The Timberland Company, Inc. will use solar generated power as the primary source of electricity at its Ontario, California distribution center following the completion of a solar panel installation. Timberland's distribution center will be the first facility in California's Inland Empire to generate the majority of its power from a solar panel and is one of the top 50 largest solar installations in the world. The unveiling of the solar panel kicks-off Timberland's global Earth Day celebration taking place in 26 countries around the world.
According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, this last decade was the hottest in the past 150 years because of global warming. The rise in temperatures has, for the most part, been attributed to increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, including industrial processes. The Timberland solar panel will significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions created by the Ontario distribution center by an estimated 480,000 pounds of carbon emissions annually, therefore decreasing its dependency on electricity currently generated by fossil fuels and other sources.
“We are fully committed to reducing our environmental impact and decreasing dependency on natural resources by finding alternative ways to produce energy,” said Jeffrey Swartz, Timberland's President and CEO. “The solar panel in Ontario is one of many future efforts in renewable and green energy practices for Timberland – and I hope for the retail industry as well.”
The solar panel at Timberland's Ontario distribution center was designed, engineered, and installed by Northern Power; Sharp is the manufacturer of this 400 kW solar power system. This is Timberland's second distribution center to be powered in part by clean energy sources. Its European Distribution Center in Enschede, Holland is 100% powered by wind, waste steam, and small-scale hydro-power sources. Additionally, wind power generates energy and solar power heats 100% of the water at Timberland's Dominican Republic manufacturing facility.
The solar panel unveiling will help Timberland's 9th Annual Earth Day celebration get underway with over 140 planned service activities worldwide, including a trail clearing event in the neighboring San Bernardino National Forest. This is the ninth consecutive year Timberland has organized Earth Day service events, and every year has seen significant increases in the number of sites, volunteers and hours served. This year, Timberland anticipates 7,000+ volunteers will serve an estimated 46,000 hours, a 53% increase from 2005.
Timberland's solar power initiative and its Earth Day volunteer activities are just two examples of the company's environmental stewardship. Timberland recently announced an environmentally-friendly packaging and labeling initiative that will debut later this year. Timberland's commitment to the environment is also illustrated in every day practices and programs such as product development, manufacturing and green building initiatives, non-profit partnerships and distribution logistics.
