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From Home Furnishing Business
KI Releases Social Responsibility Report, Minimizing Environmental Impact
April 27,
2023 by HFBusiness Staff in Business Strategy, Industry 
In recognition of Earth Month, KI released their annual corporate social responsibility report. To mitigate the impacts of climate change, they established a new goal last year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by the end of 2023 compared to 2017 levels.
Throughout 2022, greenhouse gas emissions by were reduced by 17% and energy consumption was reduced by 22.6%. To achieve their goal by the end of 2023, they have committed to further invest in initiatives that promote a more sustainable future.
In 2022, 13.7 million pounds of material were diverted from manufacturing facilities from going to landfills. 3.1 million pounds of that material was diverted to recycling centers. Compared to the year prior, this is a 40% increase in overall waste reduction.
Looking ahead, they aim to transition to 100% recyclable packaging to reduce landfill contribution even further, committing to reducing packaging materials by finding alternative methods to safely ship and receive products.
The corporate design and development center in Northeast Wisconsin has nearly 500 solar panels covering more than 22,000 square feet of rooftop space. Last year, the renewable energy gathered by the solar panel system offset all electrical usage at the design and development center and sent 36% of that energy back to the grid to be used elsewhere.
In 2022, KI achieved the most rigorous tier of LEVEL certifications for 146 product families. The LEVEL certification process is completed by a third-party certifier that evaluates products against criteria laid out by BIFMA in accordance with ANSI procedures, including whether a product is sourced and manufactured in an environmentally-conscious and socially-responsible manner. LEVEL-certified products allow architects, designers, and customers to easily identify the most sustainable furniture available.
Giving back to those within the community is at the heart of how they do business. Last year, $144,000 was donated to local organizations such as the Bellin Run, an annual 10K race in Green Bay with the mission of promoting health and well-being for people of all ages, the Green Bay Chamber Fund, supporting economic development of the community through the Greater Green Bay Chamber, Literacy Green Bay, a non-profit that helps adults and families build reading, writing, math, English language, and workforce skills and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Phoenix Fund, which provides financial support to UW-Green Bay students experiencing financial hardship.
Learn more about KI’s dedicated corporate stewardship and sustainability efforts in the full 2022 Social Responsibility Report.