“Key to helping our customers meet or exceed their sustainability goals is ensuring we understand the issues and challenges they face and they understand how we can help.”
Grainger’s customers come in all sizes, from all industries, and each have unique needs in maintaining safe, sustainable and productive environments. Whether they are looking to comply with new safety regulations, increase their use of environmentally friendly products or better manage their resources, our curated offering of products and services is designed to help our customers achieve their individual goals.
In addition, we have a service offering geared toward helping customers achieve specific sustainability goals. Our services range from consultative assessments, which help customers understand their current position and define a path forward, to site specific solutions that can help customers reduce energy, water and waste as well as improve air quality.
Grainger’s customers face a variety of environmental sustainability challenges, ranging from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to managing waste, lowering water consumption and improving air quality. Our customers are setting measurable goals to meet these challenges and minimize the impact their operations have on the environment. Meeting these goals is challenging and knowing who to turn to for help is not always clear. That’s where Grainger comes in.
Grainger offers an extensive suite of Certified Environmentally Preferable Products (CEPPs), Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) and other sustainability related products. These products are readily available on Grainger.com.
Grainger’s solutions are focused on keeping people safe, healthy and secure. In addition to our sellers who are trained on these solutions, Grainger has a team of Field Safety Professionals, all of whom are certified through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. They work with customers to provide value-added safety assessments and identify the best solutions for their unique needs. In 2023, this team completed 2,000 onsite safety assessments for our customers in the U.S. and Canada
“It’s meaningful to work on programs that impact our community at large— Grainger’s Diversity Solutions help our customers with meeting their diversity goals, and supports the economic development of small, diverse businesses.”
Grainger’s Diversity Solutions help customers meet their diversity goals or requirements through a strategic combination of our products, services and diversity expertise including our vetted network of diverse suppliers, resellers and service providers. In 2023, we ramped up our efforts to track progress in this area, analyzing data every quarter to ensure we are making meaningful strides forward. We have a proud, 20+ year history of partnering with small and diverse businesses, supporting the growth of historically underrepresented businesses through two core programs:
Grainger’s Supplier Diversity program enables customers to diversify their supply chains and promote the growth of underrepresented supplier groups. The Supplier Diversity Program provides quality products across categories with items likes cleaning, safety, hardware, tools, fasteners, cutting tools, trash bags and more.
Grainger’s Reseller Diversity program assists our customers in meeting their diversity procurement goals through certified DBE authorized resellers that comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The program provides MRO resellers and customers greater access to products and services and extends their reach to segments and contracts typically mandated or prioritized for small businesses and DBEs.
“Managing the sustainability team at Grainger allows me to partner with leaders across the business to expand our footprint while reducing our emissions, doing what’s best for Grainger and the environment.”
We believe sustainability and strong business performance are connected.
That’s why we are committed to educating our team members on sustainable practices and investing in projects like solar panels, building management systems, high-efficiency life cycle replacements and hydrogen fuel cell-powered material handling equipment in our distribution centers. These initiatives both contribute to a greener planet and generate measurable financial results.
In 2023, Grainger’s Board of Directors approved an updated 2030 emissions target that seeks to reduce global absolute Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions by 50% from a 2018 baseline by 2030, which is an increase from our previous 2030 target of 30%. This new goal aligns Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions reduction with the level required to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius according to the Science-Based Target initiative’s guidelines.
“What motivates me? I have a young family that deserves to inherit a planet that can provide for them at least as well, preferably better, than the way it was left for me.”
“Embracing diversity is essential to our business. The distinct characteristics and skills of our team members inspire innovation, improve customer service and cultivate a culture where our team members feel appreciated and empowered to do and be their best.”
At Grainger, we know our differences and unique experiences make us stronger, that’s why we work to provide an equitable playing field so that all team members can succeed. From hiring and onboarding to training and development, Grainger builds DEI principles into our daily operations. Whether it’s establishing mechanisms for team members to self-identify, partnering with organizations that enable us to expand our diverse talent pool, engaging outside firms to review our pay to ensure equity, leveraging technology to ensure our job descriptions are free from bias, or offering DEI resources and training throughout the business, we’re focused on driving a welcoming and equitable culture.
Grainger launched its first Business Resource Groups (BRGs) more than a decade ago, and since then our eight BRGs have played an essential role in shaping Grainger’s inclusive culture with four key objectives: build connections, develop our team, educate our team, and strengthen our communities.
“As the President of the Latino Business Resource Group at Grainger, I am proud of the impact our group is making on shaping the company’s culture by promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity. Our efforts are fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for Latino team members, driving positive change within our organization and the community.”
“Safety is a core value that guides my actions and decisions every day. I am proud to work for a company that provides a culture of safety that encourages learning, feedback, and continuous improvement. Our team, up and down the organization, is committed to uphold the highest standards of safety and to deliver strong EHS performance for our team members and customers. Our work is focused on ensuring everyone, team members and customer, can return home to their families, friends and loved ones safely.”
When we say we focus on what matters, safety tops that list. Our customers trust us to have the right products and services to support their safety goals and we take great pride in modeling our safety expertise in our workplace, with our Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) program integrated into all aspects of business operations. Our EHS team has three priorities as stated in our Global EHS Policy:
Our facilities are designed to create safe and sustainable environments. We drive a culture of safety through ongoing training so every team member understands their role in keeping themselves, colleagues, customers and communities safe. This includes daily meetings in our branches and distribution centers that focus on safe practices and healthy behaviors. In 2023, we completed more than 42,000 safety observations in the U.S. and Canada to assess our workplace conditions to ensure our safety protocols were effective and followed.
