Herman Miller today issued its first corporate sustainability report tracking the company's progress toward meeting key economic, social, and environmental objectives.
Paul Murray, director of Environmental Health and Safety at Herman Miller, believes that true commitment to sustainable practices requires true accountability."This report demonstrates that we do what we say at Herman Miller," said Murray. "Our Perfect Vision plan has us on a course to becoming a 100 percent sustainable company by 2020 and every day we're making progress toward that goal with the help of thousands of employees from around the world."
The report, entitled "The Journey Toward Sustainability," is based on the company's 2006 fiscal year and focuses primarily on its North American operations. Information about its international operations will be included in future reports.
2006 Sustainability Report (4.6MB PDF)
Highlights from the report include:
Economic Sustainability- North American sales for fiscal 2006 rose 14.6 percent over the previous year.
- International sales grew 23 percent over the previous year.
- New, earth-friendly product lines, including My Studio Environments and Vivo Interiors, were launched.
Social Responsibility- Employees logged more than 33,000 volunteer hours to community-based, charitable causes.
- More than 10 percent of Herman Miller's workforce participates in formal joint management-worker health and safety committees.
- Lauded by DiversityInc magazine as one of country's top 10 companies for supplier diversity program.
Environmental Stewardship- Waste reduction programs were recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
- More than 27.5 percent of energy needs were met by renewable sources.
- All new products were evaluated according to the company's Design for the Environment protocol, which monitors material chemistry and safety of inputs, disassembly, and recyclability.
"This report deals with many dimensions of Herman Miller as a business," said Herman Miller President and CEO Brian Walker. "It shines a light upon our commitment to sustainability throughout all aspects of our operations, including where we stand, what we've achieved, and most important of all, where we intend to go."
Herman Miller helps create great places to work, heal, learn, and live by researching, designing, manufacturing, and distributing innovative interior solutions that support companies, organizations, and individuals all over the world. The company's award-winning products, complemented by furniture management and strategic consulting services, generated over $1.7 billion in revenue during fiscal 2006. Herman Miller is widely recognized both for its innovative products and business practices. Herman Miller is a recipient of the prestigious National Design Award for product design from the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. In 2007, the company was once again cited by FORTUNE magazine as the "Most Admired" company in its industry and is among CRO magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens." The company trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.
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