Caleres Reports ESG Progress at the Halfway Point to Its Target Date of 2025
Jennie Bell
Deputy Managing Editor
Ahead of Earth Day, Caleres has released its latest environmental, social, governance (ESG) report to share an update on its activities in 2022 in relation to the company’s 2025 commitments.
“We are celebrating strong progress as we cross the halfway mark on our 2025 ESG goals,” said Jay Schmidt, president and CEO of Caleres, the parent company of Famous Footwear, as well as Sam Edelman, Vionic, Dr. Scholl’s, Allen Edmonds and other brands. “We are proud of what we have achieved thus far and believe the collective passion, focus and commitment of our Associates will enable us to reach our targets.”
Some of the company’s most notable accomplishments are related to its environmental initiatives.
In 2020, Caleres began developing a set of ESG targets to achieve by 2025, based on the results of its materiality assessment and the expectations of its stakeholders.
This week, it reported that 75 percent of its owned products now use environmentally preferred materials (EPMs), putting it in striking distance of its goal of 100 percent by 2025.
Additionally, the company met its annual goal for all shoeboxes for owned brands to use EPMs, meaning they contain at least 70 percent recycled content, and all are recyclable in residential recycling bins. In 2023, Caleres will go a step further and transition to using box content certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSG), indicating that it was sourced from forests that are managed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Among its other accomplishments, Caleres reclaimed, recycled or refurbished 90,000 pairs of shoes in 2022, meeting its annual goal.
And it is more than three-quarters of the way from achieving its target of a 25 percent reduction in energy use in Caleres-owned retail stores and distribution centers.
One area where more progress is needed is in stocking sustainable products on retail shelves. Caleres set a goal for 25 percent of footwear units sold in its Famous Footwear stores to use EPMs, but it is only 31.2 percent into reaching that target.
