Committed to a Better Tomorrow
At our core, we’re about people — our dedicated manufacturing community who designs, builds, upholsters, paints, and delivers our products, and our clients who bring them to life in their spaces. Valuing people means creating products with the utmost care and respect for both today’s and tomorrow’s generations.
This commitment drives our focus on material health and transparency. Why? Because we care — not just about people, but also the places they live and work. Together, we’re shaping healthier, more sustainable spaces for all.
Our 2024 Carbon Baseline
In 2024, we completed our first full carbon accounting, establishing a self-declared carbon baseline and a critical starting point on our path to net zero by 2040. This assessment covers Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, with Scope 3 — representing approximately 96% of our total footprint — to be finalized in 2025 as data accuracy improves and supplier participation expands.
Our results show that most emissions come from purchased materials, particularly metals, wood, and plastics. Through our Considered Solutions framework, we prioritize verified, lower-impact materials, work closely with responsible suppliers, and design products with Climate Health, Human Health, and Social Equity in mind. A key next step is investing in third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to strengthen data quality and supply chain transparency
Our near-term goal is operational net zero (Scopes 1 & 2) by 2030, followed by full value chain net zero (Scope 3) by 2040. Guided by transparency and accountability, this work is supported by cross-functional collaboration across our business — embedding shared responsibility and continuous improvement into every decision.
Direct Emissions
Scope 1 emissions are the direct emissions from sources we own or control. This includes fuel used in our facilities and company vehicles. Tracking these emissions helps us understand the immediate impact of our operations and identify clear opportunities to reduce them at the source.
Indirect Emissions from Energy
Scope 2 emissions come from the energy we purchase to power our operations, including electricity, heating, cooling, and steam. Measuring these emissions helps us understand how our energy choices affect our footprint and where efficiency improvements or cleaner energy options can make the biggest impact.
All Other Direct Emissions
Scope 3 emissions include all indirect emissions across our value chain, from the materials we source and products we manufacture to transportation, use, and end of life. While complex to measure, this category represents our greatest opportunity to drive meaningful, long-term climate impact.
Direct Emissions
Scope 1 emissions are the direct emissions from sources we own or control. This includes fuel used in our facilities and company vehicles. Tracking these emissions helps us understand the immediate impact of our operations and identify clear opportunities to reduce them at the source.
Indirect Emissions from Energy
Scope 2 emissions come from the energy we purchase to power our operations, including electricity, heating, cooling, and steam. Measuring these emissions helps us understand how our energy choices affect our footprint and where efficiency improvements or cleaner energy options can make the biggest impact.
All Other Direct Emissions
Scope 3 emissions include all indirect emissions across our value chain, from the materials we source and products we manufacture to transportation, use, and end of life. While complex to measure, this category represents our greatest opportunity to drive meaningful, long-term climate impact.
Where we’re focusing
We are dedicated to advancing sustainable practices and ensuring transparency in material health. Our investments in the following attributes reinforce our alignment with LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge standards, reflecting our unwavering commitment to creating responsible and healthier spaces. Click on the logos below to learn more about each standard.
Red List Free
We assess our products to the 100 parts per million level to verify that no chemicals on the Living Building Challenge Red List are in our products. We are working to optimize and remove Red List Chemicals from our supply chain when present, including formaldehyde in our paper backing and PVC edge banding.
Certified Indoor Air Quality Advantage
Many of our products have Indoor Advantage Gold Certification from SCS Global Services, meeting the most stringent VOC emissions limits globally. In order to meet these requirements, we switched to using water-based clear coatings on our certified products. These products can help support healthy indoor air quality and contribute to LEED and WELL projects. Indoor Advantage Gold Certification is in alignment with CDPH, setting the most stringent VOC emissions requirements globally.
Recycled Content
Using recycled materials has an environmental benefit over virgin materials, and these products can contribute to LEED and WELL projects. The recycled content is primarily found in the steel used in many of our products.
Declare
A Declare label is a transparency document that discloses every ingredient at or above 0.01% by weight in a product, and screens those ingredients against the ILFI Red List. Ingredient disclosure at this level of granularity is challenging from a supply chain perspective, but absolutely necessary to drive progress around material health and transparency. Products with Declare labels contribute to LEED, WELL, and Living Building Challenge, and help support project teams meet human health + transparency goals.
EPD (Environmental Product Declaration)
An EPD is a third-party verified document that transparently reports the environmental impact of a product throughout its lifecycle, from raw material extraction to disposal. Our EPD-labeled products provide detailed data on carbon footprint, energy use, and resource consumption, helping architects and designers make informed, sustainable choices. EPDs contribute to LEED, WELL, and other green building certifications, supporting projects that prioritize environmental responsibility.
"We're ever-mindful of our footprint and how it affects future generations."
Natalie Hartkopf, Hightower Chair & Co-Owner
How we're focusing
Sustainability doesn’t happen in a bubble. Meet the organizations we partner with to amplify our sustainability impact, certify our claims, and accelerate our responsibly made offerings.
Mindful MATERIALS, an industry convener working to reduce the holistic impacts of building materials.
ILFI’s industry-leading programs, including Declare, support a more transparent and Red List Free future.
SCS is an international leader in third-party certification and standards dev, to achieve our IAG certifications.
USBGC supports their transformative mission and helps designers to find responsible materials for projects.
Parallels diverse skillsets make it possible for us to take on any facet of sustainability with confidence.
BIFMA focuses on advancing eco-standards, advocacy, and responsible furniture design practices.
The Climate Pledge is a commitment made across the globe to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
B Corps follow framework for social and environmental performance, transparency, and integrity.
Need more sustainability support?
Sustainability is about all of us, bringing our best to the challenges at-hand. That’s why we partner with experts that make it possible for Hightower to take on many facets of sustainability with confidence.
Our team is available to help answer your basic or tricky questions and support you through today’s complex landscape of requirements as it pertains to Hightower products. Together, we’re ready to make choosing responsible products the easy choice for your next project.
Red List Free Products
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration A
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration B
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration C
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration D
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration E
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration F
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration G
Price varies by Configuration
Adapt Modular - Configuration H
Price varies by Configuration
Need Tangible Sustainability Details?
Follow the link below to download our current sustainability certificates and a summary sheet that highlights our product certifications.
Follow the link below to download our current sustainability certificates and a summary sheet that highlights our product certifications.
Play