With an increasing number of consumers showing interest in Corporate Social Responsibility, one Home Furnishings Association member is not only embracing the philosophy, but it is also measuring it. City Furniture recently released its 2019 CSR report and its 2020 goals. The report documents how City Furniture is living its purpose – to enrich people’s lives and make the world a better place – and making strides in key areas, from recruiting and customer satisfaction to community support and environmental stewardship.
Others are taking notice. CITY was honored with The Fritz Pollard Alliance Foundation’s Salute to Excellence Award for being a leader in community service and diversity in the workplace.
City Furniture President Andrew Koenig said being a responsible corporate citizen drives the company’s success on every level. “It’s a commitment central to every decision we make today,” he said. “People want to do business with and work for companies that share their values and lead to positive change. Being accountable and transparent, inside and outside of the company, is crucial to our future.”
Global corporations have long held the CSR spotlight. Today, regional companies like Florida-based City Furniture are embracing next-generation programs that invite consumers to hold them accountable for positively impacting people, communities and the environment.
They’re making a sound investment. Reputation Institute’s recent CSR RepTrak study found that 91.4 percent of respondents said they would likely buy from a company with an excellent CSR program.
Growing diverse talent, advancing careers
According to the City Furniture’s 2019 CSR report, innovative personnel policies are strengthening the company’s culture with a focus on diversity and inclusion, learning and development, and internal mobility and career growth. Highlights include:
- Growing its culture of life-long learning, City Furniture in 2019 invested more than $1 million to deliver more than 30,000 hours of training and development for associates and invested $500,000 in employee recognition.
- A college recruitment program builds the leadership pipeline, tapping millennials and Gen Z — groups that are particularly drawn to purpose-led brands and workplaces.
- With diversity a core value, City Furniture continues increasing its female and ethnic minority workforce, and actively recruits veterans.
- In addition to health insurance, a free on-site Health & Wellness Center at its corporate headquarters provides no-cost basic health-care services to associates and their families.
Improving communities, giving back
City Furniture boosted its longstanding commitment to its communities with a 5 percent Giving Pledge, dedicating a minimum of 5 percent of net profits annually to build stronger communities. It doubled that amount in 2019.
The company also supports a wide range of organizations, from Covenant House, for which the retailer raised $100,000 in 2019, to Habitat for Humanity, the American Cancer Society, Junior Achievement and many more.
Leading ‘green’ change
On track with its 2040 Green Promise to become carbon-neutral, City Furniture is now running 100 percent of its truck delivery fleet on clean-running compressed natural gas and has five Tesla Semi all-electric trucks on order. In addition:
- Facilities include an industry-leading eight LEED-certified “green” showrooms. Energy-efficient strategies with LED lighting, HVAC, etc., are saving 7.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, preventing 11.2 million pounds of CO2 from being released.
- City Furniture recycles 98 percent of waste at its own recycling center. The company recycled 5.5 million pounds of cardboard and 500,000 pounds of plastic in 2019.
