Fastenal Company Releases Inaugural ESG Report

(Credit: Pixabay)

Fastenal Company (Nasdaq: FAST) has announced the release of its first ESG Report. The company offers a diverse range of industrial supplies to customers in industry, construction, and state and local government through roughly 3,300 in-market sites (branches and customer-specific Onsite facilities) spread throughout 25 countries.

During 2022, Fastenal announced its working towards a plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050, including an expectation to establish science-based targets within the next two years. Currently, the company holds a Bronze sustainability rating from EcoVadis.

The report, which summarizes Fastenal's achievement in various environmental, social, and governance areas during 2021, represents a significant step forward in the company's ESG journey.  The 2022 ESG Report was produced with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and aligns with the ESG disclosure and reporting frameworks established by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Company Goals/Initiatives

• Expand benchmark reporting to incorporate additional frameworks.
• Improve external disclosure to better communicate efforts and impact to employees, customers, and investors.
• Work with various teams to develop long-term sustainability and social goals and the means to achieve them.
• Build community engagement through events such as the annual BK5K race, which honors one of the founders, Bob Kierlin, and raises funds for children’s causes in several of the communities in which Fastenal operates.
• Further develop “ESG as a service” through customer-facing sustainability solutions.

The company's sustainability solutions, a portfolio of services designed to assist clients in accelerating their own ESG initiatives, are a noteworthy aspect of the report. “Our culture centers on a core belief in people, and our strategy centers on reducing resource consumption in our customers’ supply chains – principles we believe create a natural alignment of our growth goals and the ESG priorities of our stakeholders,” said Dan Florness, president and CEO of Fastenal. “The Fastenal ‘Blue Team’ is working hard to be a force for positive change – in our business, for our customers, and across global supply chains – and we’re proud to share their story in this inaugural report.”

Fastenal is striving to make a global impact that goes well beyond its own operations as a supply chain partner for thousands of businesses worldwide and intends on releasing an annual ESG report each January.