Fairware Impact Report 2022

This is our first ‘formal’ Impact Report. As the promotional products industry’s first distributor to be a Certified B Corporation, we’ve tracked our social and environmental impact as part of the B Corp certification, EcoVadis certification, and the Climate Smart certification processes for over a decade. We have focused on using our business as a force for good from day one, but we’ve never shared our efforts in a single document. As we grow and scale our operations across North America and our influence in the industry increases, it’s time to consolidate our efforts and goals in one place. This report will hold ourselves accountable and (hopefully) inspire others to join us on our journey. We’re a promotional products company that aims to do more with our custom branded merchandise opportunities. Our goal is to support our clients in making their merchandise matter. We work with brands and organizations who share our goal of ensuring businesses can support people’s well-being and reflect environmental stewardship through the value chain. From our humble beginnings in a garage in 2005, we have grown to an exceptional team of changemakers supporting our new mission, vision, and values. We hope you enjoy the read, and we’re looking forward to the conversation it sparks within our organization and beyond.

MAKE YOUR MERCHANDISE MATTER.

IMPACT REPORT | 2022

Impactful Merch

Known as the “green wave”, these green bandannas became the ubiquitous symbol at abortion rights rallies seen in Latin America. The display was in support for the women’s reproductive health movement.

We believe that if done right, merchandise can amplify movements, uplift communities and showcase a more sustainable way of doing business.

Mission Vision & Values THEN & NOW

In 2022, our team undertook a facilitated process to reimagine our mission, vision and values. Our original mission from 2006 was to ‘change the world through the simple act of buying.’ We felt it was time for a refresh of our purpose to help address the challenges we face. We’re not going to buy our way out of these issues, even if we pivot our businesses to be more responsible. While our original mission motivated us to start the journey, it doesn’t resonate with the challenges we face now. Climate change, racial inequities, and social and environmental degradation are issues we worry about daily.

True change will take collaboration, courage and advocacy to tackle the systemic barriers that are holding us back and some of us down.

We need to up our game, and our new mission, vision and values reflect our commitment to dig deeper and keep moving our business, industry, and community toward a more sustainable future.

Misson To be a partner on our collective journey toward social and environ- mental sustainability.

Vision

To create merchandise that elevates brands, people, and shared communities while upholding ethical and sustainable practices.

Values

03 NAVIGATORS Navigating responsible business practices, sustainable merch- andise, and ethical supply chains.

01 CHANGEMAKERS Advocating for sustainability and social justice within our business, community, and industry.

We’re your guide.

04 INCLUSIVITY Valuing diversity and cultural contribution over cultural fit within our team.

We support positive change.

02 CREATORS Curating merchandise collections using a creative, solutions-based approach while prioritizing res- ponsible business practices.

We provide equal access.

05 CURIOSITY Seeking new ways to do business that build community and minimize our impact.

We make merchandise matter.

We’re always evolving and learning.

FROM OUR CO-FOUNDERS

We hope you enjoy the read, and we’re looking forward to the conversation it sparks within our organization and beyond.

Photo by Fairware

DENISE TASCHEREAU CEO & CO-FOUNDER

SARAH WHITE COO & CO-FOUNDER

IMPACT AGENDA RESPONSIBLE SOURCING

Ensuring the workers who make our products are treated fairly, their health and safety is a priority, and their workplaces meet or exceed international labor standards. Ensure the products we source meet international product safety standards and prioritize environmentally preferred materials.

JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Ensuring fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all our team members and working to be an anti-racist organization in all that we do.

COMMUNITY IMPACT Ensuring we’re active participants in the communities where we operate by supporting volunteerism and being a good corporate citizen.

ADVOCACY Ensuring we use our position as business leaders to lobby and advocate on important social and environmental issues affecting our team, our community, our supply chain, and our industry.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Ensuring our business practices, and those of our supply chain partners, support a healthy planet. Our focus is on Climate Impact and Zero Waste.

Impactful Merch

We made these travel/foldable reusable bags with a large imprint reading “Reproductive Rights are Human Rights” for our client, Center for Reproductive Rights. The message is voiced every time the bag is used.

Photo by Fairware

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Our Approach Eighteen years of prioritizing suppliers and products that share our commitment to sustainability has resulted in North America’s leading collection of sustainable and ethically sourced promotional merchandise. Since 2005, our supplier assessment process is used to vet suppliers against leading worker rights and environmental standards. Our Code of Conduct (COC) covers a range of social, environmental, diversity, equity, and inclusion questions so we can ensure the suppliers we work with match the values of our business and the expectations of our clients. RESPONSIBLE SOURCING We seek out suppliers and products that share our commitment to a sustainable future.

We specifically look for and support suppliers with at least one of the following characteristics.

1. Suppliers with strong commitments to improving their own operational and supply chain impacts; those who participate in worker rights programs such as WRAP, SEDEX, BSCI or FLA; and those that are actively working to measure and reduce environmental impacts such as carbon emissions, and over packaging.

