Under the direction of our General Counsel and Chief Compliance & Sustainability Officer Richard Medway and his team, we established a cross-functional internal ESG Committee to drive alignment and strategic focus. Our ESG program is overseen by our Board, which has mandated the Nominating, Governance & Sustainability Committee to, among other things, review our ESG strategies. Our internal ESG Committee, comprised by cross-functional leaders from across the Company, guides our sustainability strategy development. We are committed to continuous improvement and welcome our stockholders’ feedback on our sustainability strategy and disclosures. Below is an overview and recent highlights from each of our ESG pillars. For more information, please see our Impact & Sustainability report, available at www.ir.savers.com.
Furthering Our Purpose
As a leader and pioneer of the for-profit thrift category, we seek to positively impact the environment by reducing waste, promoting reuse of textiles and household goods, the recycling of excess metal, cardboard, and plastic, and extending the life of reusable goods.
The textile and clothing industry is one of the most environmentally damaging sectors of the economy; it relies on non-renewable resources such as oil for synthetic fibers, fertilizer to grow cotton and chemicals associated with the production, dyeing and finishing of fibers and textiles. This process is also energy and water-intensive.
By sourcing and selling second hand items, we contribute to the conservation of resources. Thrift is inherently circular and provides one of the most effective solutions to mitigate the environmental cost of clothing and extending its life.
The vast majority of the clothing and textiles we source are sold to our retail or wholesale customers. In fiscal year 2023, we processed 984 million pounds of secondhand goods and our thrifters purchased 274 million various items.
In addition to our role in the circular economy, we are conscious of our own operating footprint. We strive to limit our impact where possible, and have procured Renewable Energy Certificates to help in these efforts for several years. In February 2024 we purchased sufficient Renewable Energy Certificates to cover our usage at our two corporate offices and our largest U.S. and Canadian Distribution and Reuse Centers from August to December 2023 and our estimated usage for these facilities through July 2024. Over the last several years, we have also completed a LED lighting retrofit for more than 90% of our U.S. and Canadian stores and warehouses.
Building Community Through Our Partnerships
Our mission extends throughout our network of valued partners – team members, customers, nonprofit partners (“NPPs”), operational partners, and industry peers – to foster growth and shared success.
We are dedicated to providing a workplace environment where our diverse, purpose-driven workforce can flourish professionally and personally. Our five core values guide our strategic direction and how our team members interact with one another, our communities and our customers: (1) make service count; (2) celebrate uniqueness; (3) do the right thing; (4) find a better way; and (5) make an impact.
Our business model is predicated on sourcing our supply from nonprofit organizations in the communities where we do business. The contracts we enter into with our NPPs are typically one to three years in duration. Our relationships with our top 10 NPPs average more than 27 years. Over the last five years, we have paid our NPPs more than $530 million for secondhand goods, providing them with unrestricted revenue to support their community-focused missions. From 2019 to 2023, over 90% of our supply was locally sourced, delivering a broad and diverse selection to our customers and fostering a sense of community.
Our leading “people” metric across our organization is team member engagement, which is scored across various areas, including overall job satisfaction, whether the team member would recommend us as a place to work, personal commitment, being energized at work and intent to remain employed. Our team member engagement is considered best-in-class, as measured by an external consultant, comparing our results to other companies in the retail sector. Team member engagement is crucial to customer satisfaction and the satisfaction of our NPPs and their donors.
