It takes more than a village. It takes a network.
The actions of one person can be the motivation for many individuals, and one small insight today can become the Big Idea of tomorrow. But sustainability gains ground when many minds and masteries are tapped.
Suppliers, designers, researchers, customers, associates, affiliates and peers – all are important to reaching goals, extending the impact of what’s tried-and-true, and making the big discovery. Collaboration is a strong cord that ties our efforts to those of others, including up-and-coming innovators as well as some of the world’s most respected.
Here are a few examples of the kinds of partnerships we forge:
Customers
They ask the hard questions and challenge us to do more. Customers have tremendous power to drive positive change through their business decisions. By sharing insights and offering sustainable solutions, we work to deliver greater value to our customers as we help them reach their own sustainability and leadership goals.
Employees
Building a sustainable internal model means involving everyone. We are constantly inspired by the ideas of our colleagues and by the business leaders and change agents driving rapid evolution and greater accountability throughout our organization. Our achievements are not the result of one group, but the collective contributions of all employees who stand determined to help find better solutions and ways to create more value.
Steelcase Dealer Network
They are our eyes, ears and hands into the many communities in which we serve. With their partnership, we collaborate to deliver value to organizations and communities throughout the U.S.
Supplier Partners
We like to say all sustainability roads ultimately lead to the supply chain. In order to advance our sustainability performance goals, we work closely with our suppliers - hundreds of them - on critical sustainability issues like materials assessment, worker safety, chemicals of concern avoidance and elimination, energy and materials reduction strategies, technology and process improvements.
University & Research Partnerships
We engage with some of the best and brightest minds in academia. Here are just a few of our university partners:
- Purdue University - wood research
- Stanford University - comparative life cycle assessments and other sustainable business implications
- Technical University of Denmark - life cycle assessment practice
- University of Michigan - carbon footprinting and product life cycle assessments
Government & Industry Partnerships
Here are a few of our relationships: