Grainger Releases Its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report

Report Highlights Company's Continued Commitment to Integrate ESG Objectives into Business Operations

CHICAGO, June 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grainger (NYSE: GWW), the leading broad line distributor serving businesses and institutions with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom today announced the release of its 2022 Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Report on www.GraingerESG.com. Grainger has published its ESG report, formerly known as the Corporate Social Responsibility Report, since 2012, and continues to be a leader among industrial distributors in this space.

"We are pleased to share our recent ESG Report to mark the progress on our key initiatives that impact our environment, team members and society," said DG Macpherson, Grainger Chairman and CEO. "I'd like to thank our team members, partners and suppliers who work each day to strengthen our customers and our communities."

Highlights of the report, which covers the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, includes Grainger's commitment to our team members, our increased focus on diversity, equity and inclusion of the workforce, continued community investments and continued focus on sustainable supply chain operations.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Within Grainger's U.S. workforce, approximately 39 percent of team members were women and 34 percent were women in leadership positions. Grainger's U.S. workforce was also comprised of 37 percent racially and ethnically diverse team members, and 24 percent racially and ethnically diverse leaders. As discussed in the ESG Report, the company has implemented enhanced processes and team member trainings to reduce bias in recruiting, interviewing and hiring.

Community Impact. Team members spent 10,400 hours volunteering and the company donated $96 million in cash and product donations to nonprofits highlighting the ongoing commitment to give back to our communities. In addition, a new community impact strategy has been implemented to ensure our programs reflect and support the diversity of our team member population and customer base.

Supplier Diversity. Grainger's processes support ethical sourcing of products, supplies and services and supplier diversity and engagement. In 2021, the company engaged with over 680 minority-, woman-, veteran-, disabled-person-, and LGBTQ-owned business for goods and services.

Sustainability. With approximately 100,000 environmentally preferable products, Grainger is a great partner in helping customers achieve their sustainability goals. To help reduce freight cost and packaging impact, the company utilizes right-size packaging technology and strives to 'ship complete' as an advantage to the customer and the environment.  

It is a key priority that ethics and integrity is woven into all parts of the business. Grainger is proud to report 100 percent of company team members completed business conduct guidelines training showing our commitment to ethics and integrity in everything we do.

Other report highlights include:

• An updated materiality matrix reflecting the shared priorities of our customers, suppliers, investors, community partners and team members
• Distribution centers achieved 92% recycling rate
• North American facilities have more than 7 million square feet of LEED certified space
• Grainger has a 'AAA' risk rating from MSCI and is a Sustainalytics top-rated ESG company demonstrating industry-leading risk management
• Grainger commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30 percent by 2030

To learn more about Grainger's ESG Report, visit www.GraingerESG.com.

To find your way with Grainger and explore career opportunities, visit https://jobs.grainger.com.

W.W. Grainger, Inc., with 2021 sales of $13.0 billion, is a leading broad line distributor with operations primarily in North America, Japan and the United Kingdom. Grainger achieves its purpose, We Keep the World Working®, by serving more than 4.5 million customers worldwide with a wide range of product categories that keep customer operations running and their people safe. The Company also delivers services and solutions, such as technical support and inventory management, to provide tangible value and save customers time and money. Grainger offers more than 2 million maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products in its High-Touch Solutions assortment and more than 30 million products through its expanding Endless Assortment offering. For more information, visit www.grainger.com.

All statements in this communication, other than those relating to historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" which are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented or implied in the forward-looking statements include: the unknown duration and impacts of the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 and its variants; a major loss of customers; inflation, higher product costs or other expenses, including operational expenses; the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the global economy; loss or disruption of sources of supply; failure to develop or implement new business strategies; the company's responses to market pressures; the outcome of pending and future litigation or other proceedings; government contract matters; disruption of information technology or data security systems; general industry, economic, market or political conditions; general global economic conditions; facilities disruptions or shutdowns; higher fuel costs or disruptions in transportation services; geopolitical events, including war or acts of terrorism; other pandemic diseases or viral contagions; natural or human induced disasters, extreme weather and other catastrophes or conditions; effects of climate change; competition for, or failure to attract, retain, train, motivate, and develop key employees; loss of key members of management; and other factors that can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent reports filed on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, which are available on our Investor Relations website. Forward-looking statements are given only as of the date of this communication and we disclaim any obligation to update or revise them, except as required by law.

SOURCE W.W. Grainger, Inc.