Corporate Sustainability

Transcription

1 Corporate Sustainability Report

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the General Manager 4 Overview 6 Locations 8 History 10 Triple Bottom Line 12 People 14 Planet 16 Products 18 Conclusion 20

3 We can create a better world A Message from President Mike Wagner 2014 marked a new beginning, a renewed focus, and a rejuvenation for Kimball Office. During this time of positive change for our customers, employees, and brand, there are two things that have not and will not waiver: 1.) the integrity with which we operate, both in the service we provide and the products we create, and 2.) our resolve to continue to be an industry leader as it pertains to sustainability. We are proudly committed to not only meeting current environmental and social standards, but also setting new ones. To achieve corporate environmentally-responsible behavior on a national-scale, our employees must not only actively participate, but also believe in what we are doing. Proudly, from the founding days of our parent company, Kimball International, the holistic thought of sustainability and the importance of the environment has been ingrained in our very being. Our employees, customers, and communities have shaped our culture and we, wholeheartedly, believe that, together, we can create a better world. I encourage you to review our 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report, as well as visit our website at for additional information about our company, our products, and our efforts to be industry leaders in sustainability. Sincerely, Mike Wagner President 4 5

4 Company Overview Kimball Office has been transforming workspaces for 45 years with an ever-widening breadth of relevant, sustainable office furniture solutions. As one of America s most respected environmentally-conscious contract office furniture manufacturers, Kimball Office provides architects, designers, facility managers, and employers with open plan system solutions, both modern and classic desking, and a range of conference and seating options. The company is a brand unit of Kimball International, Inc., (NASDAQ:KBAL), a publicly-traded company headquartered in Jasper, Indiana, and a recipient of Forbes magazine s America s Most Trustworthy Companies designation in 2013, 2014, and For additional information about Kimball Office, visit Membership and Involvement: - Members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) - Members of the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer s Association (BIFMA) - Involved in the development of the ANSI/BIFMA furniture sustainability standards We offer products with the following attributes: - SCS Indoor Advantage -certified products - Forest Stewardship Council -certified products - BIFMA level 2 and 3 certified products, with level 3 being the highest certification We strive to create products that will contribute to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) project certification and make sure that our own facilities meet or exceed LEED standards. Kimball Office has also partnered with EcoScorecard SM, a web-based tool that helps architects and designers quickly and accurately evaluate the sustainable attributes of our products and materials against major environmental rating systems like LEED. For additional information about the EcoScorecard, visit 6 7

5 Kimball Office Locations Boston 70 Federal Street Boston, MA This showroom is being relocated to this address in New York City Showroom LEED CI 215 Park Avenue South 3rd Floor New York, NY Washington, DC Showroom LEED Pending 1130 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 1150 Washington, DC Atlanta 3445 Peachtree Road Suite 400 Atlanta, GA Chicago LEED CI Silver 325 North Wells Street, Suite 100 Chicago, IL Dallas 2100 McKinney Avenue Suite 1850 Dallas, TX Post Falls Manufacturing Facility 2100 McKinney Avenue Suite 1850 Dallas, TX Relocating to facilities in Indiana in Los Angeles 500 South Grand Avenue Biltmore Towers 24th Floor Los Angeles, CA Salem Manufacturing Facility 200 Kimball Boulevard Salem, IN San Francisco 330 Pine Street San Francisco, CA Jasper Corporate Headquarters Corporate Showroom LEED CI Gold Manufacturing Facilities 1155 West 12th Avenue Jasper, IN All Kimball Office facilities operate within compliance of local, state, and federal regulatory requirements while striving to go above and beyond to not only embrace but exceed all social, environmental, and economic practices. Kimball Office operates manufacturing facilities and corporate showrooms throughout the United States and is a brand unit of Kimball International, a publicly-traded company headquartered in Jasper, Indiana, and a recipient of Forbes magazine s America s Most Trustworthy Companies designation in 2013, 2014, and

