Shaw Industries Group Inc. has unveiled the recipients of its 2020 sustain[HUMAN]ability Leadership Recognition Program. The nine organizations selected for this year’s recognition program have displayed tremendous effort and progress to support the wellbeing of people and the planet amid the unprecedented challenges of 2020.  

“At Shaw, we strive to create a better future and a better world -- a world in which we collectively value and invest in the health, wellbeing, and success of all people AND our planet,” noted Kellie Ballew, vice president of global sustainability at Shaw. “The sustain[HUMAN]ability®. Leadership Awards strive to recognize others who share our commitment to putting people at the heart of sustainability. By spotlighting a wide range of organizations, we aim to inspire others -- small businesses, large corporations, entrepreneurs, academia, nonprofits, governments and more regardless of industry -- to drive change.”

The organizations Shaw is recognizing as part of this effort over the coming year (in alphabetical order):

  • Amazon is committed to building a sustainable business for its customers and the planet. In 2019, Amazon co-founded and became the first signatory of The Climate Pledge - a commitment to be net-zero carbon across its business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.  As a continuation of its efforts, in 2020, Amazon introduced its Climate Pledge Friendly program to help customers discover and shop for more sustainable products, while encouraging its selling partners to prioritize sustainable product creation.
  • Auburn University Rural Studio is an off-campus design-build program that is part of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture of Auburn University. The Auburn University Rural Studio, known for its ethos of recycling, reusing and remaking, is being recognized for its focus on community need and incorporating ‘healthier materials’ thinking as it gives architecture students a hands-on educational experience while assisting under-resourced communities of West Alabama’s Black Belt.
  • Brightworks Sustainability, one of the first sustainability consulting firms in the United States, is being recognized for developing a new materials scoring methodology that distills existing product sustainability standards and attributes into holistic, comparable numerical scores. This tool makes it easier for the design industry, design clients and manufacturers to create and select healthier, greener materials.
  • Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM), is a premier program of the nonprofit, Live Thrive. CHaRM is being recognized for its permanent drop-off facility that aims to improve environmental health by encouraging reuse and diverting thousands of pounds of household hazardous waste, bulky trash and other hard-to-recycle items from Metro-Atlanta landfills and water systems.
  • Green Science Policy Institute works to facilitate safer use of chemicals to protect human and ecological health. The organization is being recognized for providing education and building partnerships among business, government, academia, and nonprofits to find innovative solutions to reduce the use of toxic chemicals.
  • HITT Contracting, a leading general contractor, provides a wide range of construction services from core and shell building and renovations to interior fit-outs and service work. HITT is being recognized for their leadership on the development and construction of Co|Lab, an innovative demonstration facility that serves as a hub for research and testing of emerging materials, methods, performance, and technology. The building was designed to highlight circular design, focus on healthy, red-list-free material selection and meet the most rigorous environmentally sustainable standards.
  • Healthier Materials Lab and Library at Parsons School of Design is an interdisciplinary, international, and professionally diverse collective of graduate students, alumni, and faculty with backgrounds in media, architecture, design, community development, education, and business. The organization is being recognized for its efforts to raise awareness about toxics in building products and create resources for the next generation of designers and architects to make healthier places for all people to live, especially people living in poverty.
  • The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) is a public benefit corporation and the world’s leading organization focused on deploying people first places to advance a global culture of health. IWBI is being recognized for its perpetually expanding efforts to mobilize its community through the administration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) and the WELL Health-Safety Rating, management of the WELL AP credential, the pursuit of applicable research, the development of educational resources, and advocacy for policies that promote health and well-being everywhere.
  • Steelcase works with leading organizations to create workplaces that help people feel safe and are productive, inspiring and adaptable with their architecture, furniture and technology solutions. Steelcase is being recognized for its research to understand the impact the pandemic has had on what people need and expect in the office, uncovering the macro shifts driving new ways of planning and designing the workplace.

As part of this recognition program, Shaw will profile these nine organizations in a blog series on SustainableBrands.com beginning in April 2021.