Builders FirstSource, Inc. - Sustainability Overview

Sustainability Builds Our Business

Our mission is to be the best supplier of building materials and services by having a people-first culture, exceptional customer service and innovative solutions that create superior value for stakeholders. As the nation’s largest supplier of structural building products, value-added components, and services to the professional market for new residential construction and repair and remodeling, we provide an integrated solution to our customers to help them shorten construction cycle times, increase build quality, improve safety, reduce waste, and reduce costs.

Helping homebuilders become more productive and efficient is fundamental to what we do, and we are passionate about building this future together.

We strive to put our corporate values into action every day, including to reduce the environmental impact of our products and operations, provide engaging and rewarding work for our Team Members, and always lead with safety and integrity. We integrate environmental, social, and governance objectives into our decision making to deliver long-term value to all our stakeholders. Our focus on sustainability is guided by our stakeholders and third-party frameworks including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Building Products & Furnishings standard.

Read our 2023 CSR Report

Read Our 2022 CSR Report

Key Stats

Reduction in recordable injuries in 2021, beating our 10% reduction target

18%

Of our wood is from sustainable forestry certified vendors

~90%

Wood from sustainable forestry-certified vendors

25%

Environment: Enabling Greener, More Efficient Construction

We believe the sustainability of our products and operations is important to delivering value to our stakeholders, including our customers, Team Members, shareholders and communities. As such, providing materials for the construction of green buildings is a priority for Builders FirstSource. Our team is well trained and deeply knowledgeable about green building practices and products, and we offer a broad range of energy efficient and sustainable-certified products, including Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) trusses, wall panels, lumber, and Energy Star® qualified windows and doors.

READY-FRAME®: IT'S MORE EFFICIENT WITH LESS WASTE, RESULTING IN A CLEANER, SAFER JOBSITE

Builders FirstSource uses innovation to offer sustainable solutions that boost building efficiency and result in substantial savings for our customers. For example, our READY-FRAME® computerized, precise pre-cut, labeled framing bundles enable crews to build faster, safer and with less waste. READY-FRAME® enables construction up to 20% faster and can deliver a 39% increase in productivity per person hour. It can require 60% less cutting and 27% less ladder time, reducing injury risk for a safer and cleaner jobsite. READY-FRAME® significantly also reduces the amount of material sent to landfill, up to two-thirds fewer dumpsters, meaning less waste and lower disposal costs, as well as lower emissions from avoided waste haulage.

Better

Computerized designs reduce mistakes with 1/16" accuracy.
Optimized material usage avoids misuse and waste.
Benefit from guaranteed takeoffs, fewer errors and less risk.

Faster

Build 20% faster with the same crew, which meens less labor needed.
Build more houses in less time with increased efficiencies like pre-cut and labeled smart bundles.

Safer

Less on site cutting contributes to a cleaner, more organized job site.
A safer environment reduces risk for injury.

Greener

Fewer cuts mean less waste in dumpsters and reduced disposal fees.
Results in a cleaner job site and more trees saved.

Click here to see how many trees have been saved using our manufactured framing components since January 1, 2019.

In our operations, we are committed to running efficiently and to minimizing our impact on the environment. Our Environmental Compliance department has leadership responsibility for developing and implementing environmental management programs. Each of our locations assign responsibilities to implement and comply with these environmental programs. We also track applicable federal, state, and local environmental regulatory requirements, such as storm water and air requirements, to ensure compliance. We utilize our BFS Foundations Management System to educate and train Team Members on relevant environmental and safety topics, such as storm water management awareness and spill prevention.

In line with our focus on compliance and continual improvement, our internal environmental audit team audits each of our locations at least once every three years. We take appropriate corrective actions to address any issues and enhance our operations and compliance.

We are also committed to reducing our environmental impact, including natural resource usage and emissions. For example, we do not utilize water in our key manufacturing processes, minimizing our water usage and risks associated with such usage. We have implemented a number of initiatives to reduce our environmental impact, including the following:

Utilizing water-based paints, which are better for the environment and our Team Members and reduce hazardous waste risks.
Implementing a nationwide delivery routing system to maximize vehicle efficiency and minimize emissions.
Monitoring vehicle idle time to identify high-idle locations and providing financial incentives to minimize idling and reduce emissions.
Upgrading lighting to LEDs, which not only save energy and reduce carbon emissions, but also improve safety through better visibility.
Installing overhead fans to reduce air conditioning and related power usage.
Introducing electric forklifts and clean burning diesel delivery vehicles to reduce carbon emissions.

safety

Our Team Members are the heartbeat of our company and we appreciate each and every one for their partnership, dedication, and loyalty. We work hard to provide a workplace that is safe and one that promotes bringing fresh ideas and diverse perspectives to help us grow and continue to be a thriving, sustainable business that is a source of pride in our industry.

