Innovating—One Sustainable
Product at a Time
To create sustainable products, it takes dedication, rigid adherence to best practices and a relentless passion for making the world a better place. So we’ve incorporated sustainable thinking into our Product Development Process (PDP). Along the way, we’ve developed some visual methods for helping homeowners and business owners find the products that will reduce their environmental impact and support their own sustainability goals.
Our Sustainability Strategy, Visualized
Every new product we design will go through our Product Development Process based on industry best practices. Early in the PDP, we gather key representatives from our R&D, Sourcing, Manufacturing and other teams for Sustainability Strategy Sessions. In these sessions, our teams consider eight factors focusing on the product’s impact on the environment, and four on its social impact.
Before any new idea makes it through the PDP, we consider its production, its use and its end of life—and our sustainability strategy wheel helps us explore ways to integrate sustainability into the final product.
Sustainability Standout Seal
While many Richmond® products have sustainable features, certain products stand out as a cut above—and those products earn the Sustainability Standout® seal. It’s given based on a number of internally designated factors relating to product attributes like energy efficiency, longevity, CO2 reduction and more. We’re in the process of adding the seal in places including the product information pages, marketing and training materials—all to help professionals recommend responsible products and consumers make smart purchasing decisions.How The Seal is Earned
To determine which products stand out among our sustainable offerings and have earned the right to bear the Sustainability Standout seal, we created a proprietary point system. In our Sustainability Strategy Sessions during our Product Development Process, we look at the Earth-friendly and user-friendly attributes of the product—such as efficiency, packaging, performance, features and recyclability. We assign each sustainability attribute a point value, and products that earn enough points bear the seal. Those that haven’t earned enough points may still be very environmentally friendly. However, this seal is simply a way to make finding the best of the best easier.Sustainability Standouts
We’re working to bring the Sustainability Standout seal to all the products that qualify. Look for it on upcoming product pages, videos and other marketing materials to help you identify the product solutions that have earned a closer look.
CO2 Reduction Levels
One of the key considerations in the development of a sustainable product is how much it reduces the emissions of CO2, a greenhouse gas, into the environment. So we measure our products—both existing and in-development—against their baseline counterparts. The result is a CO2 reduction level, which we classify as good, better or brand best. As they start appearing on marketing materials, product pages and more, we hope these carbon reduction symbols will help buyers find products that will help lower their own environmental impact.
How the Symbols Are Measured
The percentage of CO2 reduction specific to the product’s category determines the appropriate symbol for each product category. The chart below indicates the specific percentage ranges that are used to classify the products into levels across our product types.
Want to learn more about our sustainability commitments, goals and efforts?
Visit our A Greater Degree of Good™ page.
EXPLORE SUSTAINABILITY