Shaw Industries Releases Its 15th Annual Corporate Sustainability Report

Staff Report

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw) has released its 15th annual corporate sustainability report, highlighting the company's progress toward its goals in material health, clean air and climate protection, product circularity, water and soil stewardship and social fairness.

Through continuous improvement and innovation across the enterprise, Shaw is on track to optimize 100 percent of its products to Cradle to Cradle® design principles and to achieve net-zero emissions in its enterprise operations by 2030. 

In addition to this progress, the report focuses on the company’s commitment to its sustain[HUMAN]ability strategy – putting people at the heart of its efforts. Highlights from the report include:

  • Cradle to Cradle Certified milestones 

    • Almost 90 percent of the products Shaw manufactures are Cradle to Cradle Certified (based upon 2022 sales)

    • Shaw holds more Cradle to Cradle certifications than any other company in the world

    • Introduced award-winning ReWorx ™ hybrid flooring and expanded certification to additional synthetic turf products

  • Significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and resource intensity

    • Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions are now 60 percent lower than Shaw’s 2010 baseline, supporting the company’s goal to achieve net-zero enterprise operations by 2030

    • Lowered the embodied carbon footprint of numerous product lines designed for the commercial market while also making them carbon neutral

    • Reduced water intensity by 43 percent compared to its 2010 baseline

  • Assessing more than 2 billion pounds of materials for material health in 2022

  • Further fueling the circular economy by:

    • Developing a takeback program for Shaw-made resilient flooring

    • Identifying new partners to help recycle an additional 2 million pounds of Shaw's carpet manufacturing waste each year

  • Programs and initiatives focused on helping Shaw associates and communities achieve their full potential, included:

    • Increasing the company's spend with small and diverse businesses to 60 percent of its allowable spend in 2022, up from 42 percent in 2021

    • Providing  more than 1 million hours of training and education to associates and customers and donating more than $6.7 million to charitable causes

Shaw President and CEO Tim Baucom notes, "Our relentless curiosity and focus on customer needs led to a record-breaking $7 billion in revenue in 2022 while navigating an increasingly complex global market. Sustainability is a core aspect of Shaw’s vision as we endeavor to support our customers in achieving their objectives alongside our own.” 

It’s a sentiment echoed throughout the company. "As we address the ever-changing needs of customers and the world, our commitment to sustainability remains steadfast – driving innovation and impact across our portfolio,” states Kellie Ballew, vice president of global sustainability and innovation at Shaw. “We remain keenly focused on the ingredients that go into products as well as the impacts of sound, moisture, cleanability and other design considerations because we know the spaces and places where we learn, create and come together to solve our greatest challenges impact our wellbeing.” 

To read Shaw's 2022 Sustainability Report, visit: shawinc.com/2022sustainabilityreport