Responsible Sourcing

2. Suppliers who manufacture using certified environmentally preferred materials such as certified recycled plastics or organic cotton or are offering certified carbon neutral products and/or suppliers who achieve Silver or higher EcoVadis rating. 3. Suppliers who, through their structure (such as social enterprises, worker co-ops, B Corporations), or diverse ownership (such as women, BIPOC and queer owned businesses) are driving change and uplifting communities who have historically lacked access to markets.

Our Actions

> ACCELERATED ADOPTION OF IMPACT SUPPLIERS We have always worked to find sustainable, impact-focused suppliers to add to our merchandise collections. In late 2021, we developed a more formal process to onboard new suppliers, train our sales team on the new suppliers, and ensure our marketing and sales assets reflect and amplify products from that category. We support and mentor new suppliers so they can succeed in the corporate gifting and promotional merchandise industry. As of 2023, we ask all our suppliers who do formal sales training or product knowledge sessions with our team to address their sustainability and impact efforts. > UPDATED CODE OF CONDUCT SURVEY FOR SUPPLIERS We revised our Code of Conduct and Supplier Assessment Questionnair (SAQ) in 2022 and have updated supplier data for 28 of our 30 significant suppliers as of Q1 2023. Additions to our survey include gathering data on Diverse Ownership, supply chain mapping, and more robust questions regarding carbon accounting and climate related goals. In 2022, we had two leading industry suppliers and two leading branded merchandise buyers peer review the updated SAQ. > TRACK & MEASURE SUPPLY CHAIN SPEND We track sales by supplier against our impact criteria and have done so for close to a decade. In this report we’re sharing statistics from 2019 and 2022 as our benchmark data. This report reflects the results of surveying our significant suppliers, or those who contribute to 80% of our expenditures. The data isn’t an apples to apples comparison as the result of industry consolidation that has happened over the past four years. That said, it provides a great snapshot of our supply chain spend.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

We measure our supply chain spend using five categories:

1. Approved Suppliers: Suppliers who have signed off on our COC within the past two years or are B Corp Certified or score Silver or above on EcoVadis. 2. Diverse Ownership: Suppliers who are certified or self-disclose diverse ownership. We accept self-disclosed diverse ownership to lower hurdles for minority owners to verify their identity which can often entail significant costs, time and resource investments. 3. Certified B Corporation Suppliers: Certified B Corp suppliers in good standing. Note this does not track sales of B Corp products that are distributed by non B Corp suppliers. 4. Impact Suppliers: Those suppliers who don’t have formal certification but are committed to creating sustainable products or uplifting communities and workers who have been historically marginalized. 5. Reciprocity Road Suppliers: Fairware is a member of Reciprocity Road, a promotional products industry peer group. At 11 distributor members, we represent over 200M in annual sales.

Responsible Sourcing

SUPPLY CHAIN STATS

ACTIVE SUPPLIER SPEND While we had 200 suppliers active on our roster, the vast majority of our business was serviced by 30. These 30 suppliers constitute 80% of our sales and are considered our significant suppliers. All our benchmark data reflects sales with our significant suppliers.

Top Suppliers Other Suppliers

80%

Sales made through 30 of our suppliers

% OF SALES BY CATEGORY FOR SIGNIFICANT SUPPLIERS 2019 2022 GOAL

92%

Approved Suppliers Signed Fairware’s Code of Conduct within 24 Months.

93%

100%

Impact Suppliers Includes B Corps, social enterprises & sustainable brands.

9.6%

20%

25%

< 1%

Diverse Owned Suppliers

< 4%

B Corp Certified Suppliers

20%

5% 25%

Reciprocity Road Preferred Suppliers Fairware is a member of this collective.

46%

65%

70%

Fairware Impact Report 2022

NOTE: All goals are labled with one of the following progress status icons.

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Our Responsible Sourcing Goals

WRITE A RESPONSIBLE SOURCING POLICY While we have one of the longest-standing responsible sourcing programs in the industry, we have not had a stand-alone Responsible Sourcing Policy. Our goals and objectives have lived in our supplier Code of Conduct survey process, and in 2023 we’ll revise our program to include a discreet policy. SEND UPDATED COC TO OUR NEXT TIER SUPPLIERS While most of our supplier spend is with current Code of Conduct signatories, our goal is to have our top 50 suppliers (who represent over 90% of our sales) have a current and signed Code of Conduct on file. ONBOARD A MIN. OF 6 ‘IMPACT’ SUPPLIERS ANNUALLY We are known for offering the widest range of sustainable products and brands in the promotional merchandise industry. To maintain our differentiation, our goal is to onboard at least six impact suppliers a year.

BUILD A SYSTEM TO TRACK PRODUCT LEVEL SUSTAINABILITY METRICS

In 2024, we will track product level data on sustainable products, including those that are certified recycled, organic, regenerative organic, bio- degradable, or compostable. We will also measure our sales of products that promote zero waste lifestyles. Our current order management system doesn’t allow us to easily track and report out at the product level. As such, it’s been difficult to assess the portion of our sales that can be categorized as sustainable product. Using a simple search to identify product level data from sales reports in our accounting system, shows about 34% of our 2022 sales included products with recycled materials or certified organic cotton material.

