Pledge by Williams Sonoma
6 Million Trees to Restore & Protect Our Forests
Total Trees Pledged: 6,000,000Supporting actions: Forest Product Markets and Innovation,
In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, Williams Sonoma Inc. is restoring 6 million trees in the world’s most vulnerable forests. In addition to Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s reforestation work with the Arbor Day Foundation as part of their commitment to sustainability, the family of brands is focused on responsible sourcing which includes working with well-managed timber suppliers and increasing our use of Forest Stewardship Certified (R) wood.
To deepen this commitment, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has pledged to plant 6 million trees by the end of 2023 to restore vulnerable forest ecosystems around the world. Through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen, West Elm, Rejuvenation, and Williams Sonoma Home will plant one tree for every piece of indoor wood furniture sold*.
These contributions, together with money donated by the company, will help support reforestation projects in places such as California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, the Mississippi River Valley, Washington, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Oregon, Brazil, India and Indonesia to restore degraded watersheds, improve wildlife habitats, and repair regions damaged by natural disasters.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a robust set of sustainability goals for responsible materials and waste, as well as science-based targets for emissions reductions: by 2030, achieve 50% absolute reduction in their operations (Scope 1 & 2) and 14% in their supply chain (Scope 3). Additionally, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.’s operations will be carbon-neutral by 2025.
* Indoor wood furniture containing at least 80% of wood; upholstery furniture is excluded.
The Arbor Day Foundation, Science Based Targets Initiative
Trees: 6,000,000
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has been named a top purchaser of Responsibly Sourced Wood since 2018 by the Sustainable Furnishings Council and surpassed the company’s goal of 50% responsibly sourced wood one year early. Through working with the Forest Stewardship Council and similar organizations, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.'s family of brands are helping to increase demand for more responsible wood sources globally.
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to integrate social and ecological responsibility into the implementation of their pledge to plant 6 million trees. The Arbor Day Foundation seeks diverse partnerships. Alignment with their mission, vision, and core values leads to successful projects and outcomes. They use four guiding principles to identify high-quality and credible partnerships for their work:
- Act with character and integrity.
- Plant the right trees, at the right time, in the right place, for the right purpose.
- Respect, empower, and benefit local people and communities.
- Align to science-based frameworks and goals.
The Arbor Day Foundation has robust protocols for assessing their implementation practices. They set prerequisites for their forestry partners, including:
- Partner Sustainability
- Peer-Recognized/Credible
- Research-Aligned/Peer-Reviewed
- Relationship and Longevity
- Scalability
- Ongoing-reporting and reporting capacity
- Supported and trusted by local communities, government, UN, and others