Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) is showcasing its commitment to sustainability. The Lawrence, MA-based promotional products company has released its 2021 annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, outlining its efforts last year to be a better steward of the environment and highlights of its charitable giving. The report also details the supplier’s CSR plans for 2022 and beyond.

“We strongly believe Gemline has a long-term ongoing responsibility to our community and the environment,” said Jonathan Isaacson, CEO of Gemline. “We will continue to build on our corporate social responsibility efforts, seek out opportunities to lead by example and raise the bar in everything we do.”

Top 40 supplier Gemline installed a 1,736-panel solar power generation system that’s expected to reduce its energy consumption by around 43% when it becomes operational this summer.

Last year, Gemline installed a 1,736-panel solar power generation system at its headquarters, which will become operational by early summer 2022. It’s expected to reduce the supplier’s energy consumption by around 43%. Switching to LED lighting at its headquarters and manufacturing facility has already saved more than 437,000 kilowatts of energy a year. Gemline also joined the UPS Carbon Neutral program, which is designed to offset carbon associated with shipments. The company purchased 471,000 shipping cartons in 2021, all of which were made from at least 85% post-consumer waste.

Gemline is also a zero-landfill facility, diverting all of its waste to an alternate disposal source. The company notes that last year 246.07 tons of trash from its facility were converted into 172,000 kilowatts of electricity – enough to power roughly 3.3 million homes. The firm also recycled 238.8 tons of cardboard.

The company notes in its report that 19% of the products it launched in 2021 were eco-friendly.

In addition, Gemline became a certified member of the Sustainable Business Leader Program, through the Sustainable Business Leadership Network of Massachusetts (SBN).

In 2021, Gemline made more than $575,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to a variety of charitable causes that support communities through health and wellness program, education and leadership activities, with a focus on supporting the Lawrence, MA, community. Brand partners including MiiR, Corkcicle, Soapbox, Moleskine and W&P all contributed funds to charitable efforts around the world.

Going forward, Gemline has a number of sustainability initiatives earmarked, including a pledge to eliminate the use of PVC from its product offerings by 2025. The supplier plans to decrease packaging waste by 50% by the end of 2022. Gemline has also partnered with EcoVadis, a globally recognized sustainability ratings provider, to benchmark its current sustainability practices and environmental impact, increase sustainability performance and identify future improvement opportunities across the company and supply chain.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is another focus area for the company, which has engaged a DEI training firm to provide extensive training on awareness, inclusion and relationship building for Gemline employees this year.

With reported 2020 North American promotional products revenue of $115.5 million, Gemline ranks as the 12^th-largest supplier in the industry.

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