricted substance handling.

LWG audited tanneries were soon setting the standard for environmental performance in the footwear leather industry. Two tanneries with whom Timberland does business illustrate the effectiveness of the LWG.

PrimeAsia Tanning

PrimeAsia Tanning was among the tannery and footwear brands that founded the LWG. Located in China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, PrimeAsia is a primary leather provider to Timberland’s global footwear supply chain.

“The LWG provides a collaborative environment where all tanneries are held to high environmental standards within the leather industry,” says Steve Savino, vice president of sales and marketing for PrimeAsia. “We expected that LWG audits would help us focus on documenting our energy usage, provide a benchmark for comparison against other audited tanneries, and help us identify opportunities for decreasing our energy and water usage.”

Has the LWG succeeded in achieving this goal? According to Savino, PrimeAsia’s involvement in LWG has resulted in substantial water and energy savings. For example, PrimeAsia Vietnam has implemented a solar farm to provide the tannery with its hot-water needs for manufacturing, and also upgraded the efficiency of its steam boilers. These achievements helped the tannery achieve Gold status according to its last LWG audit. PrimeAsia’s China and Taiwan facilities purchase steam from a nearby industry, which would otherwise be unused – contributing to those tanneries’ Gold and Silver status (respectively). “We also went from no water recycling to a corporate average of approximately 40% of water recycled within our facilities,” Savino reports. “PrimeAsia’s environmental improvement projects have resulted in production efficiencies and financial benefits.”

ISA Tan Tec

Located in China and Vietnam, ISA Tan Tec is another primary source of leather for Timberland® footwear. In 2006, Tan Tec organized a coalition of Foreign Tanners in China (FTC), inviting other tanneries to join them for roundtable discussions and other projects aimed at raising awareness of the need for environmental reform within the industry. As a result, the collaboration proposed by the LWG made sense. “Our participation in the LWG was a natural consequence and development of the FTC and enabled us to move from a purely Chinese perspective to a global set of standards,” says Fanny Lan, Tan Tec’s EHS manager and assistant to the president in Guangzhou, China.

Between 2005 and 2010, Tan Tec reduced water consumption by 45.4%—a reduction that has resulted in savings not only in consumption, but also in treatment and discharge costs. “Despite ever-increasing costs in China, we have been able to decrease our water treatment cost by around 10%,” Lan says.

Another example is the reduction in power consumption. By investing in energy-saving equipment, such as new retanning drums that operate at one-third the speed of conventional drums, Guangzhou Tan Tec has reduced power consumption by 38% during that same time period. According to Lan, “Guangzhou Tan Tec has managed to keep the power cost on the same levels as in 2005, a cost that would have been almost doubled in 2010 had we not focused heavily on energy-reduction programs.”

Timberland’s Role

As a result of its commitment to the LWG, Timberland has set a target to source leather only from tanneries that are rated silver or higher—not an easy task for the factories in question. “Obtaining a medal isn’t easy,” LaTouch points out. “The protocol is dynamic and is regularly updated to ensure that it is challenging but achievable. Seldom does a tannery get audited the same way twice. The tanners understand that it’s good for the industry – and the planet.”

Lan agrees. “Timberland today is the only brand who officially sets targets for tanneries’ environmental performance based on a minimum medal criterion. Guangzhou Tan Tec underwent the first LWG audit in 2007 and had prepared for this. The result was a silver medal, but further audits have increased our LWG rating to gold, which is something we are proud of,” she says, adding, “Daily decisions are taken with the eye to keep this status.”

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