AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Wilsonart, a world-leading engineered surfaces company, announced it has published its second Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, which is now available on the Company’s website.
“Wilsonart is proud to be among the manufacturers taking steps toward meaningful change in the building materials industry to benefit the environment, our employees, our communities and our stakeholders,” said Timothy O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of Wilsonart. “This report documents and celebrates significant progress toward our sustainability goals as well as a number of key accomplishments from the past year, including having the first products in our High Pressure Laminate category to achieve the industry-leading Declare Label designation, along with completing a comprehensive materiality study and collecting greenhouse gas emissions metrics for the first time. In addition, our Wilsonart® Quartz earned the Declare label designation of LBC Red List Free.”
Highlights from the latest Wilsonart ESG report include:
Environmental
- Incorporated 23% post-consumer recycled content (PCRC) on average into Wilsonart® HPL products, more than twice that of other leading laminate brands
- Collected global Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for the first time; Wilsonart’s Fletcher, N.C. solar field cut tCO2e emissions by roughly 307 metric tons in 2021
- Conducted cradle-to-gate study of HPL products compared with other surface types including granite, using publicly available environmental product declarations (EPDs); found that Wilsonart HPL produces 58% less embodied carbon than granite and 46% less than the industry average overall
- Saved the equivalent of 555,000 trees per year over a four-year period (2018-2021) and more than 7.9 million trees over the past two decades by using recycled paper/wood content
- Manufactured adhesives that are 100% free of added urea-formaldehyde and methylene chloride
- Initiated permitting and construction process for a new regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) at the Temple facility to improve response to VOCs; this new equipment will capture and destroy up to 98% of VOC fumes from active manufacturing areas and storage areas
Social
- 15 Wilsonart HPL and Compact Laminate products earned the first Declare label designations in the laminate industry, plus Wilsonart Quartz earns LBC Red List Free status providing customers with a quick, easy, and externally validated way to see material ingredients and material health information
- 43% of Wilsonart’s top 100 leaders in North America are women and/or an underrepresented ethnicity/race, up from 39% in 2020; across the full employee base, 51% identify as diverse in one or more ways
- Offered incentives and time off to Wilsonart employees for COVID-19 vaccinations and recovery; continued appropriate safety precautions and supported employees’ mental and social health in new ways
Governance
- Partnered with a leading third-party expert to complete a materiality assessment of ESG topics; study identified emissions, supplier environmental assessment, water, waste, energy, and materials (post-consumer recycled content) as the most important material topics that will continue to guide Wilsonart's strategic action, goal setting and stakeholder disclosures
- Improved Supplier Code of Conduct and implemented a new Supplier Environmental Standards Policy
- ESG Committee provided monthly updates to the leadership team regarding key initiatives, including the company’s first materiality assessment and GHG analysis
- Continued dedicated oversight by Wilsonart Board of Directors and Audit Committee of key ESG areas, including audit, risk management, potential conflicts of interest and adherence to strict anti-bribery policies
In addition to highlighting past performance, the report also outlines new operational, product and supply chain goals for 2022, deepening the company’s commitment to responsible manufacturing practices, including:
- Achieve 1.0 Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR)
- Increase the amount of manufacturing waste recycled by 5% year-over-year
- Decrease the amount of manufacturing waste sent to landfill by 5% year-over-year
- Advance four key United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3, 11, 12, and 13
- Set GHG goals by the end of 2022
In the coming year, Wilsonart also plans to analyze the embodied carbon in its HPL from cradle to grave, making it the first manufacturer in the industry to look beyond the gate. This extended study will provide customers with a new level of transparency and set the bar for embodied
carbon in the HPL market.
“Acting beyond the surface includes making the information visible that our customers, end consumers and investors need to make wise decisions,” noted O’Brien. “It also entails holding our company and our supply chain accountable for meeting stakeholders’ expectations — and challenging ourselves to always keep innovating.”
To learn more about Wilsonart’s ESG policies, initiatives and performance, please read the full 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance Report. For more information about Wilsonart, visit www.wilsonart.com.
About Wilsonart
Wilsonart, a world-leading engineered surfaces company, is driven by a mission to create surfaces people love, with service you can count on, delivered by people who care. The Company manufactures and distributes High Pressure Laminate, Quartz, Solid Surface, Coordinated TFL, Edgebanding and other decorative engineered surface options for use in the office, education, healthcare, residential, hospitality, and retail markets. Operating under the Wilsonart®, Arborite®, Bushboard, Durcon®, KML, Laminart®, Mermaid™, New Leaf™, Polyrey®, Ralph Wilson®, Resopal®, Shore™, Technistone® and Wetwall™ brands, the Company continuously redefines decorative surfaces through improved performance and award-winning designs.
Contact:
Sara Tatay
L.C. Williams & Associates
statay@lcwa.com
(312) 565-4612
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1186fc5a-cf4b-4fe0-b61a-0c3cb669d6fc
