June 22 - July 23
Founded in 2005, twelveNYC is the premiere agency for the design and production of merchandise for the world’s most compelling brands.
sustainability report
We are B Corp certified, 100% women owned, and lead the way in intentional design, sustainable materials, operational innovations, and more – ensuring your brand stays 12 steps ahead of an ever-evolving consumer landscape.
For the fourth year in a row, we have published this report to reinforce our commitment to operate as a holistically sustainable business. It provides transparency on our progress for our clients, and it holds us accountable to do better every day and every year.
What does Sustainability mean to twelveNYC?
We proudly build meaningful relationships with the world’s most dynamic brands. Our commitment to operating as a holistically sustainable business enables us to create a ripple effect that transcends continents and conversations, creating a profound positive impact on the world around us.
Click below to discover how we can drive sustainable innovations in your next program.
1
Achieved Ecovadis Gold Certification.
2
Increased our monetary investment by 200%* in sustainability programs, including certifications, R&D, and data collection services.
*We invested over $250k in sustainability programs since 2020
3
Cut our freight emissions by 50% since 2021 through strategically localizing our shipping partners.
4
Reduced our Far East supply base by 29% by moving away from suppliers who do not align with our sustainable business goals.
5
Increased orders developed with sustainable materials by 30%.
We collected data from Ecovadis and B Corp to measure how we are performing against others in our industry. Doing so helps us identify areas for improvement and allows for transparency in our decision-making for the future.
In 2021,
we were in the top 15% for Sustainable Supply Chain & Procurement.
In 2022,
we ranked in the top 4%.
Increased orders using sustainable materials by 30%
92% of all gifts sent to our global clients were designed and developed using sustainable materials, packaging, and carbon neutral shipping
Reused 3 trade show booths from 2021 and invested in 2 new booths to reuse for 2024 shows.
Developed new plastic alternatives for our clients to utilize in their packaging, such as dissolvable packing peanuts
2022 Sustainable Order Classifications
85%
of orders in EMEA used certified post consumer recycled or recyclable materials.
30%
increase in orders developed with sustainable materials.
@twelvenyc on Instagram
Behind the scenes of how we brought our PARIS pouch to life as a gift for our clients at @parispackagingweek ♺ This material is woven from 100% recycled plastic waste and coated with water-based acrylic. For every 1sq meter of material, over 5 plastic bottles are removed from the ocean. 🌊 To learn more about how we can drive sustainable innovations in your next program, reach out: hello@twelveNYC.com helloEMEA@twelveNYC.com
Offset 100% of carbon emissions on all of our global shipments, employee travel, emissions from our Brooklyn and London HQs, as well as our carbon footprint from our teams working from home.
Increased percentage of client shipments utilizing ocean freight by 60% to cut down on carbon emissions
Pushed our shipping and operational partners to provide more consistent and transparent data around their processes, giving us with a higher confidence in data collection and accuracy for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions globally to create a benchmark for future reductions
Installed and improved smart HVAC and air quality monitoring systems in our HQ to manage use and measure the environment for employees.
Carbon offset purchases ytd
Over the past few years, we have invested in carbon offset projects through the Carbon Fund to manage our emissions. We have increased our offset investment year over year in renewable energy and removed over 7500 metric tons of GHG's since our program started.
Cut freight emissions by 50%
from 2021 by using local partners
We removed
over 30k metric tonnes of CO2
from the atmosphere last year.
That’s the equivalent to
over 6.5 million lbs
or 3 million kgs.
Reduced our Far East supply base by 29% by moving away from suppliers who do not align with our business goals.
Completed a company-wide Climate Risk Assessment through CDP
Implemented new employee training series on sustainable regulations and requirements
We doubled the size of our Global Compliance Team to ensure we stay ahead of the ever-changing EU and US sustainable regulations
Our operations,
compliance, and development teams have created a interactive product guide of trusted manufacturers outside of China for our clients to learn more and take advantage of the economical and sustainable benefits of near shoring.
Ecovadis ranked us in top 4% for Sustainable Procurement in our industry
(up from top 15% from 2021)
We increased our Ecovadis-assessed global supplier network by 13%
WHERE WE INNOVATED
Jan 2022 - july 2023
89% of twelveNYC full time employees identify as female
Ensured we remained holistically equitable by continuing to diversify our employee base*.
* Our US BIPOC employee base has doubled since 2020
FUTURE GOALS WE'VE SET FOR OURSELVES
Achieve
Achieve industry wide leadership and Ecovadis Platinum by 2026. Our industry continues to get more and more competitive. To achieve the top 1% of our space will not only show our leadership but we also hope to bring our supplier base and customers to the top with us. It’s a team effort.
CERTIFY
Certifications are one of the few ways to verify sustainable action. Our goal is to increase the percentage of suppliers in our supply chain who hold industry recognized certifications so that we can verify every level of our supply chain.
Produce
We hope to produce over 50% of our orders from sustainable materials for our clients whether they are recycleable, compostable, mono-material or made from post-consumer recycled content.
Reduce
We aim to achieve a validated net zero target from SBTI by 2025 and focus on reducing our 2021 baseline greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2027. This goal is ambitious in a space that is largely focused on producing consumer products but we are required to think creatively about solutions. twelveNYC can focus on reducing emissions from its operations, employees, supply chain, and educating our partners on utilizing stronger design. We hope to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80% per full-time equivalent employee by 2025 (against our 2019 baseline year).
Source
Source 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025 through credit programs. Over the years, we have faced significant challenges for access to renewable energy due to the building administration and infrastructure. However, new programs in NYC make it possible to invest in PPA’s and other renewable energy credit programs.
Streamline
Streamline our supplier base: reduce the number of suppliers that we work by stepping away from suppliers who do not align with our own environmental goals.
Develop
Develop more intense internal systems for emissions tracking and increasing domestic orders to reduce shipping costs and environmental impact.
Educate
Advance our mission in acting as an educational resource for our supply chain partners, while continuing to carry out a robust internal training series for our teams on a variety of different sustainable topics, standards, and regulations.
Innovate
Continue leading with innovation: driving solutions at every step in the product development process and partnering with global suppliers who’ve invested in innovative technologies to pursue new opportunities.
Design
Challenge our art team to implement sustainability at the ground level, design engineering every detail to drive efficiencies, extend end-use longevity, and maintain the utmost quality standards.
The path forward provides endless opportunities to further our collective sustainability initiatives, and we are passionate about driving innovative solutions from dream to delivery. We would love to tell your story.
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Questions? Reach Out:
sustainability@twelveNYC.com