| Corporate Social Responsibility at Grainger “Our employees want to help others; it’s what they enthusiastically do for our customers, every day. That same drive to serve extends well beyond the walls of our branches, into the communities where our employees live and work. At Grainger, we’re proud to be there for our local neighborhoods and the many good causes that help make them strong.”
- James T. Ryan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Overview
Grainger, the leading broad line supplier of facilities maintenance products, helps local businesses maintain, repair and operate their facilities. Whether it’s finding a motor for a downed assembly line or sourcing 1,000 fasteners for same-day delivery, Grainger is committed to helping customers find quick solutions for their facility maintenance needs. The same Grainger expertise that enables customers to get the job done also translates to local communities, where the company is a thought leader in disaster preparedness and response and technical education through strategic charitable contributions and community initiatives.
In 2008, the total value of Grainger’s charitable contributions – including product and cash donations – was $13 million.
See the Grainger Community Relations Fact Sheet for more detailed information about the company’s community and social responsibility programs. Disaster Preparedness and Response
Given Grainger’s extensive product mix, distribution capabilities, and culture of service, the company is a natural leader in disaster preparedness and response, mobilizing employees and essential products (such as generators, cleaning supplies, batteries, flashlights and gloves) in times of emergency, throughout the company’s U.S. branch network, as well as locations in Canada, Mexico, China, and Panama.
Since 2001, the company has built a strategic partnership with the American Red Cross, providing more than $6 million in cash and products as well as supplying employee volunteers to support preparedness and relief efforts across the United States and internationally.
Technical Education
As a leading distributor of industrial supplies, Grainger also is committed to helping stem the growing shortage of skilled workers while supporting the increasing technical demands of today’s manufacturing workplace. The pool of tradesmen entering construction, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning repair, welding and other skilled labor-oriented industries is dwindling; causing a shortfall in the labor market that will reach epidemic proportions as the baby boomers retire. According to a National Association of Manufacturers report, 80 percent of manufacturers are struggling to serve customers because they do not have enough qualified workers.
Our customers rely on tradesmen and women to keep their businesses afloat, and we in turn rely on these businesses to keep our infrastructure sound and our local economies healthy and viable. For that reason, since 2006, Grainger has contributed more than $600,000 in support of technical education in the form of scholarships, classroom equipment, supplies and funding for technical program start-ups.
Making an Impact: Volunteerism
Ready When the Time Comes
Grainger is the National Founding Sponsor of the American Red Cross Ready When the Time Comes (RWTC) Program. This unique partnership between Grainger, a thought leader in disaster preparedness, and the country’s premier disaster relief organization, the American Red Cross, ensures large groups of local, trained volunteers are ready to respond prior to a disaster. As National Founding Sponsor of this program, Grainger contributed $1 million to seed RWTC programs in 22 Red Cross chapters nationwide. The program continues to extend to local communities in need of growing volunteer capacity.
Since the adoption of RWTC, Grainger has trained more than 1,000 volunteers across the country who have responded to more than 24 disasters. Grainger employees have proudly assisted the Red Cross in staffing emergency phone centers following Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike; staffing shelters and performing damage assessment following the California wildfires and Kansas City ice storms; serving meals and snacks to first responders following the Manhattan steam pipe explosion; and distributing food, water and aid supplies to many more areas throughout the country.
More than 160 organizations have joined the program, including Fortune 500 companies such as Credit Suisse, Citibank, Fed Ex, Oracle, Sprint, and The Gap. These businesses have trained more than 6,000 employee volunteers in disaster relief. On average, the RWTC program has increased the local Red Cross volunteer capacity to respond to disasters by 37%.
See the Ready When the Time Comes Program Fact Sheet for more detailed information about RWTC. Making an Impact: Charitable Giving
Grainger Rebuilding America®
Following a disaster, resources are limited and aid to small businesses can be scarce. Recognizing this need, the company launched Grainger Rebuilding America® in 2003, a program that contributes up to $100,000 annually to community businesses severely affected by disaster.
The contribution is issued to a local nonprofit foundation or economic development organization. Small, independent businesses that meet the grant criteria may then apply to receive seed money through the nonprofit organization. To date, Grainger has awarded Rebuilding America grants in Jackson, TN.; Utica, IL; Springfield/Jerome, IL; Iowa City, IA; Bound Brook, NJ; Findlay/Ottawa, OH; Macon, GA; and Parkersburg, IA. More than 100 small businesses have received funding to assist with inventory replacement, rebuilding efforts, advertising and other disaster recovery needs.
Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program
Launched in 2006, the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program awards $2,000 for tuition and books to second year students earning their associates degree or certificate in an industrial trade at select community colleges. In 2008, Grainger made available 100 scholarships at 50 community colleges across the country. Students enrolled in construction, plumbing, welding, electrical, facilities maintenance, machine technology and other industrial programs are eligible to apply. Recipients also receive a customized Westward® toolkit upon successful program completion.
See the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® Scholarship Program Fact Sheet for more detailed information about the program. Matching Charitable Gifts Program
The hallmark of Grainger’s giving is its three-to-one matching charitable gifts program which matches employee contributions up to $2,500 annually. The company is among less than one percent of U.S. companies that match at this rate.
In cases of extreme disaster such as the China Earthquake, Myanmar Cyclone, Hurricane Katrina, and 9/11 the company has raised the match to four-to-one. In 2008, Grainger enabled employees nationwide to significantly help their communities by donating $2.7 million to educational, cultural, and community health and human services organizations through this program.
Making an Impact: Product Donations
Grainger supports disaster relief and technical education programs with essential products.
- China Earthquake: $25,000 in product to the China Society of the Red Cross
- Hurricanes Gustav and Ike: $40,000 in clean-up kit items to the American Red Cross
- Hurricane Katrina: $200,000 in product to the American Red Cross
- Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan: $1 million in emergency supplies to the American Red Cross
- Hurricane Isabel: $80,000 in clean-up-related product to the American Red Cross
- National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources: a collector and distributor of new, donated overstock inventory to nonprofit organizations and schools.
- Educational Assistance, Ltd.: an organization offering excess inventory to colleges and universities in exchange for scholarships for thousands of needy students nationwide.
Sustainability
Sustainability means meeting the present generation’s needs without compromising the future generation's ability to meet its own needs. Grainger helps customers achieve their sustainability goals by providing products and solutions to run their facilities in an environmentally responsible manner while also helping to take costs out of their operations. In addition, within its own business, Grainger is working to set a new MRO standard for sustainable, environmentally safe operations. The company is helping to preserve the natural resources with the communities where it does business.
See the fact sheet, Grainger’s Commitment to Sustainability, for more detailed information about the company’s sustainability programs and initiatives. |
