Timberland Launches 2007-2008 CSR Report & New Voices of Challenge Dialogue 

STRATHAM, N.H.  – October 14, 2009. Timberland announced the release of its 2007- 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report and a new Dialogue opportunity at www.earthkeeper.com/csr.

This bi-annual report is a more comprehensive compliment to the company’s quarterly reporting efforts, and is designed to create a two-way dialogue for collecting feedback on its CSR initiatives.  The report not only highlights Timberland’s accomplishments and forward-looking goals in its four CSR pillars of energy, product, workplaces, and service, but also invites readers to share feedback and ideas for improvement through an online tool called Voices of Challenge. 

Voices of Challenge, also hosted on www.earthkeeper.com/csr, is a dynamic online forum to engage thought leaders, practitioners, NGOs, investors, students and consumers on specific CSR challenges facing the business community.  Thought leaders kicking off the online dialogue include Bill McKibben of www.350.org, Joel Makower of Green Biz, Dominque Conseil of Aveda, Li Qiang of China Labor Watch, and Mayor Bloomberg of New York City. Through Voices of Challenge, Timberland hopes to spark a global conversation with all people who care about these issues that will lead to collaborative problem-solving.

Other highlights of the report include the following progress against each of its Four CSR Pillars:

• Energy: Timberland reduced its absolute carbon emissions from owned and operated facilities and employee air travel by 27% over its 2006 baseline, exceeding its goal of 25%. Timberland also became one of the first in the industry to begin measuring and disclosing supply chain emissions for energy use at third-party contract factories.
• Product: Timberland scored 1% of its total footwear products using the Green Index® environmental rating system, its program for designing environmental harms out of its products and informing consumers about its products’ environmental impacts to spur more sustainable purchasing. Timberland’s goal is to score all its footwear by the end of 2011.
• Workplaces: Timberland significantly reduced the percentage of footwear made in high risk factories from 34% in 2007 to 1% in 2008.  Factories receive high risk ratings if they have high probability and potential for violations such as excessive working hours; debt-bonded or child labor; or lack effective safety mechanisms on machinery.
• Service: Timberland employees served over 165,000 hours in the community in 2007 and 2008.  In total, employee volunteers planted over 390,000 trees, conserved or beautified over 600 acres of land, and refurbished or installed nearly 400 miles of trails during these two years.

In addition to a 30-page printed report, Timberland has electronically published four complementary ‘Dig Deeper’ papers, each aligned with one of Timberland’s CSR pillars and available on www.earthkeeper.com/csr.  These papers provide more detail on Timberland’s programs, execution, strategy and results for those stakeholders that are looking for more information on the following topics:

• Energy: Timberland’s Climate Strategy
• Product: Grading our Products: Timberland’s Green Index® Program
• Workplace: Beyond Factory Walls: Engaging Workers & Strengthening Communities
• Service: Engaging Employees: Timberland’s Global Stewards Program

The report was developed using the G3 and Apparel and Footwear Sector Supplement of the Global Reporting Initiative.  The report and the “Dig Deeper” papers were reviewed by a team of external stakeholders convened by Ceres, a national network working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges. 

We hope you will engage in the Voices of Challenge dialogue!