Responsible Sourcing

IMPACT SUPPLIER

GREAT BEAR RAINFOREST ESSENTIAL OILS Great Bear Rainforest Essential Oils sources organic essential oils from the magnificent Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, while supporting First Nations communities. This pristine temperate rainforest is home to indigenous groups like the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/ Xai’xais, Nuxalk, and Wuikinuxv. To provide economic opportunities for these communities, Great Bear Rainforest Essential Oils was launched by the Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative, a non-profit alliance of eight First Nations along BC’s North and Central Coast and Haida Gwaii.

“The Great Bear Rainforest® Essential Oils venture creates sustainable, long-term employment for individuals with limited opportunities in our remote communities.”

By creating an ethical supply chain managed by Coastal First Nations from start to finish, Great Bear Rainforest Essential Oils helps support self-determining,

healthy communities. Proceeds fund language and cultural revitalization programs to pass on indigenous knowledge.

Offering fairly paid employment and cultural empowerment allows Great Bear Rainforest Essential Oils to advance their mission of “caring for the people as much as the plants.” Their organic essential oils share the story of the Great Bear Rainforest while securing a sustainable future for its indigenous inhabitants. Each purchase helps support First Nations’ self-reliance through the power of ethical business.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Impactful Merch

Kobe Bryant wore an “I can’t breathe” t-shirt during a basketball game in 2014, to support the family of Eric Garner, who died July 17 after a police officer in New York placed him in a chokehold while Garner was being arrested. The shirts were meant to show solidarity with the movement against police brutality and social injustice.

Community Impact

We’re committed to being an anti-racist organization. JEDI Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion We believe in the power of grassroots change. True change happens when individuals feel confident enough to speak up against the injustices they see happening in their everyday lives. At Fairware, this starts with our team of passionate, introspective, and determined changemakers. By equipping our employees with knowledge about unconscious bias and institutionalized racism; and providing resources and tools to tackle these issues, we’re confident they’ll be champions for change.

It is common to see corporate commitments to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or “DEI”. At Fairware, our work is framed as Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, or “JEDI”.

Our day-to-day operations and policies are evaluated using a racial justice lens and we are committed to going beyond writing policies to living them. With that in mind, our approach to JEDI is designed to create impact across all our company activities. Dismantling oppressive systems like racism is not easy. We recognize that this work is dynamic, uncomfortable, complex, deeply personal, and heavy. We will hold ourselves accountable to be the navigators and activists we’re committed to being. In this section we will cover Anti-Discrimination, Maintaining a Safe & Diverse Company Culture, Inclusive Hiring, and Financial Wellness & Wealth Building. Our commitment to supporting diverse owned suppliers can be found in the Responsible Sourcing section of this report.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

FAIRWARE’S ANTI-RACISM STATEMENT

We stand against racism and and commit to challenging o disrupt and dismantle oppres practices, and ideologies wit networks.

Community Impact

d all forms of oppression ourselves to intentionally ssive systems, policies, thin ourselves and our

Fairware Impact Report 2022

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION

Our Approach Fairware stands against all forms of discrimination and oppression both within and outside of the workplace. Our aim is to create a safe and inclusive workplace where individuals can bring their whole selves to work. To further our understanding and commitment to anti-discrimination, our Co-Founder, Sarah White is a member of the Presidents Group, a network of change-driven BC business leaders who are champions for more accessible and inclusive workplaces.

Our Actions

> INTERNAL TRAINING In 2022-2023 we delivered 3 hours of internal trainings on anti-Indigenous racism, reconciliation, and history of Indigenous oppression in Canada. The workshop “Learn, Collaborate, Share Best Practices, And Take Action Individually and Collectively Towards Reconciliation and Economic Justice” was delivered by B Corp Canada. > ANNUAL PLEDGE TO MEASURE We conduct an annual anonymous survey and training on disability (invisible and visible) in the workplace as part of our commitment to the President’s Group. Our results are shared with other leading BC Employer’s at Accessible Employers.

In 2022, 32% of employees identified as having a visible or invisible disability. We also delivered 2 hours of staff training on how to identify disability/invisible disability.

Community Impact

PLEDGE TO MEASURE STATS

6/22 SELF-IDENTIFY AS HAVING A DISABILITY Results of our 2022 survey found six out of twenty-two of our employees self-identified as having a visible or invisible disability.

By measuring disability inclusion in the workplace, we can better support those with disabilities. Whether disabilities are visible or not – these barriers can prevent a person with a long-term impairment from full and equal participation in society. The Pledge To Measure supports organizational culture improvements, builds competitive advantage, and demonstrates employers commitment to employing individuals with diverse abilities. On the social side, it raises awareness that the collection and sharing of data help shape evidence-based policies aimed at improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities. The choice to measure and report on disability inclusion can be an act of solidarity and advocacy against the stigma of employing people with disabilities. We hope our data will lead to more accessible jobs for people with disabilities.

