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 engaged and successful community.
Goodwill Practices Environmental Sustainability Through:
- 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
- Institutional recycling at all of 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 cardboard, scrap metal and plastics
Goodwill Practices Economic Sustainability Through the Fulfillment of Our Mission Services, In 2021 . . .
- Goodwill provided free job training and education opportunities to more than 3,100 people in our community
- Almost 700 students graduated from the Goodwill Excel Center adult charter high school
- The average starting hourly wage of those placed into employment was more than $17.00
Goodwill Practices Cultural Sustainability By . . .
- Supporting community green efforts by keeping over 37 million pounds of material out of area landfills (in 2021) through the collection and resale of donated goods
- Offering Excel Center classes, like Earth Science, that teach lessons on environmental sustainability
We encourage all of our associates and the community we serve to support these sustainability efforts both within and outside of Goodwill of Greater Washington.