Responsible Energy
Our Goals for Dec. 2025
- 100% renewable energy for Allbirds “owned & operated” facilities
- 100% renewable energy for our finished good manufacturers
- Achieve steady state of more than 95% ocean shipping
- 100% of customers machine wash on cold and 50% of customers hang-dry Allbirds apparel
Why We Care
We define “energy” broadly, so that it encompasses electricity and fuel across materials processing, manufacturing, transportation, and customer care. Which is to say, we believe the impact of our products is our responsibility even after it goes home with you. All in all, these categories make up close to 3/4 of our carbon footprint. Which is to say, energy is a part of everything we do as a business. And that means we don’t just need to eliminate fossil fuels from the materials we source, but from the energy we use, too. So whether it’s collaborating with suppliers to develop cleaner manufacturing processes, investing in low-carbon shipping, helping customers to care for our products responsibly, or sourcing renewable energy for our retail and office spaces, this all plays a substantial role in the strategy to reduce our environmental footprint.
What We’re Doing
Since we’re still a relatively small business, we don’t use much energy to begin with—at least in comparison to bigger companies—and the energy that we do use is distributed all around the world. This makes it hard for us to participate in renewable energy markets. We don’t own any of our factories, but we work with them collaboratively to procure on-site renewables. We’re also working to maximize ocean shipping, which is much less carbon intensive than shipping by air. Finally, there’s customer use. We want to be accountable to the full lifecycle impact of everything we make. But we can’t control what kind of energy customers use when washing or drying the products they buy from us. All that said, we think we have a responsibility to all impacts of our business and will do everything in our power to change behavior and lower our collective footprint. Right now, that looks like providing suggested care instructions with a lower impact, manufacturing in regions with cleaner grids, and working with suppliers on energy efficiency measures. Truly realizing a responsible energy future will require change on a global scale through policy changes, so we plan to advocate for progress on this level, too.
