2021 Wright Service Corp. Sustainability Report

LETTER FROM CEO

Wright Service Corp. (WSC) is a unique and complex family of companies in environmental services, with a number of sustainability initiatives taking place across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. As an industry leader, we wanted to utilize this report to tell our unique story – one of an evolving and innovative organization. Like any other company or organization, we continue to learn from our past and continue to make improvements for the betterment of our employees, clients and the communities we serve. As a 100% employee-owned company, our employees are at the forefront of every decision we make and it’s our employees who are behind the success of our family of companies.

Our roots in West Des Moines, Iowa, stems as far back as 1928 with Wright Outdoor Solutions. We continued to grow and add companies to our family, so Wright Service Corp. was established in 1961. Today, our North American headquarters is home to more than 200 employees. We have added nearly 1,000 employees within the last calendar year with employees stretching across nearly all 50 states, 5 provinces and 1 territory. Our operations and clientele expanded domestically and internationally, stretching across Canada from British Columbia to Quebec, and we added a permanent office in Puerto Rico.

We added to our family of companies in alignment with our strategic vision with the addition of Transcon Environmental, bringing greater value to our clients. Our collaborative efforts have allowed us to overcome obstacles and open the door to new opportunities.

We have a responsibility to ensure best practices are in place to protect and improve all ecosystems, and to make positive environmental, social and economic impacts in the communities we serve. We certainly are not the first company to implement, make changes or track our process, but we will keep working on improving our systems until we are a leader in these practices within our industry.

The last year brought many changes to our lines of business and leadership, but what it has not changed is my view of the shared vision, the strategy of our company, as we move forward.

A key to our success is ensuring that not only are our employees top of mind, but also safety. We’ve been able to attract, retain and reward the highest quality talent in the industry because we value safety. We train and develop our employees to ensure safe practices on the job and at home. Our employees are part of our family and as long as they go home safe each night, that means we’ve done our job as a company.

That’s our approach to this sustainability reporting journey, our preliminary Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report. It’s our way of showcasing how we’re delivering the highest level of professional, safe and environmentally conscious services and solutions to the industry, public and the communities we work and live in. We’re investing in our employees, and enabling our family of companies to provide new and innovative services while adding mutual value to our stakeholders and clients.

This report will highlight the progress we’ve made and will continue to make regarding:

Safety

Employee Well-being

Environmental Sustainability

Community Engagement

I encourage you to read our second report on how our family of companies continue to be a leader in providing sustainable environmental solutions to the industries we serve that align with our core values of safety, integrity, excellence, teamwork, innovation and family.

Scott D. Packard Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

COMPANY OVERVIEW

The following pages highlight how we incorporate environmental sustainability into our project services and business operations using innovative processes, initiatives and technology.

Safety

HISTORY

Wright Service Corp. // Founded in 1961

A prominent leader in several environmental services industries and serves as the parent company. Wright Service Corp. has been employee-owned since 2002.

Wright Tree Service // Founded in 1933

Offering the entire package of vegetation management services, including integrated vegetation management, storm restoration, and work planning services to railroad and utility companies and their communities across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Wright Outdoor Solutions // Founded in 1928

Offering Central Iowa tree care, landscaping and maintenance, plant design and maintenance, lawn care, holiday lights and décor, snow and ice management, and mulch services.

CNUC // Founded in 1999

Assisting utilities in improving their utility vegetation management programs through inspection and auditing services, emergency response, consulting, and research, often combined with software and LiDAR solutions in North America.

Wright Tree Service of the West // Founded in 2008

Offering the entire package of vegetation management services, including integrated vegetation management, storm restoration, and work planning services to utility companies and their communities in the West Coast.

Well-being

Terra Spectrum Technologies // Founded in 2008

A software development company that provides innovative, high-quality software specializing in geospatial data collection and workflow management.

Sustainable Environmental Consultants // Founded in 2008

Powered by EcoPractices® to help the Food, Beverage and Ingredient industries benchmark and track internal and external sustainability metrics – delivering independent field-level quantification and practice verification services for a complete spectrum of environmental impacts including soil health, water quality, carbon sequestration, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Spectrum Resource Group // Founded in 1986

A reforestation, forest management and vegetation management solutions provider working actively in forestry, oil and gas, utility and community resource industries across Canada.

ArborCare // Founded in 1983

Providing commercial and residential tree and lawn care services providing exceptional service in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Verdure Elements // Founded in 1981

Offering Greater Omaha the most complete package of residential and commercial interior plantscaping, exterior seasonal color rotation and interior holiday décor.

Wright Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation // Founded in 2020

A nonprofit organization focused on fostering innovative solutions in renewable agriculture and vegetation management. The foundation funds projects that reduce carbon footprints and promote carbon positive practices.

