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6 Million Trees to Restore & Protect Our Forests

6 Million Trees to Restore & Protect Our Forests

Pledge by

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is restoring 6 million trees in the world’s most vulnerable forests.

Type
Restoring & Growing, Enabling
This pledge will take place from
2021 to 2024
Location
Brazil, India, Indonesia and more

Company website

Pledge overview

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® wood.

To deepen this commitment, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has pledged to plant 6 million trees 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, Williams Sonoma Home and GreenRow 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 for certain brands, see brand-specific websites for details.

Actions in this pledge

  • Restoring and growing trees and forest landscapes

    Supporting actions
    Reforestation
    Re-establishment of forest through planting and/or deliberate seeding on land classified as forest, that has been degraded or where trees are unlikely to regenerate naturally
    Watershed protection and erosion control
    Establishment and enhancement of forests on very steep sloping land, along water courses, in areas that naturally flood and around critical water bodies
    Additional details

    Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has chosen to partner with the Arbor Day Foundation to identify forest ecosystems around the globe that are in critical need of reforestation. The Arbor Day Foundation provides regular reports and photos to validate trees are being planted at the right place and time.

    Restoring & Growing

    Trees
    6 Million

  • Enabling activities for trees and forest landscapes

    Supporting actions
    Market development for sustainable forest products
    Activities that create markets and demand for ecologically and socially responsible timber and non-timber forest and agroforestry products, e.g. capacity-building for the harvesting and processing of agroforestry products, forest certification standards, etc.
    Additional details

    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.

    Enabling

Our ecologically and socially responsible approach

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

Our system of accreditation

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has chosen to partner with the Arbor Day Foundation to validate that trees that are being planted on behalf of its family of brands are planted in the right place at the right time and for the right reasons. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. reports all of the brand’s sustainability goals publicly, including science-based targets, in the Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Impact Report available at https://sustainability.williams-sonomainc.com/

Our partners

The Arbor Day Foundation, Science Based Targets Initiative

Our locations

We are working at locations across Brazil, India, Indonesia, and United States of America (USA).

Our implementation progress

Pledge implementation progress reporting is managed in collaboration with IUCN’s Restoration Barometer, and is required annually from the year following pledge publication.