Sustainability
Allsteel, under HNI Corporation is recognized among the top ten of America’s Most Responsible Companies, ranking No. 6 on Newsweek's 2023 list of America's Most Responsible Companies.
The annual recognition, acknowledging the top 500 most responsible companies in the United States across 14 industries, is presented by Newsweek and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.
“HNI is honored to be named among the top ten most responsible companies in America," said Jeff Lorenger, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of HNI Corporation. "Everyday our members build upon our culture of being a great place to work and a responsible corporate citizen. Important components in our daily efforts include a commitment to reducing our environmental impact, making a positive social impact, and practicing good corporate governance
At Allsteel, we’re focusing our commitment to sustainability by building a better portfolio with better impact that can create a better experience. Humans are at the heart of everything we do at Allsteel. Caring for our people, and yours, is what makes us human. So before we make decisions or take action we start with a question – how can we do better? By designing to do better we enhance experiences, increase confidence, and help sustain a better world for us all.
Better Portfolio
Our Better Portfolio initiative deals with physical well-being. Key touchpoints include ergonomics, comfort, Work Geometry, and usability and approachability.
Better Impacts
Better Impact focuses on emotional and mental well-being. Key touchpoints include acoustics, privacy, adjacencies, community, collaboration, and biophilic considerations.
Better Experience
Better Experience highlights the importance of
social well-being. Important factors to consider
are inclusive design, psychological safety, engagement, and belonging.
The Three C's
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We believe tomorrow should be cleaner, safer, and more responsible than yesterday. Because sustainability doesn’t have an endpoint, we are working constantly to reduce our operational impacts and enact sustainable change.
Chemical
Climate
Circularity
A continued focus on health – of people and the planet. Allsteel is working to evaluate 100% of our materials for human and ecosystem impacts, while minimizing impacts through Design for the Environment and Life Cycle Analysis.
Goals
- Evaluate 100% of our materials for human and ecosystem impacts
- Minimize impacts through Design for the Environment and Life Cycle Analysis
Actions
- Supplier transparency via Ascent
- Phase out restricted materials & chemicals of concern: 2023: PFAS (paint & coverings), 2024: PVC, 2024: Hexavalent Chrome
- Integrate transparency in DfE scorecard
A continued focus on mitigating climate change. Allsteel’s climate goals align with the 1.5° goal of the Paris
Climate Agreement and focus on purchasing 100% renewable energy, reducing energy use by 50%, and partnering
with supply chain partners to lessen their impacts.
Our Carbon Smart strategy encompasses our ongoing efforts to mitigate climate change through the promotion of renewable energy use and the drastic reduction of our carbon emissions.
Allsteel has committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity annually through 2030. This action not only supports the wise use of natural resources, but will also help us cut our carbon emissions.
The push toward renewable and recyclable practices. Allsteel will move to 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 and by 2030 will achieve zero waste to landfill at all facilities.
Our lean manufacturing approach and belief in constructive discontent shows us there’s always a better way, and improvement never ends. We empower our members to constantly seek ways to improve processes and eliminate waste. This drives us to identify the most efficient ways to use materials and energy in production, and then find ways to recycle what can’t be used. In each of our facilities, we measure and manage our energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation, water use, and other aspects. Since 2012, we have reduced our electricity use per unit of production, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use by 30% in each category.
We’re proud of our past achievements and are actively working toward achieving our future goals:
- Reduce our energy consumption by 10% from our 2017 baseline
- Source 100% renewable electricity annually for our global operations through 2030
- Reduce our Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 40% per ton of goods sold by 2035**
- Achieve zero landfill waste at two of our manufacturing operations
- Institute a transparent process to evaluate the environmental and social responsibility performance of 85 percent of our tier one suppliers
Certifications
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335+ Indoor Advantage Gold
Protect indoor air quality and enhance employee productivity
130+ BIFMA LEVEL 3
190+ BIFMA LEVEL 2
Environmentally preferable and socially responsible furniture
165+ Available as FSC Certified
Sustainably sourced wood and lower embodied carbon products
30+ Environmental Product Declarations
Understanding product lifecycle environmental impacts
10+ Cradle to Cradle Certified Bronze
Healthy products evaluated for human and environmental impacts
ANEW Program
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Allsteel creates a cleaner, more responsible tomorrow by designing products that are durable and long-lasting. This reduces the impacts of our products over their entire life cycles and saves us from manufacturing more than is necessary.
Repair and Replace
We provide replaceable parts and educate our customers, dealers, and installers on ways to fix or retrofit products to make them last longer. Our products meet or exceed industry performance standards, which typically represent a 10-year-lifespan.
Product End-of-Life
When our products do finally reach the end of their useful lives, we want to see component materials recycled locally and kept out of landfills. To see this through we’ve teamed with ANEW, a non- profit organization that is doing what’s right with what’s left®.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
"Our approach to diversity is simple: It’s about embracing everyone. From cultivating a culture where all members can bring their best selves to work to deploying initiatives that support all, we’re doing what it takes to build a more inclusive workplace.”
Jeana Gingery
HNI’s Dedicated Director of DEI
Our Comprehensive Framework Focuses on Three Key Areas:
- In 2021, we provided inclusive leader training to all managers to ensure understanding of inclusive behaviors and encourage respect and openness in the workplace.
- We welcomed greater numbers of women and ethnically diverse participants to our internship and early career development programs and noticeably increased diversity in job applicants for most positions in 2022.
- In 2021, a baseline of awareness was established by training all managers on inclusive leadership and unconscious bias.
- In 2022, we continued to advanced member knowledge and understanding through allyship training.
- Across the organization, over a third of our members engaged in 230, DEI-focused listening sessions.
