Jabil surpasses environmental sustainability goals
In 2021, St. Petersburg-based Jabil set a goal to decrease company-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 25% over five years; the global manufacturing giant surpassed that benchmark two years early.
Jabil’s leadership announced Wednesday that the conglomerate has decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 29% since 2019. Global manufacturing plants have also reduced water use by an average of 19%.
Those statistics are among several highlights outlined in the company’s 2023 Sustainability Progress Report. CEO Kenny Wilson pledged in its opening letter to continue setting and pursuing “aggressive goals related to safe work environments, climate action and resource efficiency.”
“Jabil’s growth is not just about making things,” Wilson wrote. “It is about making leaders who serve our people, communities and planet.”
Jabil employees converted a large storage area into a computer room and supplied the electronic devices for children at the Artz 4 Life Academy. Photo provided.
The company groups its sustainability goals under three foundational pillars – people and communities, operations and resources and innovative solutions. Jabil conducted a stakeholder engagement study in 2021 to help inform a five-year Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy.
The corporation has already exceeded its 2026 standards in nearly every category. Those include Jabil’s human rights score, carbon neutrality targets and cybersecurity improvements, in addition to emission reductions and water use efficiency.
The report noted that Jabil employees again dedicated over one million volunteer hours in 2023. Gary Schick, vice president of human resources, previously told the Catalyst that company officials promote servant leadership and doing “the right thing, the right way.”
He also noted that 20,000 of 1.1 million volunteer hours completed in 2022 went to Tampa Bay nonprofits. “Jabil employees embrace and bolster our culturing of caring,” Schick said. “That caring extends not only to our communities but one another.”
Gary Schick, vice president of human resources for Jabil.
The company is close to meeting its diversity, equity and inclusion goals. The report states that women hold 21% of leadership positions, just 4% shy of its 2026 benchmark.
However, while 41% of managers have received mental health resiliency training, Jabil is less than halfway towards meeting its 90% goal.
The report also notes the importance of cultivating a talent pipeline. Job search site WayUp named Jabil’s St. Petersburg-based internship program one of the nation’s “Top 100” in 2023.
Five manufacturing sites have achieved “zero waste to landfill” certification, or a 90% trash diversion rate. However, that is just 5% of Jabil’s 2026 goal.
The report states that thousands of employees across the company’s Asia locations planted over 13,000 trees in 2023. Jabil will plant another 10,000 through its Net Zero Forest project through 2024. Officials do not claim carbon offsets from that initiative.
Jabil has also committed to fostering a circular economy based on reusing and regenerating material or products. Company officials acquired Scotland-based Retronix in November 2023 to bolster those efforts.
The report states that the Retronix team saved nearly two million electronic components from a scrapyard or landfill in 2022. After the acquisition, Jed Pecchioli, vice president of supply chain, said recycling parts became “taboo” several years ago due to counterfeit products damaging complex systems.
He believes Retronix’a traceability and certification processes alleviate that fear. “We know they’re good parts …,” Pecchioli said at the time.
Jabil will now have access to Retronix’s Laser Reballing service, which increases the ability to reuse electronic components and mitigates electronic waste. Photo provided.
Jabil’s commitments to ESG initiatives have coincided with an ever-increasing bottom line. The company recently rejoined the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index after a seven-year hiatus.
In a Dec. 11 feature, The Motley Fool called Jabil rejoining the “top shelf” S & P a “big deal.” The company’s stock has soared 72% over the past year, and its market capitalization is now $18.3 billion, a nearly $3 billion increase since relisting on the S&P 500.
“Our robust end-market experience, advanced technical and design expertise and illuminating supply chain insights allow us to develop transformative solutions that are also sustainable,” said Fred McCoy, executive vice president of global business units, in the report. “This alignment is crucial for the success of our business and the preservation of our planet.”
View the full report here.
