Sustainability Starts With Our People

For any business looking to reduce its environmental impact, establishing a sustainability game plan is critical, but complex. Companies that set out on this path will want to look at ways to use fewer and renewable resources in their products; make their facilities more efficient; adopt sustainable procurement practices; and launch internal initiatives like recycling programs. There are many ways to protect our planet at every level and in every corner of a business, but there is an equally important and often overlooked element of a sustainability mission – people.

Being sustainable isn’t simply about protecting the environment; it is also about social responsibility, about supporting and advocating for the people who live on our earth. At Avery Dennison, that significant part of sustainability inspires us to make changes so we can support and elevate the careers and lives of the people at the core of our success. In fact, guided by our Sustainability Council – comprised of leaders across our businesses – and in collaboration with The Natural Step, social welfare is a critical component of our 2025 Sustainability goals.

How do we create a sustainable working environment for our employees?

Safety First

We’re proud of our two-decade record of being one of the safest manufacturing companies. Avery Dennison maintains this world-class reputation by promoting a culture of safety awareness and injury prevention, including our 2016 “Know Safety, No Accidents” campaign. Where people use equipment and machinery every day, it’s our goal to reduce – if not completely eliminate – incidents of injury.

Human Rights and Fair Labor Practices

Avery Dennison strongly believes that all people should be treated fairly and with respect, no matter where they live or work. Protecting the people who manufacture our products doesn’t end with us simply taking a stance against the mistreatment of people: our Employment Standards promote human rights and fair labor practices, and we audit our facilities as well as those of subcontractors to ensure compliance.

Gender Diversity

Avery Dennison supports a culture of diversity and inclusion. With a commitment to gender diversity as a starting point, we’re aiming to have women hold at least 40 percent of the positions at the level of manager or above. How are we working towards this objective? By offering unconscious bias training to managers and above, expanding this training to others, and internal programs designed to help women develop the skills and confidence they need to pursue leadership roles. But we’re not just supporting women in senior roles, we’re also empowering female factory workers in several of our China facilities with skill-enhancing programs to take them further along their career paths.

These are just a few examples of how Avery Dennison takes their wellbeing and success of our employees to heart. Others include annual employee engagement surveys in which employees can share their ideas and provide candid, anonymous feedback to our leadership team; training and development opportunities; our future-focused performance reviews; and prioritizing internal mobility among employees.

Interested in learning more about Sustainability at Avery Dennison? Visit our sustainability portal here.

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