Accountability. We believe that all incidents are preventable. Our Vice President of Safety has managerial responsibility for our health and safety programs. Our executive leadership is actively engaged in our safety programs and has strong oversight via periodic updates and performance reports. Our Board of Directors also receives quarterly reports on our safety performance and initiatives. For all of our leadership, safety performance is a component of their compensation.

Policies and Programs. The Builders FirstSource Safety and Health Program provides the framework with our guidelines and procedures for operating safely and mitigating risks. We have established a general safety manual, construction site safety, and standard operating procedures for specific jobs. All of our safety policies and programs apply equally to our employees and contractors.

Controls and safeguards are implemented to promote safety. Each of our locations must have processes in place to inspect and identify hazards and then record and track mitigation actions for each hazard identified. Safe work procedures for critical tasks are provided, offering clear expectations and requirements to perform work safely. Location managers and supervisors are responsible for implementing and maintaining safety elements in their work areas and answering Team Member questions about our Safety and Health Program, and work with our regional or market safety managers as appropriate.

All locations have written emergency preparedness procedures with guidelines on how to respond in the event of an incident. To ensure compliance, we conduct internal safety audits of each location at least every three years.

Training. We promote understanding and adherence to our safety programs through ongoing education and training efforts. Mandatory new hire training includes robust training on safety and the Builders FirstSource Safety and Health Program. In addition to mandatory new hire safety training, all Team Members must participate in daily as well as monthly safety meetings.

Performance. While our goal is to drive to zero recordable injuries, we delivered an 18% reduction across the company in 2021, beating our 10% reduction target.

We have targeted another 10% annual safety improvement for this year, which is a component of our leadership’s compensation.

Engagement

We value and seek the input of our Team Members to foster an engaging and rewarding work environment to attract and retain talent. We undertake annual engagement surveys supplemented by quarterly pulse surveys, through which Team Members provide input on our work environment allowing us to assess and further drive Team Member engagement. We also hold regular town hall meetings with question and answer sessions to provide open communications with our Team Members. To promote a safe and respectful workplace, we maintain a formal grievance system where Team Members can report an issue via our anonymous helpline, as well as directly to their manager or human resources representative. These procedures are set forth in our Team Member handbook as well as on posters in our facilities and on our company intranet.

As our talented Team Members are the heartbeat of our company, we provide competitive compensation and benefits packages to attract and retain such talent. All full-time Team Members are eligible for company benefits, including the following:

Health, dental and vision insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts for Health and Dependent Care
401(K) retirement program with company match (also available to part-time Team Members)
Paid time off
Paid parental leave
Company Paid Life and AD&D insurance
Choice of Disability Income Protection (Short and Long Term)
Team Member Assistance Program (also available to part-time Team Members)
Tobacco Cessation Program

At Builders FirstSource, we encourage the continuous professional development of all of our Team Members. Our Team Members receive performance reviews at least annually as part of our feedback and development process. We also have a dedicated internal training and development team focused on identifying current and future skill gaps and training our Team Members to ensure they have the necessary skills to succeed. We utilize our BFS Foundations Learning Management System to provide and track completion of our trainings across topics such as leadership and management, professional skills, and compliance. Moreover, we support valuable professional certifications across our markets.

Training and leadership development programs include:

High potential and emerging leader classes
Leadership mentoring
Customer service
Micro-learnings courses on various topics such as navigating change
Cornerstone Connect best practices sharing
Builder’s Supply Channel industry-specific skills courses

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We believe diversity, equity and inclusion must be firmly embedded in our strategy. As part of this strategy, in 2021 we engaged our Team Members through a diversity, equity and inclusion survey to develop our company’s key priorities around diversity, equity and inclusion, which are:

Enhance awareness;
Increase workforce diversity;
Improve and enhance communication; and
Increase inclusion and engagement.

To drive these priorities, we have launched diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings for all team members, including training on unconscious bias. We also have a DE&I Resource Group, which is focused on empowering team members to reach their fullest potential.

In addition, our Proud to Serve Resource Group is focused on recruiting, employing, and retaining veterans and persons serving in the armed services.

Builders FirstSource is a proud partner of the DOD’s SkillBridge Program and is designated as an official Military Friendly® employer for 2022. Additionally, we received a 2022 Employer Award from VETS Indexes.

To assess and help advance diversity among our team members, we monitor the composition of our workforce and increase recruiting from more diverse sources.

INTEGRITY: PROTECTING OUR TRUSTED REPUTATION

We are committed to promoting a work environment and atmosphere that is conducive to individual and company integrity and success, and we take deep pride in knowing that we succeed with uncompromising integrity. Builders FirstSource’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics sets forth policies and procedures to promote integrity and ethical conduct, and all team members must agree to comply with our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.

In addition, we have implemented measures to ensure appropriate and ethical business conduct and relations, such as our Responsible Supply Chain Policy. We also have robust accounting systems to monitor and detect potential financial irregularities, which includes regular reporting to the Board of Directors.