6 1850 s 1940 s William Wallace founded the W.W. Kimball Piano Company. In 1949, Mr. Arnold Habig and a small group of investors from the Midwest Manufacturing and renamed to The Jasper Corporations. The company was founded in Jasper,Indiana, and was a contract manufacturer of residential furniture and television cabinets. OUR HISTORY 2014 was an exciting year for Kimball Office. Our focus is renewed and our energy going forward is stronger than it has ever been in our 45 year history. The past year saw us create and reinvigorate lasting partnerships with industry thought leaders such as Silicon Valley s award winning design team of Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander of Studio O+A (designers of our Chicago showroom during the 2014 and 2015 NeoCon show). We also saw an increased emphasis on our speed to market with new products, and have worked to develop a heightened design-sensitivity within our engineering and manufacturing teams. The year also saw the announcement of a consolidation effort that would relocate jobs and equipment from our Post Falls, Idaho, facility to our facilities in Jasper and Salem, Indiana. The two-year consolidation project was born simply of the economics of a changing marketplace, with 80 percent of Post Falls output shipping east of Denver. The move will save our company money in a number of areas, not the least of which is in the consumption of fossil fuels in the shipping process s 1960 s 1970 s 2014 also saw the launch of Kimball Health, our new brand of healthcare-specific products that, working in conjunction with Kimball Office s vast product portfolio, offers furniture solutions for nearly every interior application of the healthcare project. We recognize and understand that the workplace is changing the world, truly, is the new office. This non-traditional work environment requires a non-traditional approach and is changing the kinds of products we manufacture. At Kimball Office we are committed to not only meeting current environmental and social standards, but also setting new ones. Our employees, customers, and communities have shaped our culture, and we believe that together we can create a better world s At the beginning of the 1970s, the company decided to manufacture and market office furniture under the Kimball brand name as Kimball Office. The company was largely self-sufficient in every aspect of wood manufacturing, from raw materials to production to marketing and distribution. Jasper Electronics Manufacturing Company formed to develop and produce Kimball organs for the home entertainment market. In July 1974, The Jasper Corporation, parent company of Kimball Piano, changed its name to Kimball International, in part because of the strength and reputation of the Kimball brand name. In 1985, Kimball Office introduced workplace systems to address the growing open-plan office furniture design standards s 2000 s 2000 s In February 1996, the Board of Directors of Kimball International approved a resolution to cease piano manufacturing operations and align those resources into the company s contract furniture and cabinets group. In 2003, the company ceased marketing of its Kimball branded residential furniture and exited. Then in 2005, the company realigned its furniture segment manufacturing and marketing into one streamlined and integrated organization, focused on serving customers in only the office furniture and hospitality markets. By 2006, Kimball had clearly sharpened its focus on two market segments: commercial office furniture and contract electronics. After 56 years of continuous production, the company manufactured its last TV cabinet. Kimball Electronics spins off from Kimball International, forming its own publicly-traded company. Kimball International looks toward the future with a more focused approach, solely as a furniture manufacturer.

7 Water Waste y g E r e m En TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE iss ion Kimball Office has outlined its environmental philosophy around our people, planet, and products. More importantly, in each of these areas we ve demonstrated our sustainable commitment with action. s At Kimball Office, we are proud of our environmental stewardship. We are committed to sustainable business practices and continuous improvement. It s part of our heritage to take initiative, reduce waste, conserve energy, commit fully, and lead by example. It s not enough to simply sustain. We strive to enhance our world. 12 ye es S y t i n afety Commu a uf an D es M i g n Materials ct ur ing Te sting Cu stom d e er Focus lo p Em 13

8 PEOPLE Customer Focused Safety Employees Community Flexible Sustainable The health and safety of our employees and their families is critical to our success. We believe that the best way to continually improve is to regularly involve our team members in monitoring and improving our processes. SR / Mid / Line Management 70% Men, 30% Women, 3% Minorities Durable Customer Affordable Team members participate in daily informal meetings to monitor and improve our safety program. All safety statistics, achievements, and issues are regularly reported to leadership. Safety statistics for each facility are available to all Kimball Office employees. Each of our manufacturing facilities operate within compliance of all environmental, health, and safety laws. Technical / Professional 61% Men, 39% Women, 4% Minorities At Kimball Office, we strive to create relevant products by tuning in to our customers needs. Over the years, those needs have included durability, affordability, and flexibility. Increasingly, our customers need furniture solutions that meet higher environmental and quality standards. As we strive to meet those standards, we ve used globally recognized, transparent, and consensus-based certification systems to document and support our product and process claims. Our all injury rate decreased over last year and was the second lowest all injury rate since There has been a steady progression of improvement over this 15-year period. We are always looking for ways to improve our safety standards. In 2000, we began participating in OSHA s Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), which helps us promote workplace safety and health practices. Star status by VPP is OSHA s official recognition of outstanding efforts for those who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health. Our Indiana facilities have achieved VPP Certification or Star status. Sales 36% Men, 64% Women, 16% Minorities Operations / Manufacturing 67% Men, 33% Women, 6% Minorities Total 61% Men, 34% Women, 6% Minorities 62 Administrative Support workers were not included in the graphs above. The Kimball Office family is comprised of many diverse team members. We support equal opportunities regardless of gender, age group, or minority status. Our culture has developed with a focus on teamwork and collaboration. 24 Community / Social Events 3 Donation / Support Event 2 Health / Wellness Events 1 Fundraisiser / Sponsorship Event Total of 30 Events in 2014 At Kimball Office, we feel it is our duty to help others. Our company has a long history of community service and involvement. Thirty different community and volunteer activities were logged in Examples of these include: Crisis collection donations to support those challenged by disaster, fire, or illness. Donations for local community organizations. Supporting non-profit organizations such as Operation Gratitude and the Dubois County Humane Society. Donation to local nature walking paths We ve developed strong relationships with each other, our customers, our suppliers, and the communities in which we live and work. The average tenure for a Kimball Office team member is over 18 years and many of our customers and suppliers have been with us for 40 or more years. Our efforts to be socially responsible extend beyond the workplace. Many employees volunteer and actively support community organizations and events. For our people, social responsibility isn t just a way of work. It s a way of life