Our Anti-Discrimination Goals Fairware stands against all forms of discrimination and oppression both within and outside of the workplace. Our aim is to create a safe and inclusive workplace where individuals can bring their whole selves to work. ANTI-BIAS TRAINING FOR ALL STAFF Deliver a minimum of 2 hours of all staff training on unconscious bias and our communications framework for disrupting bias. Continue regular practice of acknowledging and learning about bias at staff meetings and check-ins. UPDATE STAFF RESOURCES Update our new employee onboarding materials and ongoing staff training to include education and awareness on anti-bias/anti-discrimination training and communications. Furthermore, providing up to 6 hours training annually per employee. ENSURE PLATFORMS MEET WCAG & STANDARDS See to that the Fairware website and all social media platforms meet Canadian and US Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and standards.

ANTI-BIAS EDUCATION ENGAGEMENT Engage with our partners, suppliers and clients to learn about how they are addressing and disrupting unconscious bias.

CREATE AN INDIGENOUS RECONCILIATION PLAN FOR FAIRWARE IN 2024 Our goal is to work with an external partner to build a Reconciliation Plan for Fairware, in recognition of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliations Report to address how Fairware can support reconciliation and anti-indigenous racism in our day to day business.

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Community Impact

Impactful Merch

September 2023, Vancouver Art Gallery - A counter strike to defend trans rights. Folks were encouraged to wear pink, blue, and white, and are seen here with flags and signs to show their support.

Photo by Fairware

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Impactful Merch

Created for our client Lush Cosmetics in support of their campaign for refugee action.

Photo by Fairware

Community Impact

MAINTAINING A SAFE & DIVERSE COMPANY CULTURE Our Approach Building and retaining a diverse staff means ensuring every person feels they have a place. We encourage cultural contribution versus cultural fit at Fairware. A safe culture means honoring and respecting others and committing to working and educating ourselves about difference, inclusion, and acceptance. We know the lines have blurred between office and home and we work to make our hybrid culture one that is engaging and adoptable. We aim to, at a minimum, reflect the demographics of our city Vancouver, which as of the 2021 Census was 54.5% of non-European descent. We benefit from maintaining a diverse workforce as they bring their individual perspectives insights and values - and this collectively make us a better team.

Our Actions

> DIVERSE HOLIDAYS In the office, we celebrate (and learn about) the many cultural and religious holidays that our employees celebrate (e.g. Diwali, Nowruz, Eid).

> DOG FRIENDLY We have a dog friendly office, so team members can bring their furry friends to work.

> HYBRID WORK We provide a hybrid work environment with work from home and remote work flexibility.

> STAFF ‘CLUBS’ We support staff led clubs that are based on common interests and include run club, bike club and salad club. We also have an informal gear borrow/exchange program.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Our Company Culture Goals

FORMALIZE AN ALTERNATIVE STAT HOLIDAY POLICY We recognize that our national holidays don’t reflect the cultural diversity of our workplace and in and of themselves reflect a colonial bias. As such, we set out to create a policy to enable employees to ‘switch’ some Canadian statutory holidays with a cultural or religious holiday that better aligned with the holidays that are important to them. Our policy is based on the open source work shared by Animikii. IMPLEMENT AN ANONYMOUS “WISH” JAR For staff to request changes or give feedback. These requests are transparently addressed by leadership at team meetings, and the status of each request is tracked and communicated with the team.

Community Impact

DEVELOP AN INTERCOMMUNICATIONS FRAMEWORK For managing difficult conversations in the workplace. We know creating a safe work culture means having a safe way to have hard conversations. By training our team on a common framework to communicate with curiosity, respect and an open mind, we can help build a safe work environment. We developed our ‘Yellow Flag’ framework for difficult conversations and delivered a 2-hour training. This is an on-going practice. SHARE ANNUAL EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION SURVEY Each year we present a survey to our emplyees asking questions to track our progress and identify what needs improvement. The anonymous survey gives folks an opportunity to tell us honestly how they are doing and how Fairware is doing in their opinion. UPDATE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK Will include updated policies reflecting formal commitments to anti-racism and anti-discrimination. DEVELOP EMPLOYEE ‘OPERATIONS MANUALS’ We developed a process with staff to create one page operations manuals about themselves (written by having staff interview each other). The ‘ops manual’ for each person is shared at staff meetings to the wider team can learn about each others communication styles, background, values, and interests.

CREATE AN INFORMAL INTER-TEAM PROGRAM To include guided conversations to encourage more cross department and cross-cultural conversations.

