Advancing Our Mission: Key Highlights from Waldom’s First ESG Report
Written by Don Akery, CEO of Waldom Electronics
Waldom has made significant strides in advancing its sustainability mission. Last month, we proudly released our 2023 ESG report, marking a milestone as our first-ever comprehensive disclosure of our environmental, social, and governance initiatives. This report underscores our firm commitment to sustainability and demonstrates our proactive efforts to drive positive impact. Below are some key highlights from our inaugural ESG report.
Tackling Overstock: Turning Excess into Opportunity
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about unprecedented challenges, including significant overstocking issues. At Waldom, we have taken proactive measures to address this problem through our Green Stock Program. Instead of scrapping excess inventory, our partners send them to Waldom, where we redistribute them to our global network of distributors and share the profits. The program not only helps mitigate the financial impact of overstocking but also promotes sustainability by reducing waste and maximizing the lifecycle of electronic components.
The success of the Green Stock Program has been remarkable. To date, we have repurposed 5.7 billion components, preventing them from becoming electronic waste. This initiative has generated over $450 million in sales from excess inventory, demonstrating its effectiveness in turning a potential liability into a valuable asset.
Enhancing Sustainable Sourcing Visibility
To further support our distributors in making sustainable choices, we have introduced green leaf icons on our website next to our Green Stock components. These icons provide greater visibility, allowing distributors to easily identify and prioritize eco-friendly options. With over 180,000 Green Stock parts available, this small yet impactful change empowers our distributors to contribute to sustainability through their purchasing decisions, reinforcing our collective commitment to a greener future.
Planting the Seeds of Change
In our quest to make a lasting positive impact on the environment, Waldom has recently partnered with veritree, an organization dedicated to reforestation and environmental restoration.
For every Green Stock order placed by our distributors, Waldom commits to planting a tree on their behalf. This initiative goes beyond merely offsetting carbon emissions; it plays a vital role in reforestation efforts and supports the preservation of biodiversity.
Moreover, we are offering our distributors the opportunity to increase their contribution to this essential cause. At checkout, distributors can choose to plant additional trees, allowing them to amplify their environmental impact and engage more deeply in sustainability efforts. This not only strengthens our collective commitment to the environment but also empowers our partners to take meaningful action.
Our commitment is substantial, with a pledge to plant 100,000 trees in 2024.
Celebrating Eco-Champions
To acknowledge and celebrate the remarkable efforts of our supplier and distributor partners in minimizing waste through our Green Stock Program, we have introduced the Waldom ESG Awards. These awards not only recognize outstanding achievements but also provide an opportunity for our partners to benchmark their practices against the best in the industry, inspiring continuous improvement and innovation.
Empowering Green Initiatives
As we look forward to the future, we are excited to introduce the 1% Sustainability Pledge. This new initiative allows manufacturers to allocate a percentage of their Green Stock Program profits to a dedicated sustainability budget. This budget can be utilized for various sustainability-related activities, including marketing communications (Marcom) and planting additional trees. The 1% Sustainability Pledge offers our partners a flexible and impactful way to support environmental initiatives, further aligning our collective efforts towards sustainability.
Setting New Standards in Sustainability
Our 2023 ESG report stands as a testament to our unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible business practices. This report highlights the significant strides we've made, thanks to the dedication of our team and the invaluable support of our suppliers and distributors.
Looking ahead, we are driven to push the boundaries of what is possible in sustainability, setting even higher standards for environmental responsibility in our industry. We eagerly anticipate the opportunity to present our 2024 ESG report, confident that it will greatly surpass the achievements documented in our 2023 report.
