Every day at Hunter Industries, we strive to conduct business with our core value of Social Responsibility in mind. The CSR goals we set in 2018 reflect our desire to create a sustainable organization that achieves a balance between the people we serve, the planet we impact, and the profits we earn. This report summarizes our progress so far. In future years, we look forward to reporting on other goals.
Company Profile
Founded in 1981, Hunter Industries is a family-owned manufacturer of best-in-class solutions for the landscape irrigation, outdoor lighting, dispensing technology, and custom manufacturing sectors. Headed by CEO Greg Hunter, our Global Operations team provides leadership for our entire company.
The core mission of Hunter Industries will always remain the same: to deliver valued products and services backed by unwavering customer support, grow the company conscientiously, and remain true to the culture that makes our employees proud to work at Hunter.
Uniting the Green Industry to Solve Sustainability Challenges
In 2018, when Hunter Industries Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Warren Gorowitz was president of the Irrigation Association, one of his goals was to encourage the organization to consider how sustainability issues would impact the future of the industry. In December 2019, the Sustainability Common Interest Group held its first meeting at the annual Irrigation Show and Education Week, with a focus on end-of-life material recycling. Looking ahead, this group will set a unique, multi-stakeholder approach that engages irrigation product manufacturers, irrigation consultants, landscape architects, landscape contractors, and distributors to collaborate to solve mutual sustainability challenges.
Guiding CSR Strategy at Hunter Industries
Our Board of Directors is made up of three members of the Hunter family and six independent members. The Leadership Team (LT) oversees day-to-day operations at Hunter, ensuring top performance while preserving our core values. In 2019, Hunter Industries hired a new CSR Director and created a CSR Council comprised of management-level employees from various business units to help guide and implement company CSR initiatives. The CSR Director provides updates during quarterly board meetings and participates in weekly LT meetings. The CSR Council meets quarterly. Each campus also has a Focus 3P (People, Planet, Profit) group that taps into employee passions to promote innovation and communication about CSR issues.
Corporate Social Responsibility in a Changing World
As we release our eighth-annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report, we must reflect on how the world has changed since 2019, the focus of our analysis. The COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the globe in 2020 brought significant social and economic impacts that continue to influence how we consider our CSR initiatives. Our primary concern remains keeping our team safe while operating our business to meet the needs of our customers. We also recognize the renewed importance of supporting our communities during these difficult times with meaningful charitable giving.
This report marks our first critical examination of the CSR goals we established in 2018. We developed these benchmarks with input from our full range of external and internal stakeholders, from customers and industry partners to employees and shareholders. To us, sustainability is a journey — not a destination. We recognize that our efforts are not short-term. We know that meaningful progress requires constant dedication, determination, and re-evaluation.
While we are proud of the solid steps that we have taken to move closer to our 2025 and 2030 CSR goals, organizational transitions over the past year have impacted our progress in certain areas.
In 2019, Lumascape joined the Hunter family of companies. Lumascape specializes in architectural lighting, facade lighting, and high-output applications. The company brings almost three decades of experience in the commercial lighting sector to Hunter, along with a talent for creating awe-inspiring solutions that push the boundaries of lighting design. We look forward to welcoming Lumascape into our CSR initiatives.
We also onboarded a new Director of CSR and implemented other organizational changes that we believe will positively impact our financial success and corporate citizenship. As the Ann Hunter-Welborn Circle of Excellence Award program enters its third year, I’m excited for you to soon meet our winners, who were recognized for their outstanding CSR achievements within the irrigation sector. We hope this award inspires others in the industry to join in our efforts.
Looking ahead, we will develop a robust climate action plan to gain better insight on the scope of our global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a roadmap for implementing projects that will have the greatest impact on minimizing our environmental footprint.
Although these are uncertain and challenging times, we remain committed to reaching our CSR goals, and we continue to recognize the importance of collaborating with all our stakeholders to achieve success. Thank you for supporting Hunter Industries.
Leading a New Vision for Corporate Social Responsibility Across Our Growing Organization
As I complete my first year as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, I am excited to be part of the Hunter Industries family. Previously, I spent 25 years at Ewing Irrigation & Landscape Supply, most recently responsible for their corporate sustainability initiatives and sustainable solutions product category. From landscapes, to sports fields, to golf courses, to agricultural production, we all play an important role in managing green spaces, growing food and fiber, and connecting people with the outdoors. I look forward to continuing Hunter’s CSR leadership and learning from you, our stakeholders, to determine how we can help you succeed.
Emily Guevara, Board Member and Shareholder, Hunter Industries
Donna Queen, Board Member, Hunter Industries
This Materiality Matrix is based on our most recent CSR survey and solicitation of internal and external stakeholder engagement feedback in 2017 and 2018. The matrix helps us determine our sustainability initiatives and refine our goals. The 12 issues shown were selected as the most impactful to Hunter from dozens of others identified by stakeholders. Their placement on the matrix reflects how they were prioritized by stakeholders. Hunter remains diligent driving meaningful change for all these issues despite their respective locations on the matrix. We will continue to update our matrix as we gather additional input from our stakeholders.