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Fairware Impact Report 2022

COMPANY CULTURE STATS

9% 4%

RACE

AGE

White/European Southeast Asia South Asia Latin America Other

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

39%

26%

17%

57%

13 LANGUAGES In 2022, our team shared which languages they knew fluently:

SEXUAL ORIENTATION Straight/Hetero Lesbian Queer

13%

• Punjabi • Mandarin • Spanish • Hindi

• Vietnamese • French • English

Questioning & Unsure Prefer not to Disclose

65%

Many folks are multilingual, with some even speaking more than three languages. Here is a list of the non- fluent languages they speak:

GENDERS

Women Men Agender Non Binary Gender Queer

39%

• Konkani • Kannada • Tulu • Kiswahili

• Luganda • Gujarati • Bengali

54.2% Identify as Women

INCLUSIVE HIRING Our Approach

As part of our commitment to JEDI, we work with community partners to hire people who are traditionally excluded from employment. In offering employment opportunities to his - torically marginalized people (e.g. people of color, Indigenous, disabled) we are disrupt- ing the status quo, doing our part in contributing to dismantling systems of oppression and building a diverse, resilient workforce that reflects the community we live in.

Our Actions

> OPEN & INCLUSIVE HIRING PRACTICES We embrace open hiring through partnerships with community organizations such as PosAbilities, Canucks Autism Network and provide workplace accommodations if needed. > SIMPLIFIED & TRANSPARENT JOB POSTINGS We have simplified job postings, removed educational requirements where applicable and ensured our postings have inclusive language to ensure all candidates know they are welcome. We include transparent salary ranges on all job postings and do not re- quire criminal record checks.

Our Inclusive Hiring Goals

UNCONSCIOUS BIAS TRAINING Provide at least 4 hours of training on reducing the impact of unconscious biases when hiring with our leadership team.

INCREASE INDIGENOUS APPLICATIONS Increase our reach to Indigenous candidates by finding additional posting platforms for our job listings.

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Fairware Impact Report 2022

FINANCIAL WELLNESS & WEALTH BUILDING

Our Approach We believe that all workers should be able to, at a minimum, meet their basic needs, so we’re a Certified Living Wage employer. We are striving to go one step further and ensure that our employees can build wealth so that they can not only manage their short-term expenses but also build the knowledge and skills to meet their long-term financial goals.

Our Actions

> CERTIFIED LIVING WAGE EMPLOYER Fairware is a Certified Living Wage Employer. All our workers are above the basic living wage for our city for the total compensation.

> 9 CARE DAYS & 15 DAYS PAID VACATION We provide paid Sick/Care days and all employees start with 3 weeks paid vacation.

> EXTENDED HEALTH BENEFITS Extended health benefits are provided to reduce the money employees pay out of pocket to take care of their well-being.

> ADDITIONAL DAYS OFF In addition to mandatory statutory holidays we provide – Easter Monday, Boxing Day and half days on December 24th and December 31st. We also offer one paid Adventure Day off and one paid Volunteer Day per employee.

> PROFIT SHARING We share 10% of our net profit before tax, evenly amongst employees.

Community Impact

Our Financial Wellness Goals

IMPROVE REMOTE WORK OPPORTUNITIES Update hybrid work policy to ensure better work life balance and implement remote work from home options available for employees, who live more than 45 mins away, to accommodate for their commute time. Also, implement a ‘short term remote work policy’ to allow employees to work remote from anywhere in the world for up to four weeks and up to two times per year. IMPROVE EXTENDED HEALTH & BENEFIT PLAN Increase access to mental health support and increase dental and medical coverage: resources, and consultations for mental health, financial wellness, legal, elder care, nutrition, physical health and more. Counselors are representative of the diverse community at our workplace including BIPOC and LGBTQ communities. Includes unlimited mental health counseling.

SCHEDULE FINANCIAL WELLNESS WORKSHOPS Education workshops on financial wellness and literacy, up to 2 hours per employee per year.

SURVEY ON EXTENDED HEALTH & DENTAL BENEFITS Surveyed employees annually about our extended health and dental benefits, and financial wellness to ensure the plan fits the needs of employees.

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Fairware Impact Report 2022

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July 2023, Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver, BC | Fairware’s Impact Committee x Reeve Consulting beach clean up.

Community Impact

COMMUNITY IMPACT Our Approach

Our community impact work focuses on our local, industry, and B Corp communities and our team members at Fairware.

Our community impact efforts have grown organically over the years. While we have never had a formal policy or committee guiding or tracking our efforts, we have a long-standing history of commitments and actions supporting our community, from do- nating to nonprofits to gifting merchandise to community shelters. An example of this is our support for the Vancouver Street Soccer League (VSSL), a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization that addresses housing, marginalization, and recovery through inclusivity and soccer. All our impact work is grounded in the need for systemic change. We recognize that underlying inequities are driving many of the issues facing our communities and our planet, and it would be impossible to move forward without addressing these issues at their root cause. Through our advocacy work, we will tackle the systemic barriers of any issue we address. This year, our approach is to continue and expand our involvement in our local com- munities while addressing issues at their root causes. We will formalize our policies and accountabilities and build and implement a system to measure and track our actions. This approach will ensure Fairware is walking our talk regarding community impact.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Our Actions