9 PLANET Energy Management and Conservation Waste Water Usage Waste to Landfill The proper management of energy and its impact on the environment is important to all of us. We have established our greenhouse gas emissions baseline, and our facilities are engaged in power management. Recognizing that our finish operations were significantly impacting our energy demand, Kimball Office made investments and adaptations over the years to reduce our energy consumption. With new technology that focuses only on the materials being processed, we can be sure that only the necessary amount of energy is being used. Emissions Our logistics operations has earned certification by the USEPA as a SmartWay SM partner. Our partnership with SmartWay SM helps us ensure that our logistics and transportation methods have minimal effects on the environment. We rank in the top 25th percentile of SmartWay SM partners. Kimball Office uses a variety of methods to reclaim waste materials during the manufacturing process, injecting them back into the same process whenever possible. When waste is generated, we turn to recycling. And as always, we re constantly looking for ways to improve our recycling processes. Kimball Office s continued commitment to sustainability includes participating in Kimball International s on-site corporate recycling center, recycling 62 different items in more than 15 categories. The amount of recycling at the plants has increased steadily since Products recycled include steel, aluminum, glass, oil, fabric, toner cartridges, plastics, wood, cardboard and electronic equipment, and other materials. Gallons (Millions) Pounds (Thousands) VOC Emissions Green House Gas Emissions Tons Recycling Percentage of Solid Waste Generated Percentage Hazardous Waste Generated Our products are manufactured without CFCs, achieving label-free status under the EPA s regulations concerning ozone-depleting chemicals. Since 2009, Kimball Office has made significant capital and technological investments to reduce both VOC emissions and hazardous waste. Tons C02e 26,000 25,000 24,000 23,000 22,000 21,000 20,000 Pounds (Thousands) Note: Some numbers may be higher from the previous year due to an increase in production. Sawdust to landfill is a result of shutting down wood boiler

10 PRODUCTS Ideation Phase Development Phase Execution Phase Project Planning Develop Ideas Develop Concepts Document Design Intent Final Cost Marketing Planning and Execution Manufacturing Planning and Execution Execution Design Materials Manufacturing IAQ To improve our environmental performance, Kimball Office uses an Environmental Design Program. Our goal is to incorporate environmental thinking into the entire life cycle of the product. The assessment begins early in the product conceptualization phase, where all of the component and process attributes are considered to minimize harmful environmental aspects. Indeed, our improvement efforts make their way into our products in some innovative ways. To date, Kimball Office has been awarded 59 different patents, with several dozen more in pending status. FSC We offer customers the choice of wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). A chain-ofcustody certification guarantees our wood is sourced from responsible and sustainable suppliers. In 2012, we were able to improve our program to offer over 5,000 models with FSC certified wood as a standard option at standard lead time. We plan to expand our FSC selection to even more models over time. Kimball Office products are fabricated from wood, glass, metal, and aluminum. Many of our materials have high recycled contents up to 90%. Wood is our primary raw material at nearly 39% of our raw material purchases, followed by metals at 15%, and plastics at 2%. Casegoods, desking, and tables have an average recycled content of over 76% We offer fabrics with 100% recycled content Recyclable packaging Kimball Office regionally sources materials when possible, but also leverages a global supply network of domestic and international partners. Many of our supply partner relationships were developed in the earliest stages of the company s life. We go through a semi-annual management review of significant environmental aspects as well as key performance metrics. These reviews are attended by the Director of Sustainability, the Director of Operations for each facility, and the Vice President of Operations. In May 2008, all Kimball Office Manufacturing facilities received ISO14001 registration. This Environmental Management System requires significant environmental aspect projects be addressed each year. This is part of our process for continuous improvement in our manufacturing facilities. Testing Our product testing team evaluates all Kimball Office products, ensuring they meet and exceed ANSI (American National Standard Institute) and BIFMA (Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer s Association) standards. Our team members participate on BIFMA and USGBC committees to contribute and develop industry-wide standards. We are committed to using low-emission adhesives, paints, and wood finishes. We use water-based adhesives where possible and powder-coat paints on metals. In 2012, we transitioned 98% of our manufactured product lines to our Pura finish solution. Pura is a proprietary finish solution that incorporates water-based topcoats, UV topcoats, VOC-free, and formaldehyde-free components. IAQ compliant, this finish solution meets or exceeds all indoor air quality standards 98% of Kimball Office products now meet Indoor Advantage program requirements and are third-party certified by Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) to the BIFMA Furniture Emissions Standards and LEED requirements

11 At Kimball Office, we take a holistic approach to sustainability our level of certification supports this. We make certain that our products can maximize contributions to our customer s own green building certifications (LEED). We make it easy for our customers to choose products from our line that can contribute by having a large number of IAQ gold and level 3 certified products. We make it easy for our customers to order FSC wood as well by making it a standard option on over 5,000 models. We focus our sustainability statements around our certifications wherever possible so that it s not just green rhetoric, but, rather, claims that are backed up by third party audits against open and credible standards. We are committed to not only meeting current environmental and social standards, but also setting new ones. Our employees, customers, and communities have shaped our culture, and we believe that together we can create a better world. This report was prepared with consideration given to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines

12 A unit of Kimball International 2015 Kimball International, Inc Royal Street Jasper, Indiana kimballoffice.com