The 2021 report highlights Warby Parker’s progress and impact as the first public benefit corporation to go public via direct listing, including launching the Warby Parker Impact Foundation, exceeding 10 million pairs of glasses distributed globally through its Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program, expanding its Pupil Project program, and more.
Warby Parker Inc. (NYSE: WRBY) (the “Company”), a direct-to-consumer lifestyle brand focused on vision for all, today published its 2021 Impact Report. The Company tracks and publicly reports its impact on stakeholders in this annual report following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. To share a comprehensive view of the Warby Parker brand and what it stands for, the Company uses this report to communicate progress and updates on its GRI topics and more with its stakeholders. To help guide this material, the Impact Report is broken into four key sections:
- Living Well and Giving Back: Warby Parker takes care of its employees and communities by advancing access to eye care, providing fair wages, promoting wellness, and driving inclusion, equity, and diversity
- Eyeing the Customer Experience: Warby Parker enhances the customer experience to help customers see (and look) better
- A Sustainable Vision: Warby Parker aims to use resources responsibly, reduce waste, and maintain a neutral carbon footprint across its operations
- Advancing Our Mission: Warby Parker strives to govern ethically, lead with inclusivity, and live its values
The GRI is one of the most widely recognized sets of global sustainability reporting guidelines that helps organizations understand, communicate, and compare their impact on key sustainability topics. Warby Parker also releases a Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) summary and aligns its key areas of sustainability to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the Impact Report.
Learn more and read the 2021 Impact Report at warbyparker.com/impact-report.
Highlights from the 2021 Impact Report include:
First Public Benefit Corporation To Go Public Via Direct Listing: On September 29, 2021, Warby Parker became the first public benefit corporation to go public through a direct listing, and the Company hopes to continue to serve as an example to other businesses and entrepreneurs that you can do well while doing good.
Being a public benefit corporation underscores Warby Parker’s commitment to purpose and its stakeholders. This legally binding status holds Warby Parker to an even higher standard of transparency and accountability—and allows leadership and its board of directors to make decisions taking into account the interests of all of stakeholders, including its community. The Company believes that its public benefit status also serves as an additional way of furthering its goals and mission while driving long-term sustainability and profitability.
Launch of The Warby Parker Impact Foundation: In celebration of Warby Parker’s direct listing, the Company publicly launched the Warby Parker Impact Foundation in the fall of 2021. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the foundation’s mission is to advocate for wider access to vision services, educate communities on the importance of eye health, and provide people with the eye care they need to lead safe, happy, and productive lives. In 2021, Warby Parker was incredibly proud to authorize up to 1% of the company's outstanding shares for future grants to the foundation or other like-minded charitable organizations.
Learn more about the foundation at warbyparkerfoundation.org.
10 Million Pairs of Glasses Distributed Globally: 2.5 billion people around the world need and do not have the glasses they need to see clearly. Since Warby Parker’s founding in 2010, the team has worked tirelessly with its partners to address this global issue. And in 2021, Warby Parker reached an incredible milestone: over 10 million pairs of glasses have been distributed through its Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program—which means over 10 million more people now have the glasses they need to learn, work, and achieve better economic outcomes.
Due to the administrative intricacies and cadence of the program, the distribution of glasses should not be correlated against the Company's sales in any fiscal period.
Learn more about the Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program at warbyparker.com/buy-a-pair-give-a-pair.
Pupils Project Program Expansion To Three New Regions In The U.S.: In 2015, Warby Parker created Pupils Project, a program that works with local organizations and government agencies to give free vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses to schoolchildren. In September 2021, the Company expanded Pupils Project to bring vision services to 70+ new U.S. school districts in cities across California, central and western Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Warby Parker plans to distribute tens of thousands of pairs of glasses during the 2021–2022 school year alone.
About Warby Parker
Warby Parker (NYSE: WRBY) was founded in 2010 with a mission to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose, and style—without charging a premium for it. Headquartered in New York City, the co-founder-led lifestyle brand pioneers ideas, designs products, and develops technologies that help people see, from designer-quality prescription glasses (starting at $95) and contacts, to eye exams and vision tests available online and in more than 160 retail stores across the U.S. and Canada.
Warby Parker aims to demonstrate that businesses can scale while doing good in the world. Ultimately, the brand believes in vision for all, which is why for every pair of glasses or sunglasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need through their Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program.
Source: Warby Parker Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220421005798/en/
Contacts
Ava Rojo
ava@derris.com
