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As a global leader in casual footwear, Crocs, Inc. sells millions of pairs of shoes annually and has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, including HEYDUDE.
In pursuit of aligning its global scale with its core values, Crocs, Inc. has made public commitments to environmental goals at both the organizational and product levels. Crocs, Inc.’s organizational goals are validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), aiming to achieve true decarbonization and reach net-zero by 2040. They have also set specific product goals to increase biocircular content and reduce the footprint of their flagship product, the “Classic Clog.”
To meet their ambitious targets, Crocs, Inc. began integrating bio-circular content into their proprietary material, Croslite™. To report these reductions in their Annual ESG Report and validate their strategy, they needed to move beyond high-level "spend-based" estimates. They required granular, product-level carbon footprints (PCFs) that could increase the accuracy of their Scope 3 measurements and pass ISO verification.
Driven by frequent innovations and the need to demonstrate their most recent progress, Crocs, Inc. faced a tight reporting deadline. Like many businesses aggressively decarbonizing, they could not afford the industry-standard 3–6 month cycle for lifecycle assessments and needed a partner capable of delivering audit-ready precision in a fraction of the time.
To ensure future environmental reductions were financially viable, Crocs, Inc. also needed a systematic way to identify and validate the most efficient decarbonization options before implementation.
In 2024, Crocs, Inc. partnered with Arbor to help them make progress towards their environmental goals. The collaboration began with a focus on their flagship product: the Classic Clog.
Using Arbor’s automated platform, the team rapidly measured the carbon footprint of the standard Classic Clog alongside a new version featuring 17.3% bio-circular Croslite™ material.
Arbor’s platform was designed for auditability, allowing the team to complete the measurement and secure third-party ISO 14067 verification in record-breaking time at 1.5 days, successfully meeting Crocs, Inc.’s annual reporting deadline for their 2024 Comfort Report.
The methodology used in Arbor's calculations during the Crocs, Inc. ISO 14067 audit aligns with industry-leading standards, providing Crocs, Inc. with a rigorous framework that allowed them to disclose their carbon footprint with confidence. The Arbor platform created a seamless verification process against these ISO 14067 requirements, allowing us to complete the audit in a significantly condensed time frame.
— Ursula Antunez de Mayolo, Business Development Head at SGS (sgs.com)
With verified baselines in place, the partnership shifted from reporting to proactive innovation. The company integrated Arbor’s platform into its workflow to model future supply chain scenarios, identifying the specific changes that would drive decarbonization at the lowest cost.
This allowed the team to prove ROI before implementation. By virtually prototyping material changes, they were able to simulate the impact of increasing the bio-circular content to 25% before production began. Once the manufacturing switch was made, Arbor facilitated a swift re-audit to validate the new reductions.
Building on this success, Crocs, Inc. expanded the program to its HEYDUDE brand. Leveraging Arbor’s platform, they began measuring and auditing the carbon footprints of the brand's best-selling "Wendy" and "Wally" styles, ensuring a consistent, data-driven approach across their portfolio.
Detailed carbon measurements were generated for the Classic Clog to move beyond high-level estimates toward audit-ready, product-level data.
Third-party validation through SGS ensured that all methodology and results complied with rigorous international environmental standards.
Digital supply chain modelling allowed the team to virtually test material changes and identify the most efficient decarbonization options before production.
was achieved through a record-breaking verification time, drastically reducing the industry-standard 3–6-month lifecycle assessment cycle
following the switch to biocircular materials in the new Classic Clog compared to the legacy product
through targeted supply chain interventions, which exceeded Crocs Inc.’s combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 impact
The transition to data-backed decision-making delivered immediate, tangible results for Crocs. The first year findings validated that the material switch to bio-circular Croslite™ drove a 6% reduction in the carbon footprint of the new Classic Clog compared to the legacy product.
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Because the Classic Clog accounts for such a significant portion of the company’s total production volume, this single product-level improvement resulted in a total corporate carbon footprint reduction of 3% (across Scope 1, 2, and 3).
To put this impact into perspective, that 3% reduction is greater than the company’s entire Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions combined, proving that targeted, data-driven interventions in the supply chain are the most effective lever for corporate decarbonization.
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Today, Crocs, Inc. uses Arbor not just for reporting, but as a strategic engine for its 2040 goals. By testing the "environmental ROI" of new materials digitally, the company can rapidly prototype future reductions, ensuring they stay on track to achieve 50% CO2 reductions in their Classic Clog by 2030.
This efficiency allows Crocs, Inc. to invest with confidence, knowing that every supply chain decision is helping them effectively reach Net Zero.
