Corporate Responsibility:
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Through our internal Healthy Materials Database, we assist design teams in identifying the best materials to meet high performance requirements by tracking data on Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Health Product Declarations (HPDs), Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) and other green features. We have grown this database to include more than 2,100 materials in our collection.
Environmental, Social and Governance at Pepper
Our mission is to improve quality of life through the built world, serving as trustworthy stewards for the best interests of our people, our clients, and our shared resources.
To achieve this, we have been monitoring our environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives for our projects, on our jobsites and within our company.
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL
GOVERNANCE
We see the potential for a world in which buildings generate more energy than they consume. A workplace that celebrates diversity, enhances human productivity and delivers restorative health benefits to its occupants. A community that benefits from the built world rather than one that is degraded by harmful chemicals used to construct, insulate and power structures.
Environmental
carbon
energy
water
recycling
materials
Social
Safety
Health
de&i
Training
Community
Governance
Policies
Risk
Reporting
Tracking
Innovation
E.01
E.02
E.03
E.04
S.01
S.02
S.03
S.04
S.05
G.01
We continue to raise awareness that jobsites are workplaces too by expanding conversations about safety and the environment to include human health and wellbeing. This helps us manage risk while also creating positive outcomes for our business. We track risks related to the supply chain, our workforce and the communities where we build, while also analyzing risks related to carbon, renewable energy transitions and the environment.
G.02
Because our company culture is to always do the right thing and continuously improve, we use consistent and transparent standards to measure and report on safety considerations, quality lessons learned, high performance and virtual technology. We communicate a sense of belonging, contribution and purpose to our Pepper employees. All employees have open access to our ESG data and an ESG progress summary is delivered companywide biannually.
G.03
We work to increase awareness by tracking the impact of our environmental, social and governance policies. Together, they support our mission to continuously improve people's quality of life through the built world. There are over 40 data sets feeding our ESG framework and we will continute to grow over the next few years. Tracking this data allows us to reinforce possibilities and realize our own global impact.
G.04
Building on our investments in new technology and policies focused on our planet, teams and clients is essential to our business. Every building impacts generations. We must investigate what is possible today and what could be tomorrow by exploring the pathways to innovation.
G.05
ENVIRONMENTAL
SOCIAL
GOVERNANCE
E.01 Carbon: Reducing our footprint
E.02 ENERGY: lowering our use
E.03 Water: Reducing our demand and protecting our resources.
E.04 Recycling: Increasing recycling efforts
E.05 Materials: Promoting healthier alternatives.
S.01 Safety: Our first priority.
S.03 Diversity, equity & inclusion: Ensuring respect and dignity
S.04 Training: Investing and continuing education.
S.05 Community: Giving Back
G.01 Policies: Aligning with ESG.
As part of our Tomorrow Transformed commitment, we have aligned all our policies and standards through the lens of our ESG initiatives. Our policies and standards start with dignity and respect for everyone reflecting our company culture, which is ingrained in our ESG framework and reviewed on an annual basis.
G.02 Risk: Managing risk while creating positive outcomes.
G.03 Reporting: Report progress.
G.04 Tracking: Tracking success and opportunities.
G.05 Innovation: Building on your investment.
S.02 Health: Creating healthy environments.
Our Drawdown commitment allowed us to avoid releasing 43,000 tons of CO2 this past year on our projects. On our jobsites, we have been promoting carbon-infused concrete, which prevented the release of 18 tons of CO2. Last year our company's carbon footprint was 6kgCO2e/SF.
By utilizing rainwater harvesting and water-saving fixtures, we were able to save 13 million gallons of water on our projects. We preserve our natural resources on our jobsites by implementing and tracking stormwater pollution prevention plans. We monitor the water usage intensity in each of our offices and are retrofitting plumbing fixtures to reduce our overall demand.
Recycling is paramount in our construction waste management strategies. This past year we implemented 261 recycling plans and diverted 63,000 tons of waste from landfills. This resulted in a company recycling rate average of 89% on all jobs.
We instill a preventative safety culture on our jobsites, as seen by our 204 toolbox talks. Every team member in our company is involved in our safety program, which is reflected in our 19,674 safety engagement activities. All safety activities are tracked through our Predictive Solutions safety app.
This past year we've awarded 1,285 contracts to minority-owned companies. Our DEI program continues to grow as we recruit, train and involve more partners on our jobsites. As a company we are always looking to recruit the next generation into the construction industry. To support this effort, we attended more than 50 recruitment events last year.
At Pepper, we believe that participating in continuous education only helps us become better. We offer educational opportunities for our employees to obtain third-party accreditation in a green-certified rating program. We also keep track of the number of employees who have completed their 30-hour OSHA training. As of last year, 450 workers had done so.
At Pepper, we volunteer, give back and take action when we witness someone in need. We feel that a spark from within is necessary to be a catalyst for our industry, which is why we support causes that are significant to both our clients and our team.
We keep track of how many occupants are touched by our Drawdown program. Through this program we've impacted more than 35,000 occupants. We place a high value on air quality audits on our jobsites and we monitor the air quality in our offices. Our Ohio offices continue to model healthy workplaces through their WELL certifications.
Through our Drawdown program we produced 47,000 megawatts hours of renewable energy on our projects. We reduced the amount of energy on our jobsites through resources like our Net Zero trailer and promoting electric tools and equipment. Reaching net-zero energy at our Cincinnati office was a significant accomplishment to reduce our own energy consumption. Our Indiana office continutes to achieve Energy Start certification every year. All offices offest their energy consumption with Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).