The Toro Company Announces Launch of Sustainability Endures Platform

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BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Toro Company (NYSE: TTC) today announced the launch of its Sustainability Endures platform, which will strengthen TTC’s strategic focus on sustainability and its long-standing commitment to making a positive impact financially, socially and environmentally worldwide. 

Sustainability is core to TTC’s purpose and culture. In fiscal 2019, TTC enhanced its focus on sustainability by establishing a cross-functional sustainability leadership team to further develop and implement an enterprise-wide sustainability strategy. In so doing, TTC strives to build on its tradition of sustainability and drive progress with a transparent, integrated approach.

“Sustainability is not a new concept for The Toro Company,” said Richard Olson, chairman and CEO of The Toro Company. “It is deeply rooted in our purpose and is the foundation of our strategic business priorities of accelerating profitable growth, driving productivity and operational excellence, and empowering our people. We believe sustainability practices and guiding principles rest at the core of creating long-term value and positive change in the markets we support and in the communities we serve around the world.”

Sustainability Endures introduces four strategic pillars – People, Products, Process and Planning – that help define and guide The Toro Company’s sustainability strategies and execution of those strategies. Through these pillars, The Toro Company is focusing on environmental, social and governance areas that it believes are most material to TTC and where it can make a meaningful impact, including health and safety, diversity, equity and inclusion, water conservation, product innovation and operational efficiency.

This year also marked an important milestone for The Toro Company in its sustainability efforts with the release of its 2019 Sustainability Report. The report reflects TTC’s culture of innovation and long-standing commitment to economic, environmental and social responsibility, from its products to its global operations and philanthropic support worldwide. The 2019 Sustainability Report focuses on TTC’s efforts during its 2019 fiscal year and before and, as such, does not cover its response to the COVID-19 pandemic or the recent social unrest and social justice activities concerning systemic racism that have impacted the lives of many around the world. 

Key fiscal 2019 sustainability initiatives and accomplishments include:

• Deepening commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). In addition to designating DEI as part of the formal responsibilities within TTC’s Human Resources team, TTC is broadening the lens from workforce and workplace practices, to seeking out synergies with supplier management practices and philanthropic giving.

• Employee health and safety is a paramount value of TTC. TTC implemented a comprehensive Environmental, Health and Safety data management system to help drive engagement and increased transparency for proactive safety performance. TTC saw reductions in both its Total Recordable Injury and Lost Workday rates during fiscal 2019.

• Impacting our communities and smallholder farmers in developing countries. As part of its Land. Water. Thrive. philanthropic initiative and employee immersion experience, TTC partnered with iDE to work with smallholder farmers in Honduras to better understand their irrigation practices to help develop drip systems and water storage solutions that are affordable, sustainable, and meet the needs of both growers and their communities.

• Continued focus on water stewardship. TTC was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the WaterSense® Excellence Award for its dedication to water management innovation and education, marking the fourth consecutive year that it has received the prestigious award.

• Improving operational efficiency. TTC began its journey to implement a new energy management system to better access site energy consumption and resource efficiency at its production facilities. The new system provides real-time access to data with analytics to identify key performance trends and opportunities for operational efficiency, as well as energy and environmental impact reduction.

• Energy-efficient technologies. With a focus on energy efficiency and developing sustainable solutions, TTC introduced several products to further expand its alternative power offerings. Examples include a new line of 60V lithium-ion products for homeowners, the Greensmaster® eTriFlex™ hybrid riding greens mower, and the all-electric e-Dingo™ 500 compact utility loader.

“While sustainability has traditionally been part of our culture, we will continue to take action to ensure we are meeting the demands of the rapidly changing world we live in. There is much we have done, and there is more we can, and will, do,” added Olson.  “Sustainability Endures is both a celebration of our long-standing focus on social and environmental responsibility, and a signal of our continued commitment to expand our positive impact around the world, which is inherent in our legacy of excellence.”

The sustainability report, which was prepared with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), can be found at: www.thetorocompany.com/sustainability.