Boston, May 7, 2025 – 16.3% of Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. investors cast their votes Thursday in favor of a Green Century shareholder proposal asking the company to establish science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Wolverine is the owner of several leading footwear and apparel brands, including Merrell, Saucony and Chaco.
“Ambitious climate targets lead to ambitious climate action,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century. “Investors want Wolverine to not only disclose its climate emissions but also to set targets to reduce them on pace with the rest of the industry and in line with effective climate risk mitigation.”
Wolverine trails peers in disclosing its climate emissions and adopting science-based emissions reduction targets. While the goal of its brands is to bring consumers into the outdoors, Wolverine is not adequately protecting the natural places its customers value.
The footwear and apparel industry is a major climate polluter
According to some estimates, the footwear and apparel industry worldwide is responsible for more emissions than France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined. Therefore, Wolverine’s lack of emissions reduction targets may worry consumers — especially younger, increasingly climate-conscious customers — who understand the harmful impacts of growing greenhouse gas emissions.
More than 10,000 companies, 627 of which are in the footwear and apparel industry, have set or committed to setting science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. By adopting climate goals, these companies may better demonstrate that they are trying to decrease the threat climate change poses to their businesses and the planet.
“Wolverine should join its peers in more meaningfully tackling climate risk,” said Green Century shareholder advocate Giovanna Eichner. “Setting science-based targets would help Wolverine mitigate the financial, reputational, and systemic risks posed by climate change and ultimately advance the company’s efforts to protect the planet its customers seek to enjoy.”
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