Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE: WSM) a leading home specialty retailer of high-quality, sustainable products for the home, released today its annual sustainability report, which shares the company’s progress and achievements across its three sustainability pillars: people, planet, and purpose.
The company is also proud to announce its inclusion as the only home furnishings retailer on Fortune’s ‘Change the World’ 2020 List. In its sixth year, the annual list honors over 50 companies from around the world for their positive social impact through execution of their core business strategies. Companies are evaluated based on four criteria: measurable social impact, business results, degree of innovation and corporate integration.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s deep commitment to sustainability has been a fundamental driver of its strong performance, which enables the company to continue reinvesting in its values and create more positive change for its customers, associates, and the larger community.
“Our company is Good By Design – we have deeply engrained sustainability into every facet of our business. From our factories to our customers’ homes, we are united in a shared purpose to care for our people and our planet,” said Laura Alber, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As we release this report, the world is facing social, environmental and health crises on a scale not seen in our lifetimes — yet we have witnessed incredible fortitude and agility from our associates and within our communities. We have fostered resilience though a culture of purpose and by managing resources responsibly, caring for our people, and uniting around our values, we create a stronger company that can withstand whatever comes.”
Highlights of the report include:
People – We are committed to positive change for our customers and the communities we call home.
- WSI exceeded the goal of $3M paid in Fair Trade Premiums. At the end of 2019, WSI paid over $4.7M in Fair Trade Premiums.
- Fair Trade Premiums supported workers during COVID-19, with 69% of WSI Fair Trade Factories using their premiums for direct COVID relief.
- The Williams Sonoma brand met their goal of 100% Fair Trade WS Brand Coffee by 2019.
- WSI developed an Equity Action Plan, holding itself accountable to continue to drive positive change in the fight against racial injustice.
Planet – We strive to use resources responsibly, from mindful manufacturing to energy efficiency.
- WSI submitted its first CDP Climate Disclosure as a step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change.
- In early 2020, WSI conducted a comprehensive Scope 3 emissions assessment with third-party experts, Anthesis.
- WSI established a partnership between its West Elm brand and Eileen Fisher to reduce waste and create a longer product life cycle with the limited-edition denim collection.
- WSI introduced Pottery Barn Renewed, a new initiative that repairs the brand’s imperfect and returned items, helping to keep them out of landfills.
Purpose – From local volunteering to industry-wide impact, we’re making a difference at home and beyond.
- WSI mapped its sustainability commitments across all 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
- Partnering with Good360, WSI offered aid and assistance to those whose homes were damaged or lost due to disasters, with a focus on protecting people in vulnerable situations.
- To prevent the spread of COVID-19, WSI made the decision to close stores across all brands. Whenever possible, the company reassigned associates whose work could not be done from home to other business-critical activities such as customer service.
- WSI provided pay and benefits to store associates, who were working more than 12 hours weekly for the entire time stores were closed.
- According to the World Food Program, 135 million people suffer from acute hunger globally. The UN Reports, “The COVID-19 pandemic could now double that number, putting an additional 130 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger by the end of 2020.” For this reason, among others, WSI has made a commitment this year to add the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 to the its strategy. This initiative aims to end hunger and ensure access by all people, especially people in vulnerable situations, to safe, nutritious and enough food all year round.
- To date, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has donated over $10 million dollars to No Kid Hungry in their fight to end childhood hunger.
- In 2019, through the company’s partnership with St. Jude, it raised $4.3 million for research and the care of children and families facing childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
ABOUT WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a specialty retailer of high-quality products for the home. These products, representing distinct merchandise strategies — Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm, Pottery Barn Teen, Williams Sonoma Home, Rejuvenation, and Mark and Graham — are marketed through e-commerce websites, direct-mail catalogs and retail stores. These brands are also part of The Key Rewards, our free-to-join loyalty program that offers members exclusive benefits across the Williams-Sonoma family of brands. We operate in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, offer international shipping to customers worldwide, and have unaffiliated franchisees that operate stores in the Middle East, the Philippines, Mexico and South Korea, as well as e-commerce websites in certain locations.
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