Climate Impact We're outdoor people. We make boots and gear and clothes. For your journey. To equip you to make your difference. So, we better make sure the trail is there to hike, the mountain to climb, the river to traverse, the landscape to inspire. Climate change is impacting the health of our ecosystems and our ability to recreate outdoors. Sadly, we contribute to this problem every time we turn on a computer or make a pair of boots. When anything puts our planet–and all who inhabit it–at risk, we act.

In 2004, we initiated drastic energy-efficiency improvements that led to energy and emissions savings of over 40% at our largest facilities. We also started investing in renewable energy. In 2006, solar energy began powering our Ontario (California) Distribution Center. Ontario now features one of the world's 50 largest solar arrays, generating approximately 60% of the facility's energy needs. This is Timberland's third facility to utilize clean energy sources, significantly decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases.

We are also minimizing our carbon footprint by planting trees. If you shop at our Regent Street store in London and purchase a pair of boots, we will plant a tree for you at the forest of Marston Vale. By 2010, through our partnership with GreenNet (we will plant over one million trees in Mongolia's Horquin Dessert.) This project has the potential to save close to a half-million tons of carbon emissions over the life of the forest. At the same time, we will improve air quality for all of the region's inhabitants by reducing sand clouds that travel over Chinese cities.

Carbon neutral by 2010 is a big goal. But we have an aggressive plan in place and the wisdom of partners like Clean Air-Cool Planet (CACP) and The Climate Group to lead the way. You can track how just how well we are doing by the nutritional labels found on our new footwear boxes–made, of course, with 100% post-consumer recycled paper and soy-based inks.

The labels provide accurate and transparent measures of impact and they inform consumer choice, stakeholder analysis and industry-collaboration. And every day, the challenge of improving their scores inspires our team to do better.