People + Planet

Working Toward Better Futures

Designing better futures for the wellbeing of people and the planet

Read 3 minutes

At Steelcase, we believe doing our best work for the places we all share starts with designing better futures for the wellbeing of people and the planet. The following are just a few examples of the many ways Steelcase is making a positive, lasting impact.

Partnering for Good

Partnering with GOODEE, a Montreal-based marketplace of sustainable homewares and lifestyle products, brings conscious commerce to the office.

Founded by brothers Byron and Dexter Peart, GOODEE is celebrated for its platform centered around responsible brands and artisans producing timeless everyday objects. Their belief that conscious commerce has the power to transform the world is a perfect addition to the Steelcase community of brands which aims to let you create beautiful places that work, your way.

Women of Steel

In India, only 12% of the manufacturing workforce is made up of women. But at the Steelcase Pune plant, that number is 60% and growing, through the team’s work to break biases and remove barriers to opportunity for women. The Pune “Women of Steel” have recently inspired a satellite program in Dongguan, China. For International Women’s Day this year, local events in Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai and Singapore celebrated the Women of Steel program, sharing the inspirational story with customers in the communities where we live and work.

Supporting a Diverse Workforce

SUPPORTING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE

This February, Ashoka and Steelcase brought together corporate leaders, social entrepreneurs and migrant talent for a workshop focused on brainstorming new models to improve attracting, hiring and onboarding a more diverse talent pool, and transforming hiring practices to make them more inclusive.

Reducing Waste in Product Packaging

Reducing Waste in Product Packaging

A global design-thinking workshop dubbed “Hack the Pack” is reducing the impact on the planet for a key Steelcase Learning product. Through sustainable improvements, the new Verb table packaging will eliminate the need for 73,000 pounds of foam per year. This also saves room on delivery trucks — allowing more products to fit in the same amount of space, reducing the carbon emissions per table.

Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change

CDP is the world’s leading environmental reporting platform, evaluating business and local governments. Steelcase was again recognized for having the best climate change score in the contract furniture industry. Each year CDP scores thousands of companies to measure and manage their risks and opportunities on things like climate change, water security and deforestation. The stringency of expectations raises each year in accordance with emerging environmental science, feedback from stakeholders and market needs. Despite the increasingly rigorous climate criteria, we’re proud to have maintained a B score since 2020, by far the highest in the industry.

Sharing Product Ingredients to Protect the Wellbeing of People

Declare is a 3rd party transparency platform, often referred to as the nutrition label for products, to help customers know what is in the items they buy. As the need for product transparency grows globally, Declare ingredient disclosures provide a clear and concise way to view chemistry information. Steelcase now has 12 products that have obtained a Declare Label, including some of our top sellers, with more on the way. All product certifications can be found in the Origin database, where 97% of Steelcase Americas products are listed. We also generate Environmental Product Declarations for our top selling products — transparent, objective reports that communicate a product’s impact on the environment across its entire lifecycle.

Related Stories

Our Work Toward Better Futures

Our Work Toward Better Futures

The goals and progress Steelcase is making toward improving the wellbeing of people and the planet.

Our Path to Net Zero

Our Path to Net Zero

How Steelcase is transforming its business and committing to a net-zero future to help build a more sustainable and resilient world.

Pattern of Pride

Pattern of Pride

Steelcase recognizes and celebrates Pride by offering a new employee-created fabric design that incorporates all the colors and identities of the LGBTQ+ community.