Fostering a healthy, safe, inclusive workplace

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Fostering a healthy, safe, inclusive workplace

There is much we hope to accomplish together as we work toward our Vision 2025. Making our world safer, cleaner and more productive begins with Zep’s commitment to our employees, customers, communities and board. Zep Stewardship specifically encompasses how we aspire to approach every challenge – as a good steward of what has been entrusted to us – and we believe a key to success is focusing on people.

We like to say that we are a people company, and that is intentionally reflected in our strategic priorities. In fact, the results of our 2020 ESG Materiality Assessment, a tool to determine what our stakeholders deem important, reinforced this, identifying two of our top five key priorities as health and safety and diversity and inclusion – both areas intended to put our community first.

Health and Safety
We have a huge responsibility this year especially with the COVID-19 pandemic putting health and safety in the spotlight on a global scale. Understanding the importance of cleaning and disinfecting the shared spaces that have traditionally brought us together, we created Zep Assure™, a comprehensive cleaning and disinfection management compliance system for segments such as commercial passenger transportation, education, offices and venues, and other business operators.

The evidence-based infection control strategies embedded in our Zep Assure Program help our clients deliver an unprecedented level of protection, now and in the future.

And just as we focus on the health and safety of our customers, we also believe it is critically important to take care of our own team. Without a team that feels safe and protected, we cannot make such significant strides in enabling public health and safety. So Zep has enhanced its data relevance by deploying new technology, which provides real-time reporting on workplace incidents to reduce future injuries among employees.

Care also requires prioritizing and protecting the mental and emotional health of our team, too – not just their physical safety. We do this through creating an intentionally inclusive and diverse workforce. We are stronger when we benefit from diversity of thought, ideas and perspectives – that is what drives innovation.

Diversity and Inclusion
Zep has created employee action committees and diversity and inclusion roundtables to continue its commitment to an inclusive workplace that reflects the uniqueness of its employees, customers and suppliers. In 2020, we filled eight senior leadership positions, five with ethnic minorities or women. By 2025, Zep plans to increase the use of minority-owned suppliers and overall gender and ethnic diversity by 20%.

“We want our customers to have confidence in our products and processes,” said Matt Duncan, Zep’s Chief Administrative Officer. “But we also want our customers to understand that we built Zep Stewardship from the inside out, and that starts with our people and our culture.”

We know our employees and communities are our most valuable resources. When we put employees first, they are better able and more motivated to contribute to our mission – and we need each and every person on our Zep team working together to achieve our goals.

We believe the social aspects of Zep Stewardship are foundational and that only by allowing a people-first mindset to guide our strategy can we achieve a better tomorrow.

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