> PRODUCT DONATIONS Each year we donate excess merchandise to community partners. In 2022 we donated over $17,500 worth of merchandise to three community organizations. • Approx. $2,500 worth of holiday gift merchandise to VSSL. • Approx. $8,800 worth of apparel and merchandise to the Raincity Housing. • Approx. $6,600 worth of apparel and merchandise to Directions Youth Services. > RENEWED LIVING WAGE COMMITMENT Aligned our compensation with the new Living Wage Standard for Vancouver to ensure 2023 salaries meet a local living wage. > RECIPROCITY ROAD CONTRIBUTIONS As part of our membership in Reciprocity Road, an industry buying group, we collectively donated $7,500 to the Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) and $5,000 to the Weingart Foundation.

> PROMOCARES 4GOOD CAMPAIGN In 2022 we supported the PromoCares Ukraine4Good campaigns with a $300 USD donation.

> VOLUNTEERISM – INDUSTRY & PROFESSIONAL BOARDS • Co-Founder Sarah White is a member of the President’s Group, a network of 25 change-driven BC business leaders who are champions for more accessible, inclusive workplaces. Sarah is also on the board of Vancouver Street Soccer League. • Co-Founder Denise Taschereau is on the board of PromoCares, an industry group dedicated to enhancing Corporate Social Responsibility in the industry. She is also a member of the Promotional Products Industry Association (PPAI) Board of Directors.

Community Impact

Fairware Impact Report 2022

> VOLUNTEERISM CONTINUED • Volunteerism – Hours by Staff (2022)

• 52% of our staff volunteered in our community. • They logged a total of 689 volunteer hours. • However, only 1 employee used their Fairware paid volunteer day.

> VANCOUVER STREET SOCCER LEAGUE (VSSL) • Co-Founder Sarah White has been President since 2013, and one staff member recently completed her second year as a board member.

• Staff have participated in the June Sports Games in Alert Bay on numerous occasions.

Community Impact

Our Community Impact Goals

CREATE A STAFF IMPACT COMMITTEE To amplify our efforts, drive our in-house education and training on impact related issues and track our progress.

PARTICIPATE IN ONE COLLECTIVE IMPACT DAY Where we encourage Fairware staff, family and partners to participate in a community activity. 1st event: 2023 Beach Clean Up.

SUPPORT PROMOCARES ANNUAL 4 GOOD CAMPAIGN We donated $592 USD to the 2023 Water4Good campaign, contributing to building water towers with the Planet Water Foundation.

CREATE A SYSTEM TO MEASURE COMMUNITY IMPACT Including annual cash donations, product donations and volunteer time.

CREATE FORMAL POLICY TO GUIDE OUR COMMUNITY GIVING STRATEGY Ensure it addresses anti-racism and climate change related causes.

100% OF EMPLOYEES USE STAFF VOLUNTEER DAY

DONATE BASED ON PROFIT Donate, or invest the equivalent of 10% of profit in cash or in-kind donations, nature based climate solutions and community investments annually.

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Fairware Impact Report 2022

ADVOCACY Our Approach

Our co-founders are activists first, entrepreneurs second. Fairware has been built on the premise that to make real change, you must tackle the systemic barriers to change.

We understand that our voice as business leaders and as a company, by example, can lend perspective to policy and legislative discussions in our city, province, country, and industry. Like many things at Fairware, we’ve not tracked the many positions we’ve taken, petitions we’ve signed and causes we’ve supported. However, as a rule, if there is an opportunity for us to lend our voice to a cause that aligns with our mission, vision and values, we do. Our Actions Our efforts range from adding our name to petitions to closing our doors and encouraging our team to take part in the 2019 Climate Strike. Examples of issues we have historically advocated on include:

• Progressive climate action including support for the Climate Strike. • Paid sick leave legislation in BC. • LGBTQ+ issues in our community. • Supporting Living Wage for Families in upholding Living Wage Standards in Vancouver.

> CLEAN CREATIVES In fall of 2022, we signed on to Clean Creatives. Clean Creatives is a project for PR and ad professionals who want a safe climate future. While we have not worked with fossil fuel clients since almost inception (a few have snuck through over the years, but they are very few and far between), we have never had a formal policy.

Community Impact

Signing onto Clean Creatives was a natural extension of an existing practice. The Clean Creatives pledge commits agencies, creatives, and strategists to refuse any future contracts with fossil fuel companies, trade associations, or front groups. The entities covered by this pledge include:

1. Companies whose primary business is the extraction, processing, transportation, or sale of oil, gas, or coal.

2. Utilities and Electric Cooperatives that meet one or more of the following criteria: •Generate 50% or more of their electricity from fossil fuels. •Generate 50% or more of their revenue from business in fossil fuels. •Play an active role in funding new fossil fuel infrastructure. 3. Trade associations or other industry-funded nonprofit groups representing the interests of these companies, utilities, or cooperatives. 4. Any new entity meant to advance the message or goals of the above companies or groups, while obscuring or hiding their financial contributions.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Our Advocacy Goals

JOIN RESTORATIVE COALITION The Restorative Coalition has a mission is to create transformative change to heal our planet with the belief that by working together, we can take meaningful action to restore nature while inspiring others to do the same. BECOME A PARTICIPANT OF THE UN GLOBAL COMPACT The UN Global Compact is a voluntary initiative. This commitment is to operate responsibly, in alignment with universal sustainability principles and take steps to support the Global Goals.

