Climate Change Risks and Opportunities

As a company, we acknowledge the risks that climate change presents to our business operations. Extreme weather such as hurricanes, wildfires, and floods have become more frequent in recent years and with these events comes risk to our production, supply chain, and our Team Members and their communities. As a means of mitigating these risks, we have diversified our vendor base and partnered with suppliers around the world. We also have a dedicated emergency response team established to mitigate disruption to business operations during such events.

Energy Management & Reduction

Using less energy is a key component of our environmental sustainability program. We operate an Energy Management System that controls when and how much electricity is used by our retail stores. By controlling devices that use electricity, we have decreased the amount of energy we consume as a company. As a way of managing the amount of energy we use in our HVAC systems, we have added technology to older units to increase the efficiency and units that need to be replaced are replaced with high efficiency units. We have also replaced lighting in 99% of our facilities with energy efficient lighting to further reduce our footprint and cost.

Renewable Energy

While reducing the amount of energy consumed is a key component of our environmental sustainability program, we recognize that utilizing renewable energy where possible is another crucial step in reducing our carbon footprint. We are proud of the progress we have made to integrate solar power and power purchasing agreements into our operations and are working to integrate more facilities in the near future. We are continuing to research and seek renewable energy sources and partners to integrate across our ecosystem as we drive these initiatives forward.

Waste Reduction/Diversion

We are committed to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and as a means of increasing the amount of waste we divert from landfills, we have adopted a single-stream recycling program for our Support Center and have initiated carboard recycling programs in our stores and distribution centers. We also fund participation in the Multi Material Blue Box Recycling Programs across Canada as a way of helping our Makers recycle waste generated from the products we sell. Our stewardship program also includes participation in the Household Hazardous Waste Programs across Canada and the Electronic Products Programs in Quebec, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. We continue to explore new opportunities and partnerships to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much waste as we can in the most responsible manner possible.

Disposal of Hazardous Materials

At Michaels, we recognize some of our products hold inherent environmental risks if not disposed of properly. Common items such as spray paint, paint thinners, and oil-based products must be handled in accordance with environmental compliance standards. We partner with leading hazardous waste disposal companies in the United States and Canada to ensure that all of our hazardous waste is disposed of appropriately. The majority of our hazardous waste is either recycled or used to produce energy.