At Wayfair, we're dedicated to protecting the one home we all share: our planet. Two years ago, we set our first public goal of reducing our Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 63% by 2035.
This year, we're excited to announce our second ambitious goal: achieving zero waste across all global operations by 2030. This means taking a comprehensive approach to minimizing waste and diverting 90%+ of our waste away from landfills and incineration, aligning with the Zero Waste International Alliance's standards.
Transitioning towards a more circular economy is central to Wayfair’s sustainability journey. This involves integrating returns and damage prevention into our core business practices, enhancing recyclability of our packaging, and systematically reducing waste throughout our operations. “As a proponent of Sustainability efforts in our Operations, I’m thrilled about this commitment,” said Sascha Hower, Vice President Global Supply Chain. “Zero waste is truly a win-win approach, enhancing operations efficiency, reducing costs, and promoting corporate responsibility.”
While our zero waste goal is new, we’ve already been hard at work making important progress towards making our sustainability goals a reality. Some of our key achievements from last year include:
- In 2023, we diverted 42% of operational waste globally from landfills and incineration through proactive measures such as prevention, donation, and recycling initiatives. This includes a styrofoam recycling pilot in our Jacksonville, FL facility, where we inspect and assemble products for our customers, remove the associated styrofoam packaging, and take the styrofoam back to our facilities for recycling.
- We've achieved 90% recyclability for packaging purchased by Wayfair in 2023, including products like cardboard boxes, honeycomb wrap, paper-based fillers, and paper mailers.
- We’ve rolled out improved inspection services that ensure products reach customers in optimal condition, reducing damage and increasing customer satisfaction. This includes delivering products in a ready-to-use state and bringing the packaging materials back to our own facilities for responsible recycling.
- We have launched three Wayfair outlets which offer customers an ever-changing inventory of new, returned, and slightly blemished items. Customers can enjoy deep discounts on these products while giving them a second life.
While we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far, there’s still more we need to do before we can achieve our zero waste goal. In the short-term, we're focused on expanding recycling programs across all global facilities for every major waste stream. Long-term, we're committed to re-evaluating waste-generating processes and adopting unique approaches for products that are historically more challenging to recycle.
“We are so proud that Wayfair is making this long-term commitment, which marks our intention to contribute to the circular economy,” said Wayfair’s Head of Sustainability & ESG, Anna Vinogradova. “We believe that this goal is ambitious but attainable, and we will learn a lot along the way.”
All of us here at Wayfair are excited and energized by these commitments and how they’ll help us push forward in our journey towards more sustainable business operations. Learn more about our initiatives and commitments in our 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report, which details our efforts towards our planet, our people and our communities.
“Jacksonville’s styrofoam densifying pilot was an exciting moment for our facility to come together and try something new for the good of our planet,” said Gretchen Conkey, Site Director of our Jacksonville Fulfillment Center. “We are thrilled that the pilot succeeded, and our learnings will be rolled out to other Wayfair operations. Our operational team was so excited to be a part of recycling this styrofoam into usable products that can have another life.”