BUILD FORMAL SYSTEM TO TRACK ADVOCACY Any positions we take and support we provide to issues that align with our mission, vision and values so we can better report on progress.

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EXPERIENCE

Walking the Talk In late 2022, we were well down the road on a project with a leading resource extraction company in Canada. The deal was north of $200,000 and when we discovered that this company mined steel making coal in addition to the zinc and copper that we had thought was their primary business. We made the decision to drop the opportunity. We matched the client with a distributor who was a better match (and who's family grew up working at one of the mines). Walking the talk can be tough, but it's critical to maintain alignment with our mission in all that we do.

Community Impact

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Community Impact

We look to avoid, minimize, or mitigate our impacts across our operational footprint. ENVIRONMENT Our Approach Our environmental footprint reflects how we manage day-to-day operations, including shipping branded merchandise to clients, heating and cooling our office space, dealing with end-of-life product, purchasing office supplies, travel and addressing our waste, water, and carbon impacts. We look to avoid, minimize, or mitigate our impacts across our operational footprint. Our suite of policies, including our Sustainable Procurement Policy, our Environmental Policy and our End-of-Life Policy guide our work. We need to decarbonize our business model and we need to move fast. We know it won’t be easy and that we need to go beyond the ‘low hanging’ fruit to implement meaningful tactics. Climate risk not only threatens our business, but it also threatens our communities, our health and our livelihoods through increased weather events, air pollution and water scarcity (to name just a few).

Fairware Impact Report 2022

Our Actions Working with Climate Smart, we did our first Greenhouse Gas inventory in 2010. 2022 marks the eighth year that we have measured our GhG emissions. This early measurement drove many initiatives and helped us complete the simplest opportunities to improve. Our long-time amenities and office practices include:

• Use of a carbon neutral courier for local deliveries.

• Indoor bike parking and staff showers.

• Robust recycling and composting program.

• Purchase offsets for corporate travel.

• Purchase offsets for Fairware managed shipping.

• Energy efficiency and sensor lighting.

• A hybrid/work from home policy.

• Plant 10 kelp per invoiced order with veritree.

• Organic and Fair-Trade coffee.

• End of Life policy for misprinted/old merch. • Purchase renewable energy credits for electricity.

• Reuse of shipping boxes.

> #HELPTHEKELP As part of our commitment to invest in local community impact initiatives, in January 2023 we partnered with veritree to plant 10 kelp for every order. veritree provides transparency and verification to the planting process through its dedicated data- driven restorative platform. veritree gives us the assurance that our restorative efforts are helping to revitalize ecosystems, strengthen communities, and mitigate climate change. Kelp forests support biodiversity, coastal fisheries and livelihoods and have the potential as a carbon sink. Globally, over 40 percent of kelp forests have declined over the past five decades due to climate change, over exploitation, and pollution. Through our partnership, we’re addressing this issue. To learn more about our ‘seaforestation’ initiative, visit our kelp forest!

Community Impact

> CERTIFICATIONS B Corp - We’re a founding Canadian B Corp, having certified in 2010, we are the first promotional products distributor in the world to achieve B Corp Certification. We are up for re-certification in 2025.

EcoVadis – We have achieved a Silver rating on our EcoVadis Ranking with a score of 64/100, putting us in the 88th percentile of companies ranked.

Our Environment Goals

BUILD A ‘ZERO WASTE’ STATION IN LUNCH ROOM This is to encourage use of refillable and reusable lunch and drink containers.

FORMALIZE A SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POLICY Codify our commitment to purchasing sustainable products, reducing packaging and to viewing all purchasing through a zero waste, product safety and circular economy lens.

IMPROVE ECOVADIS CERTIFICATION Currently rated Silver, we aim to renew in 2023 and achieve a Gold rating.

PLANT 80,000 KELP OVER 5 YEARS

Continue to invest in traceable, high impact nature-based solutions with veritree by plant- ing 10 kelp per invoiced order.

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Fairware Impact Report 2022

CERTIFICATIONS

CLIMATE IMPACT We have measured and verified our GHG Emissions with Climate Smart since 2010 and have worked for over a decade to understand and mitigate our climate impact. Our 2023 and 2024 actions are built on insights from our 2022 GhG Emissions report to drive real reductions. 2023 was the first year we surveyed significant suppliers to determine if they are measuring their emissions and offsetting their product shipping.

