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Timberland to visit Dartmouth Tuck MBA Students
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Description:
On April 8, 2009 Timberland's CSR team will visit Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. We look forward to giving these future leaders an overview of our CSR strategy and will dialogue with them on Just Means before and after the visit.
For our other Just Means stakeholders, feel free to join this discussion online!
Please note: this event is primarily designed for Dartmouth Tuck MBA students. Timberland often receives requests to visit student groups and reviews them on a quarterly basis. Unfortunately we are not able to accommodate all requests. If your school is interested, please let us know by emailing us at csrinfo@timberland.com.
Welcome Dartmouth Tuck MBA students! We're interested in your comments about our CSR programs and hope you will visit our Report pages (accessible from our Just Means homepage) to review and comment on our Q4 and year end 2008 performance in the following categories:
- Q4 2008 Dashboard
- Q4 2008 Energy Data
- Q4 2008 Product Data
- Q4 2008 Workplace Data
- Q4 2008 Service Data
- Q4 2008 Factory List
We're also interested in your feedback - here's a specific question to kick off our dialogue: What role do you think CSR plays in building a brand?
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Recent Comment
Karenne Eng | Posted: 7 April 2009
I think it's harder for Timberland to control how its brand is perceived with regards to CSR/sustainability efforts versus Patagonia. Patagonia can control its brand much more closely because distribution is more limited and the retail stores I believe play a key role in communicating its initiatives. Not only that, it seems that sustainability has always been the name of the game for Patagonia as that is what jives with its core customers. Timberland has a very diverse set of customer segments and I think that has challenged the company in many ways, its CSR efforts being one of them. Subsequently, Patagonia's customer base will always be pulling the company in the direction of greater and greater CSR efforts, where that is not the case for Timberland (I don't think).
Karenne Eng | Posted: 7 April 2009
Following the comments of others, I am struggling with the dilemma of how to present the reported information in a way that is factually accurate and completely transparent while also being digestible to common readers. I really appreciate the fact that the reports are very specific and transparent in terms of goals reached or not reached and reasons why. I think in the class we've talked about the pitfalls of ambiguous goal setting and reporting in such environmental initiatives. However, there is a drawback in that because there is so much information, it is hard for the average consumer to grasp. So the question is, is there a way to make something like the Dashboard more consumer friendly...or perhaps this is something that is already done, but not readily available on the justmeans site.
Brad Lang | Posted: 7 April 2009
On the subject of incorporating materials that are recyclable (or biogdegradable), I would like to know more how Timberland evaluates potential tradeoffs, such as is in shoe performance (e.g., reduced durability, functionality, etc.).
Oliver Perez | Posted: 7 April 2009
I think that is the big question companies face in today's environment. How much CSR is done because its the right thing and how much is done because its the popular thing to do?
I think the communication aspect is so important to show how the initiatives are integrated into the broader brand & company strategy and positioning.
Good branding & marketing can create the direct link to CSR and help that be one of the things a brand stands for, ultimately consumers still need to be the judges of whether or not the company is genuine.
Laura Miller | Posted: 7 April 2009
I am also wondering how the annual hours utilization target is set. The targets of around 40% still leave a lot of hours that aren't being used. I'm curious as to why this target is not higher. It is an issue of not being compensated like Matt has suggested? Or is Timberland going to be increasing the target utilization rate in the future?
Jenn Blazejewski | Posted: 6 April 2009
I have a more specific question related to an innovation that Brooks Sports developed - a fully biodegradable midsole foam for their footwear/running shoes. It is my understanding that they have chosen to treat this as an "open source" innovation so that other footwear companies can consider incorporating it into their products. While I recognize that Timberland is focusing on recycling with the Earthkeepers line, etc., is work being done to incorporate other innovations to accelerate biodegradation of the many products that will still end up in landfills?
I agree with many of the comments below related to the site. I like some of the information that Brooks provides re: the environmental impact of its products as I can read the brief FAQs and understand at a high level the progress the company is making. http://www.brooksrunning.com/Green Room/BioMoGo FAQs/#222 While there is clearly a wealth of information in your reports, I think it is difficult for the average customer (assuming you aim to communicate with your customers via these reports) to gain similar insights from your reports.
Matt DeLellis | Posted: 6 April 2009
I am looking forward to hearing Timberland's motivation for reporting these gross service figures, and what negative effect they have seen (if any) in showing year-over-year declines. Are employees compensated for performing community service? Are bonuses impacted? To me BUR seems the most relevant statistic for the company as a whole...and yet still not clear how this helps the company's image if left solely to the discretion of the employee himself/herself.
Interesting points they made about the current economy impacting community service as well.
Carolyn Zern | Posted: 6 April 2009
I wonder how much of that is seasonal - there tend to be a lot of volunteer opportunities in the summer - at least more than the typical Thanksgiving soup kitchen brand of events. Maybe?
Aisha Barry | Posted: 6 April 2009
I read Stefan's comments and I think they capture my sentiment as I read through the site. you shared. If I looked at this from an investor standpoint, I wanted financial evidence that the company's efforts were building value vs. acting as a distraction from building the business. There seems to be a bias within the site to link the efforts to being good citizen (vs. highlighting how the efforts are also good business).
I also looked at the corporate website to understand how CSR is talked in this communication compared to other companies. I was surprised to find tools that were focused on me as the end user vs. discussing solely what the company is doing. The communication seems targeted to end users who are commited to environmental efforts. Given this choice in focus, have you been able to measure increases in brand loyalty as a result of this effort? What is driving your choice for who you target as an audience in your communications? Have you thought through and identified any possible risks associated with taking a high ground on environmental issues? How have you working to proactively mitigate these risks?
Michael Garvey | Posted: 6 April 2009
I agree with Itamar that Timberland is making some impressive CSR investments. One area that seems to have fallen off, however, is in the amount of time spent serving the community (12,600 hrs in 2008Q4 versus 24,000ish in 2008Q2 and Q3). What caused the ramp-up in Q2 and Q3? Is the Q4 result an anomaly or does it reflect a corporate de-emphasis on community service?
