Goodmans

Introduction:

Goodmans, an Arizona-based office furniture distribution and installation company, takes pride in its strong ties to the local community. The nearly century-old company has worked to make sure its facilities and operations are in balance with the people around them. 

However, the company faced a new set of challenges when it wanted to expand its community impact by lowering its carbon emissions. Although the family-owned business had previously gone through LEED certification for its Phoenix showroom and registered as B Corp in 2011, it needed help on climate action. Like so many mid-sized businesses, Goodmans sought the technical and operational expertise required to audit its carbon output and create a structured decarbonization plan - all within a limited budget. 

The Challenge:

It is tough for mid-sized businesses to decarbonize. Most Net Zero or carbon reduction solutions are aimed at larger companies with more resources and bigger budgets. But mid-sized firms still have to make sense of customer and regulatory requirements like their larger peers. 

Goodmans saw this landscape as an opportunity. Josie Kohlan, Goodmans’ Director of Sustainability, had previous experience with recycling and energy efficiency efforts. She knew the company would need an expert partner that could provide tailored recommendations to expand its decarbonization efforts. 

To succeed, Goodmans wanted a robust and actionable analysis but did not have the budget to pay for a custom solution offered by more traditional consultants. Goodmans also required a partner to help build employee knowledge around decarbonization. 

A mutual connection introduced the team to Rappel, which detailed its delivery methodology that is tailor-made for middle market companies tackling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Rappel said it would execute a company-specific approach to give Goodmans a roadmap with actionable decarbonization solutions at an affordable price.  

The Engagement:

Rappel used its advanced carbon and financial modeling software, Rappel CO2-AIM, to measure how much carbon Goodmans’ operations were emitting into the atmosphere. It retrieved and verified emissions data through its coordinated efforts with Goodmans’ leadership team and warehouse managers, supported by CO2-AIM’s AI bill-reading technology. Rappel revealed the root causes of Goodmans’ emissions, categorizing them into assets in buckets like operations, building systems, and transportation. 

Once Goodmans could tie business activities to carbon emissions, the company worked with Rappel to review reduction opportunities. Rappel’s CO2-AIM modeling software created a variety of reduction pathways and detailed impacts on emissions and the bottom line. The Rappel team highlighted what yielded the quickest payback and then modeled how Goodmans could proceed with some or all of those options. These included:

• Building system upgrades, including LED retrofits, HVAC replacements

• Hybrid and electric vehicle replacements for parts of Goodmans’ delivery fleet

• Rooftop solar at select Goodmans warehouses

Rappel delivered a centralized decarbonization dashboard detailing capital expenditures, operating expenses, and return on investment for every component in Goodmans’ roadmap - including specific implementation timing and goal ownership.

Throughout the development of the roadmap, and in the subsequent implementation efforts, Rappel served as a Chief Carbon Officer, working with Josie to answer questions and update the decarbonization roadmap. Rappel also helped Josie define key operational stakeholders and responsibilities: everyone at Goodmans knew what to do and how to deliver results. 

The Outcome:

With Rappel’s help, the next phase of Goodmans’ sustainability journey evolved from aspiration to implementation. Goodmans used its roadmap to submit a carbon reduction plan to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), an independent body that verifies corporate carbon reduction proposals. SBTi approved the roadmap that showed how Goodmans would lower its carbon emissions by 42% by 2030.

Employees across the company now have a sense of what activities result in Goodmans’ carbon emissions and how they affect the bottom line. Leadership is aligned on how to execute its decarbonization roadmap and knows the financial impacts and benefits of each solution. 

Importantly, Goodmans has a comprehensive and authentic decarbonization story, which Adam said is rare for midmarket companies. They present to customers and industry groups on the topic: Adam said the company’s SBTi target gives him a chance to educate his peers, while Josie speaks on sustainability at national conferences for MillerKnoll furniture dealers.