Inside Steelcase’s Net Zero Strategy

In our recent webinar, we sat down with Steelcase leaders Julia Loffredo and Kaila Bryzgalski to explore how one of the world’s leading office furniture manufacturers is putting sustainability at the core of its business - through thoughtful product design, credible carbon strategies, and a bold path to net zero.

Hosted by Carolyn Bacchus, VP of Client Solutions at Climate Impact Partners, the session offered a candid look at Steelcase’s evolving sustainability journey, lessons learned, and actionable strategies other companies can adapt. Below are the top insights.

Fireside chat with Steelcase

Watch the full webinar to learn how Steelcase is driving climate action through meaningful product innovation and credible carbon strategies.

Watch now

1. Net zero is more than a goal – it’s a business transformation

Steelcase has committed to reducing its full value chain emissions by at least 90% by 2050, with validated science-based targets guiding the way. According to Julia Loffredo, this means a total transformation of how the company designs, sources, manufactures, delivers, and manages its products.

“Net zero covers our entire value chain. It’s complex, but climate science is our north star,” Julia emphasized.

Steelcase has already reduced emissions by 30% against its 2020 baseline – a major milestone on its path to long-term change.

2. Products are the key emissions lever

While initial emissions reduction and carbon neutrality efforts focused on operations and transportation, the largest impact is in Steelcase’s product categories. Kaila Bryzgalski shared Steelcase’s two-track strategy:

Retrofitting existing products through material innovations and disclosure tools like Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
Redesigning new products with lower-carbon materials from the start, informed by a sustainable product design framework.

Notably, targeted changes in just four materials, metals, plastics, foam, and wood, are driving significant reductions.

3. Embedding sustainability into core business operations

To turn ambition into action, Steelcase has developed a detailed transition plan organized around five themes:

Reducing emissions today
Laying foundations for future reductions
Transforming the business model (e.g., circularity, remanufacturing)
Supporting communities
Respecting nature and biodiversity

Crucially, every strategic project is assigned, measured, and reported via an internal accountability framework and dashboard, embedding climate action into daily business.

4. Carbon credits: a credible, complementary tool

Steelcase has been operationally carbon neutral since 2020. To neutralize remaining emissions, it invests in a portfolio of high-quality carbon credits with strong co-benefits for nature and communities.

“We choose a global, diverse set of projects that reflect our values, including clean cookstoves, afforestation, and HFC destruction, to name a few,” said Kaila.

Julia Loffredo, Net Zero Strategy Consultant, Steelcase

Steelcase also offers a growing portfolio of certified CarbonNeutral® products, with more than 30,000 units sold globally to date – creating measurable impact while supporting customer sustainability goals.

5. Supplier engagement and internal culture are essential

Recognizing that Scope 3 emissions are the most difficult to address, Steelcase is actively engaging its suppliers to set science-based targets and collaborate on material innovation. At the same time, the company is strengthening internal capacity with employee engagement efforts and cross-functional accountability.

“You probably have more allies than you realize. Find them – and bring them along the journey” Julia advised.

Final takeaway: make sustainability a shared responsibility

From integrating sustainability into finance workflows, to using marketing to normalize climate action, Steelcase shows how every department can play a role. The key: persistence, transparency, and treating sustainability not as a bolt-on, but as a driver of innovation and growth.

Want to watch the full conversation?

Learn how Steelcase is driving climate action through meaningful product innovation and credible carbon strategies.

Watch the webinar recording now

Questions & Answers from the Webinar

When building its carbon credit portfolios for both operational commitment and certified products, Steelcase aims for a mix of avoidance and removal credits, and for a diversity of project types, including forestry, clean cooking, clean energy, clean transportation, and emerging engineered project types. They also seek regional diversity to represent each of the areas in which they operate.

A majority of their customers resonate more with recycled content; however they are working hard to educate with messaging that higher recycled content is just one choice that can lower embodied carbon; investing in carbon credits is another choice, and end-of-use services is another. Here is how they display messaging on their website for the Series 1 chair (which also has an option to be a CarbonNeutral® product): https://www.steelcase.com/products/office-chairs/steelcase-series-1/#sustainability.

Steelcase has not engaged in project development yet but may consider it in the future.

In both Steelcase’s voluntary and mandatory reporting, they lead with transparency. There are already regulatory compliance drivers that require them to disclose the details of their carbon credit purchases. They'll continue to monitor the evolving regulatory environment to ensure they maintain compliance while delivering on their goals.

From the operations perspective, Steelcase has found a whole host of no-cost opportunities, such as standardizing on best practice operating practices and processes that help drive savings. They also recommend conducting an energy audit (which can be free or paid) to identify the lowest cost and highest emissions saving opportunities. Relighting is typically at the top of the list, and it’s something they have implemented for most of their plants, driving meaningful savings with quick paybacks.
From the product perspective, they have had success so far working within their supply chain to find alternative materials for virgin plastics and aluminium. Big changes like that are not necessarily easy, but once a process is proven, the concept can be repeated. They often have to redirect conversations to educate others that packaging or transportation choices are not where their biggest carbon savings could be for their products.