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At the Top of Their Game • 193

their business. So what specifically are they doing to understand their own
carbon footprint?

• Timberland is partnering with factories to help them reduce emis-
sions that come from the manufacturing of products.
• Timberland has designed a tool called the Green Index® that gives
consumers information about the environmental footprint of foot-
wear. This tool also allows designers to choose less-carbon-intensive
materials.
• Timberland is working closely with transportation vendors to make
changes in how and where product is shipped.
• And, while it’s not easy to quantify how this fits in to its footprint,
even indirectly, Timberland also takes seriously the opportunity
to advocate for public policy changes that benefit the environment
and to engage consumers through online conversations at http://
www.earthkeeper.com.

Timberland has achieved a 27% reduction in emissions (attributable to
its owned and operated facilities and employee travel) since 2006 due to
efficiency improvements, renewable-energy development, and employee
engagement. In this time, Timberland has built three renewable-energy
systems including transitioning one of its largest and most polluting
facilities over to renewable energy, a comprehensive program for engaging
employees in reducing individual emissions, and the first certified LEED
retail store in the world. A key part of Timberland’s strategy is setting
boundaries for its own carbon footprint by laying out a comprehensive
reduction plan, which will include verifying greenhouse gas inventory
through a third-party vendor, reducing energy demand through effi-
ciency improvements, purchasing clean, renewable energy whenever pos-
sible, generating its own renewable energy on-site, and when necessary,
purchasing renewable-energy credits and offsets to offset emissions and
develop local renewable-energy projects.
Probably one of the more interesting of the initiatives, the Green Index,
deserves a closer look. Timberland’s Green Index score provides informa-
tion to the consumer similar to that provided on food labels. Consumers,
once they understand what they are looking at, will easily be able to distin-
guish which products are better suited for the environmentally conscious.
The Green Index scoring is based on areas within their design and manu-
facturing. What it also does is allow the company to view their products