Environmental Leader

In its first quarter CSR update, Timberland reveals that emissions have risen nearly 18 percent, from 4,502 metric tons in the first quarter of 2008 to 5,308 metric tons in the first quarter of 2009.

Timberland says that it expects the number to improve as the year goes on, because it included full-year estimates for retail operations for which no direct utility information was available. Additionally, the company’s Danville, Ky., distribution facility will be using renewable energy for 100 percent of its needs, further contributing to the carbon bottom line.

Overall, in the first quarter the company used renewable energy for 7.31 percent of its operations, up from 6.67 percent in 2008 and 4.99 percent in 2007.

Here’s a look at Timberland’s emissions, broken down by operation.

In other aspects of Timberland’s operations, it has increased its sourcing of organic cotton. It now sources 38.6 percent of its cotton as organic, up from 7.3 percent in 2007.

Also, the shoe maker is tracking the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in every pair of shoes. In 2008, the company averaged 74.9 grams of VOCs per pair. In the first quarter of 2009, Timberland achieved a drop to 64.9 grams per pair.

For more details, see the links on the right hand side of this Web page.

Last June, Timberland’s Alex Hausman wrote a guest column for Environmental Leader, detailing the company’s reasons for moving to quarterly reporting on CSR.

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