Steelcase taking major steps forward towards sustainability new report shows
London, 24th November 2014 – Steelcase, the global leader in office furniture and workplace solutions, has released its 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report, recounting the company’s sustainability promise and the resulting social, environmental and economic global performance indicators.
“For us, being a sustainable business means more than just recycling programmes and internal footprint reduction,” said Jim Keane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Steelcase Inc. “It’s about operating in a way that strives to provide value to the many stakeholders we serve. Our CSR report reflects our promises, future actions, and measured results that help our employees, customers, partner, and communities in a variety of ways.”
The 2014 Steelcase Corporate Sustainability Report provides a view into the company’s qualitative reporting and quantifiable progress – including refined metrics within the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index. Additionally, it expands on how Steelcase is working to scale its positive impact not only from within, but also for the company’s customers, partners and communities around the world.
Highlights from the report include:
- Steelcase assisted customers with end of use strategies that diverted 50 million pounds of unused furniture from the landfill in the US last year and reclaimed over 26,000 workstations in Europe over the last six years
- Achieved U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum® certification for the new Steelcase Innovation Centre – earning 88 points making it the highest rated LEED for a Commercial Interiors project certified in Michigan to date – and among the top 30 in the world
- Expanded renewable energy investments to 100% of global electricity use and initiated a one-of-a-kind supplier program to promote investment in renewable by offering suppliers Steelcase’s discounted rate
- A 20% increase in total giving by Steelcase and the Steelcase Foundation, donating a combined of approximately £4.2 million to communities and organisations
- Engaged with global communities through a growing employee volunteer programme – with thousands of donated hours and the roll out of programs to incentivise employee volunteerism
- Provided employees with engaging work environments and access to employee wellbeing programmes – part of the reason for an 8% increase in employee retention and a 2 to 3 fold improvement in self-reported scores from employee wellbeing pilot programs
• Continued progress to reduce environmental footprint by 25% by 2020 – significant progress made in waste reduction strategies with a 22% decrease since 2010
Leaders outside of Steelcase have recognised the progress the company has made:
The company was named one of Fortune magazine’s 2014 “World’s Most Admired Companies” in the Home Equipment and Furnishings industry sector. Steelcase’s highest scores came in the Innovation, Social Responsibility, Quality of Management and Quality of Products/Services categories
The 2014 Steelcase Sustainability report can be found here.
ENDS
About Steelcase
For more than 100 years, Steelcase Inc. has helped create great experiences for the world’s leading organisations – wherever work happens. Steelcase and our family of brands – including Steelcase®, Coalesse®, Designtex®, Details®, Nurture®, PolyVision® and Turnstone® – offer a comprehensive portfolio of furnishings, products and services designed to unlock human promise and support social, economic and environmental sustainability. We are globally accessible through a network of channels, including approximately 670 dealers. Steelcase is a global, industry-leading and publicly traded company with fiscal 2013 revenue of $2.9 billion.
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