AUSTIN, Texas – Wilsonart, a world-leading engineered surfaces company, today published its first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which is now available on the Company’s website.
Chief Executive Officer Timothy J. O’Brien commented, “Even as our world faced many shared challenges, we remained focused on pursuing positive change here at Wilsonart by managing and measuring our social and environmental impacts. This report documents the journey and progress we have made over several years to accomplish many goals, including increasing the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content and sustainable materials in our products, reducing our carbon footprint and optimizing diversity on our Board and leadership team to reflect the communities in which we operate.”
Highlights from the 2020 report include:
Environmental
- Generated more than 1 million kWh of clean solar energy at Wilsonart’s Fletcher, N.C., site
- Used more than 13 million kWh of Green-e® certified renewable energy – 35% of the total electricity consumed – at Wilsonart’s Temple, Texas, site
- Incorporated enough post-consumer recycled content into Wilsonart products since 2000 to save the equivalent of almost 7.4 million trees
Social
- Established the Wilsonart Diversity and Inclusion Council
- Updated Wilsonart’s diversity and inclusion principles
- Implemented extensive changes to protect Wilsonart employees from COVID-19 in the workplace
Governance
- Continued to set an example from the Wilsonart leadership of integrity for all employees
- Guided environmental and social efforts through the Wilsonart ESG Committee
- Maintained a best-in-class compliance monitoring and reporting system, including oversight by the Audit Committee of Wilsonart’s Board of Directors
- Fostered a culture of zero tolerance for any unethical conduct, fraud, bribery or corruption by employees or third-party agents
In addition to highlighting past performance, the report also outlines an aggressive target set by Wilsonart to continue increasing the percentage of recycled and sustainably sourced content in the products it produces in the U.S. The Company is currently exploring partnerships and innovations that will help reach its goal of increasing overall PCR content in High Pressure Laminates to 40% by 2025.
“The pride I take in our collective resilience is eclipsed only by the optimism I hold for what comes next. I have no doubt that the adaptations and solutions we created in the past year will help us push beyond the surface in how we care for our employees, communities and planet,” O’Brien noted.
To learn more about Wilsonart’s ESG policies, initiatives and performance, please read the full 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