Our GHG Inventory Includes:

SCOPE 1 • Natural Gas burned: For heating in our office.

SCOPE 2 • Electricity purchased: Electricity that literally keeps our lights on in our office.

Community Impact

SCOPE 3 • Upstream and downstream transportation: Sea, air, rail, and trucking to get our products delivered to our customers. • Employee commuting and work from home: Travel from our teams’ home to our Vancouver offices and, starting in 2022, impact of work from home offices. • Business travel: Travel to client meetings, sales events and conferences. This does not take into account hotel nights and taxi/ride share services. All travel in 2022 was in North America. In 2019 our travel included additional US trips to facil- itate the launch of our US company.

• Waste generated: Waste that we don’t compost or recycle at our head office operations that ends up in landfill.

• Paper consumption: Paper that we consume in our Head Office for printing, in 2022 we added corrugate cardboard used for kitting projects as this has become a more significant part of our business.

Our GHG Inventory Does Not Include:

SCOPE 3 • Emissions from primary manufacturers and suppliers: We do not have a reliable way to measure the scope 3 impacts of manufacturing and customizing the products we sell. • Product End of Life: We are not able to track what happens to the products we sell after they pass into the hands of the end user. While we occasionally work with clients to ensure responsible End of Life, at this point our focus is on selling durable high-quality products that lend themselves to longevity and products that are designed with circularity in mind or are easy to repurpose or recycle in North American facilities. Our End of Life policy governs how we manage damaged product, misprints or out of date merchandise.

Fairware Impact Report 2022

GHG EMISSIONS STATS

The vast majority of our GHG emissions are Scope 3, the result of shipping products to clients (in particular when air shipping is used) and in our own business travel (flying to meetings and events).

GHG EMISSIONS BY SCOPE

2022

2019

2010 Baseline

Scope 1 Scope 2 Scope 3

.11

.09

.21

80.66 60 mt 20.77

67.69

75.68

Purchased Reductions

20 mt

Purchased Reductions

Net Emissions

47.78

Net Emissions

75.89

Our plan is to reduce our GhG emissions in our operations and supply chain by reducing our consumption overall and by shifting to renewable energy where possible. Where we can’t reduce our impact, we will look to compensate for it by procuring offsets and/or investing in nature-based solutions that help sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

GROSS GHG EMISSIONS BREAKDOWN BY TYPE

2022

2019

2010 Baseline

Electricity

Heat

Transporting People Road Water Rail

Transporting People Air

Sta Commuting Transporting Goods

Garbage

Paper

EMISSIONS PER FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE

20 15 10 5 0

15.13 mt

5.64 mt

3.51 mt

2019

2022

2010 Baseline

SUPPORTING

Fair Labor Association Licensee (FLA) Fair labor is good for people and good for business. That’s why we participate in the Fair Labor Association’s collegiate licensee program.

UN GLOBAL COMPACT | SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

As a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact, Fairware is committed to aligning strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals. These are the specific SDG’s we’re working to address.

Our Actions Our climate plan aligns our business with the worldwide campaign to limit the global average temperature to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels based on the Paris Agreement and the IPCC Report.

Our Environmental Goals

FORMALIZE OUR COMMITMENT TO HALVE EMISSIONS FROM OUR BASELINE BY 2030 AND ACHIEVE NET ZERO BY 2040. In 2023, we committed to the UN Race to Zero Campaign and the SME Climate Hub and declared our Net Zero Climate Commitment. We’re measuring against our baseline of 2019.

OFFER CERTIFIED CARBON NEUTRAL PRODUCT ASSORTMENT

COMPENSATE FOR IMPACT Purchase verified offsets for 2022 shipping and business travel emissions.

ADVOCACY Become UN Global Compact participant, Join SME Climate Hub and UN Race to Zero.

Community Impact

CREATE SCIENCE BASED TARGET FOR EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS IN 2023; SUBMIT TO SCIENCE BASED TARGET INITIATIVE (SBTI) ENGAGE OUR SIGNIFICANT SUPPLIERS ON MEASURING, MITIGATING AND REPORTING ON GHG EMISSIONS As part of our Scope 3 impact, engage suppliers to better track who is measuring, mitigating and abating their carbon impact. EDUCATE CLIENTS ON THE CLIMATE IMPACTS OF AIR SHIPPING THEIR MERCHANDISE Update client facing sales assets to include messaging on the carbon impact of air shipping. Work to better manage project timelines to avoid air shipping.

REDUCE SHIPMENTS MADE BY AIR BY 35% IN 2024 Improve project management to ensure timelines allow for ground shipment and ocean freight to reduce air shipments.

UPDATE OUR TRAVEL POLICY Update Fairware Travel Policy to reflect a Lower Carbon Travel Strategy, educate employees who travel on how to minimize impact and reduce travel all together.

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Fairware Impact Report 2022

1.866.606.3247 | contact@fairware.com | 178 W 3rd Ave, Vancouver BC V5Y 1E9 | fairware.com

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