CHICAGO, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Grainger (NYSE:
GWW), the leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and
operating (MRO) products serving businesses and institutions, today
announced the launch of its 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report on
www.GraingerESG.com. This marks Grainger's 10th consecutive year of
publishing this report, continuing the company's commitment to
addressing key environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues
and opportunities.
"If the events of this past year have taught us anything, it's
that we are all in this together," said DG Macpherson, Grainger
Chairman and CEO. "This mindset has driven our ESG approach since
the beginning. We embrace our obligation to operate sustainably and
with a long-term, fact-based view of critical issues regarding the
environment, society at large and corporate governance. We are
committed to being an attractive and sustainable employer, business
partner and investment option."
Key to Grainger's ESG focus is its materiality assessment, which
was updated this year. Customers, suppliers, investors, community
partners and team members contributed to this assessment, which
shows topics such as diversity, equity and inclusion; energy and
emissions; and product quality among the top focus areas. This was
an update to the company's inaugural assessment, which was first
published in 2018.
Other report highlights include:
- New one-page corporate responsibility program overview
- ESG governance updates, including the Board's ESG oversight
framework, and management's new ESG Leadership Council which is led
by Macpherson
- Expanded diversity, equity and inclusion content and a feature
on Grainger Board members sharing insights with team
members
- New recycling and zero waste updates
- Overview of Grainger's COVID-19 response and safe
return-to-work facility plan
The report also includes data and information on Grainger's
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target. In 2020, Grainger
announced its commitment to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG
emissions by 30 percent, by 2030, from its 2018 baseline. This
target follows the guidelines set forth by the Science Based
Targets Initiative and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and it helps
Grainger align its internal actions with the goal of limiting
global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, consistent with the
Paris Agreement.
This latest target is a continuation of Grainger's prevailing
efforts to reduce GHG emissions. In 2012, Grainger became the first
industrial distributor to publicly disclose its carbon footprint.
In 2013, the company became the first in its industry to set a
public GHG emissions reduction target, which it achieved two years
early. In fact, since 2011, Grainger has reduced its absolute scope
1 and scope 2 emissions by 37 percent.
In terms of diversity, this report shows that within Grainger's
U.S. workforce at the end of 2020, approximately 38.5 percent were
women and 34.1 percent of company leaders were women. This compares
to 2019 workforce numbers, at which time 38.1 percent were women
and 32.7 percent of company leaders were women. Further, at the end
of 2020, the total U.S. workforce was 35.2 percent racially and
ethnically diverse, which compares to 34.5 percent in 2019.
Racially and ethnically diverse leaders increased to 23.3 percent
in 2020, from 21.6 percent in 2019.
Grainger is a proud signatory to The Chicago Network Equity
Principles, a campaign focused on advancing women leaders in the
workplace to strive to achieve 50 percent representation of women
in leadership positions by 2030.
To learn more about Grainger's Corporate Responsibility Report,
visit www.GraingerESG.com.
To explore career opportunities at Grainger, visit
https://jobs.grainger.com.
About Grainger
W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2020 sales of
$11.8 billion, is North America's leading broad line supplier of
maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products, with operations
primarily in North America,
Japan and Europe.
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to historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" which
are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a
number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are
beyond our control and could cause actual results to differ
materially from such statements. Important factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those presented or implied
in the forward-looking statements include: the unknown duration and
impacts of the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019; a
major loss of customers; loss or disruption of sources of supply;
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the outcome of pending and future litigation or other proceedings;
government contract matters; disruption of information technology
or data security systems; general industry, economic, market or
political conditions; general global economic conditions;
facilities disruptions or shutdowns; natural and other
catastrophes; loss of key members of management; and other factors
that can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including our most recent reports filed on Form 10-K
and Form 10-Q, which are available on our Investor Relations
website. Forward-looking statements are given only as of the date
of this communication and we disclaim any obligation to update or
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SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.