Social Sustainability
As a socially sustainable organization, Goodwill of Greater Washington doesn’t just emphasize environmental sustainability practices, but also economic and cultural sustainability. We believe in taking a holistic approach towards the intersection of all three levels of sustainability that are required to develop a fully thriving and successful community.
Goodwill Practices Environmental Sustainability Through:
- Supporting community green efforts by keeping over 49 million pounds of material out of area landfills (in 2022) through the collection and resale of donated goods.
- Extending the life cycle of donated textiles by reselling them in the retail aftermarket.
- Operating Goodwill’s administrative offices and Goodwill Excel Center in LEED certified buildings.
- Moving towards a fully sustainable administrative office environment.
- Institutional recycling within all our administrative and business operations, as well as at The Goodwill Excel Center Public Charter High School.
- Participating in the Dell Reconnect program which recycles millions of pounds of electronic waste annually.
- The use of green cleaning products and practices in our 11 contract operations.
- Goodwill also operates a sustainability center that allows us to partner with community organizations to recycle materials such as plastics and soon, glass.
Goodwill Practices Economic Sustainability Through the Fulfillment of Our Mission Services
- Goodwill provided free job training and education opportunities to more than 2,200 people in our community in 2022.
- More than 700 students graduated from the Goodwill Excel Center adult charter high school since 2016.
- In 2022 the average starting hourly wage of those placed into employment was more than $19.00.
Goodwill Practices Cultural Sustainability By . . .
- Offering Excel Center classes, like Earth Science, that teach lessons on environmental sustainability.
- Adopting a workplace culture that celebrates and embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Encouraging and supporting the personal and professional development of Goodwill team members.