Burlington Stores, Inc. Releases 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

BURLINGTON, N.J., Aug. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE: BURL), a nationally recognized off-price retailer of high-quality, branded apparel at everyday low prices, today released its third annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report. This report highlights the important progress the Company has made across its Environmental, Social and Governance initiatives during the fiscal year 2020.

Michael O’Sullivan, CEO, stated, “Our third annual CSR report demonstrates our commitment to build a more resilient and sustainable company. I am grateful for the incredible work our associates all over the country did to persevere through a global pandemic, social and political unrest, and unprecedented economic conditions. I am proud of how Burlington responded to these events, within our company and our communities, to respond to each new challenge and become better for it. The events of last year have accelerated a much-needed conversation about racial equality and social justice, which we must continue to prioritize as we move forward. In addition, environmental impacts due to a rapidly changing climate necessitate that every business, including Burlington, examine how we can be a part of enabling a more sustainable global economy.”

Mr. O’Sullivan continued, “I am proud that we did not just survive the tumultuous events of 2020, but we continued to push forward in our corporate responsibility strategy. Our 2020 CSR demonstrates the progress we made on key ESG initiatives. We have a purposeful commitment to corporate responsibility, and know we have more work to do. We will strive to make thoughtful, incremental and continuous progress on our ESG initiatives in the years to come. This commitment should make us a stronger company, while delivering value for our associates, our communities, and our shareholders.”

Highlights in the CSR report include:

• Reduced our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per operating square foot and per dollar of sales revenue by 44% and 38%, respectively, since our baseline year of 2016
• Installed a rooftop solar array at our new California distribution center in 2020. The 4.594 megawatts (MW) array went live in July of 2021 and is expected to produce about 7,685,000 kilowatt-hours (KWh) of electricity annually – the equivalent of taking over one thousand cars off the road for a year
• Developed our new 25,000 square foot store prototype, which is expected to enable leaner inventory, reduced resources and lower energy consumption compared to the older 40,000 square foot store size
• Created and filled the position of Senior Vice President of Inclusion and Diversity to further leverage Inclusion and Diversity to support Burlington’s growth
• Completed our 2020 Corporate Associate Engagement Survey which showed 91% of our Associates believe Burlington makes it easy for people from diverse backgrounds to fit in and be accepted
• Ranked Best Workplaces for Women list for the fourth consecutive year
• Continued our efforts to diversify our team - 75% of our workforce now self-identifies as Female, and 76% as a Person of Color.  Also published and implemented a Diversity Action Plan, including a $1M donation to organizations dedicated to advancing social justice and racial equality