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Grainger is committed to creating a safe, inclusive and rewarding workplace for our team members and to strengthening the communities in which we operate.
At Grainger, we advance a safe and inclusive workforce while empowering our communities to have thriving and resilient futures.

Read more about our efforts in our 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance Report.

photo of employees in a boardroom

Our 2022 Highlights

24%
racially and ethnically diverse leadership representation in U.S.
35%
women leadership representation in U.S. and Canada
>12K
hours volunteered by U.S. team members at nonprofit organizations
~98%
of team member participation in Managing Unconscious Bias training1
~$47M
of total company cash contributions and product donations
1 Total company, excluding MonotaRO.

Health and Safety

Grainger is committed to providing a safe work environment and ensuring team members are properly trained to perform a variety of tasks necessary to support our customers.

As a global leader in industrial distribution, Grainger drives Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) excellence by promoting safe people and processes for our operations around the world; safe environments through proper product handling, storage and waste minimization for all business areas; and safe distribution through proper transportation of hazardous materials.

Our EHS program is integrated into all aspects of business operations to keep our team members safe and healthy, while keeping facilities operating safely and sustainably.

Talent Recruitment

Grainger places a strong emphasis on finding and attracting the best candidates. We continue to enhance the inclusivity of the candidate experience for all individuals pursuing a career at Grainger, including changing our application process for applicants with disabilities, adjusting the selection process to achieve greater diversity and continuing to invest in strategic partnerships.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Grainger, we believe our differences make us extraordinary. In 2022, Grainger leaders and team members participated in a DEI learning course called Managing Unconscious Bias. We also continue to enable BeBrave Conversations which create a safe space that allows participants to seek different points of view.

Grainger Chairman and CEO D.G. Macpherson was one of the first signatories of the Chicago Network Equity Principles, a campaign focused on committing to working toward achieving gender equity in leadership roles throughout the company by 2030. We have made progress in increasing women representation year-to-year across all levels within our organization. Our focus has expanded to encompass racial and ethnic equity and advancement as well, as evidenced in our diverse leadership representation metric for executive compensation, which includes gender and racial diversity in leadership positions.

Grainger Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a significant role in shaping our culture. The results of a recent BRG satisfaction survey indicate that nearly 85% of BRG members would highly recommend their BRG to others.

Team Member Learning and Development

To meet the unique needs of our global population, we offer a broad range of role-specific, professional development, career and leadership learning designed to build and enhance skills. At Grainger, we segment our learning into three enterprise portfolios that allow us to target learning by audience and need: Professional Development Portfolio, Career Development Portfolio and Leadership Development Portfolio.

In addition to ongoing, informal conversations, there are three formal performance and development conversations team members and leaders have at the start of each year, in the middle of the year and at year-end. Open, honest dialogue about performance, development and career growth supports our principles, keeps lines of communication open, builds trust and helps fulfill our purpose.

Community Investment

Grainger is committed to creating a positive impact in our communities. In 2022, Grainger contributed nearly $47 million in cash and product donations to nonprofit organizations.

In 2022, we began implementation of our new strategy, supporting partners and programs aligned to our new community pillars: support disaster resilience and relief, advance the emerging workforce and empower our communities.

Case Studies

photo of two Grainger employees walking in a warehouse while smiling

Grainger Mexico’s “Protect Your Back” Campaign

Back and muscle pain due to improper manual handling of loads represents a leading cause of team member injury. To address this challenge, Grainger is implementing activities in Mexico.

The following activities are being implemented in Mexico:

  1. “Protect your back” ergonomic trainings and campaign for all operative team members in accordance with local standard NOM-036-1-STPS-2018, which is also emphasized during new hire orientation
  2. Ergonomic job instructions and visual aids on-site
  3. Ergonomic tables implementation where required, as identified through kaizen and risk-analysis methodologies
photo of Grainger employees performing charity work outside

Disaster Relief Bucket Build

In September 2022, Grainger hosted a service day introducing the new signature volunteer event to build disaster relief buckets at its Lake Forest headquarters in recognition of National Preparedness Month and Grainger's 95th anniversary.

Nearly 350 team members filled and donated 4,000 emergency-use clean up kits to the Red Cross for distribution to communities affected by natural disasters. The Red Cross joined us to kick off the inaugural event and receive the first truckload of completed kits. These disaster recovery kits aided in cleanup and recovery efforts. The buckets contained bleach, household cleaner, work gloves, rubber gloves, scrubbing pads and much more from our inventory including Grainger’s Tough Guy® brand trash bags and mop heads.