Transcon Environmental // Founded in 1999

An environmental planning and consulting firm with expertise working with utility companies, corporations, and agencies that develop or redevelop infrastructure for energy, communications, and mining.

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ADDING TO THE FAMILY

Well-being

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Wright Service Corp. Board of Directors is made up of three internal directors and five external directors as follows:

Scott Packard, Chairman and CEO of Wright Service Corp.

Austin Kennedy, President and COO of Wright Service Corp.

Jonathan Hicks, SVP and CFO of Wright Service Corp.

Terry McGonegle, Retired CFO of Wright Service Corp., outside director

Nancy Wright, outside director

John Bruntz, outside director

Dick Rue, outside director

George Milligan, outside director

Scott Packard

Scott Packard joined Wright Service Corp. in July 1998. Three years later, John R. Wright appointed Scott to President and COO. In October 2002, Scott took on the position of Chairman and CEO of Wright Service Corp. Scott began his career after graduating from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. Since then, he has held a number of executive positions prior to joining the executive leadership team at Wright Service Corp. He served on the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Board of Directors from 2003-2009 and as Chair in 2009. In September 2016, Scott became the first recipient of the Management Action Programs (MAP) Disciplined Leader Award. This award was conceived to recognize select leaders who have consistently exhibited the qualities of a disciplined leader. Scott is also a past chairman of Area 4 Iowa Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) and presently serves as Vice-Chair. He was recently named to the board of directors of Trees Forever.

Austin Kennedy

Austin Kennedy joined Wright Service Corp. as General Counsel in April 2013. Prior to joining Wright Service Corp., Austin was an attorney in private practice for seven years in Des Moines, Iowa, practicing in many areas involving employment law, immigration law and litigation. In 2019, Austin was promoted to General Counsel, Chief Human Resources Officer and Senior Vice President.

As of January 1, 2022, Austin has been promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of Wright Service Corp. Austin graduated from Macalester College in 2000, where he received the Livingston-Patnode Award for his special contributions to the English Department. He then earned his law degree from Drake Law School in 2005. In 2015, Austin earned his Credential of Readiness from Harvard Business School’s HBX CORe program, which establishes competencies in business analytics, economics and accounting.

Jonathan Hicks

Jon Hicks joined Wright Service Corp. in 2008 as the controller for Wright Outdoor Solutions. In 2010, he was promoted to Controller of Wright Tree Service and in 2020 he was promoted again to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Wright Service Corp. Jon graduated from Iowa State as a Certified

Public Accountant with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Accounting degree in 2002. After graduating, Jon worked in various auditing and financial reporting roles within both public accounting and the private sector. Jon is a member of the Iowa Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. Jon is also a member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society and is on the Wright Service

Corp. Board of Directors. Jon is a large advocate of ESOP structured companies. He enjoys the culture created with it that allows employees the freedom to implement change and to leave their personal mark on the company. Jon enjoys problem-solving and having the opportunity to help guide the company at a strategic level.

Terry McGonegle

Terry McGonegle joined WTS as the controller in June 1994. When the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) was formed in 2002, Terry was promoted to chief financial officer of Wright Service Corp. where he helped transition the company from a family-owned to an employee-owned and served as CFO until December of 2019 upon retirement. Terry started his career in public accounting and worked in the agricultural and construction industries before joining WTS. He has served on the audit committee for the Tree Care Industry Association, finance committees for both the Utility Arborist Association and TREE Fund. Terry is also a past president of The Iowa-Nebraska Chapter of The ESOP Association.

Nancy Wright

Nancy Wright is a cum laude graduate of Drake University majoring in Business Communications. Following graduation, she had a long career in the Group Life and Health business, starting with Principal Financial as an underwriter and later selling group life and health insurance to Iowa school districts through Holmes Murphy & Associates. Other positions include Marketing Director for a major group medical carrier and Account Manager for a national insurance brokerage. She was also active in the Iowa Health

BOARD OF DIRECTORS continued

Underwriters as a board member for six years and president for two years. This involved working with state and national legislators regarding healthcare legislation. Nancy is currently retired.

Dick Rue

Dick is retired and served for 23 years as Senior Vice President & CFO and board member at ITA Group, Inc. a West Des Moines incentive marketing company. Dick has been a CPA since 1978 and was employed during his first five years after college in public accounting. He is a past member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Iowa Society of CPAs, Financial Executives International, where he was a past Iowa Chapter President and Board Member, and the ESOP Association. Dick’s experience includes serving on the UNI College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board, the President’s Advisory Board of Grand View University, the Board of Directors of Precision Pulley & Idler, six years as State Chairman of Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for Iowa and two years as Chairman of the National ESGR Executive Advisory Subcommittee. Additionally, Dick is a volunteer at the Iowa Gold Star Museum, a volunteer with United Way of central Iowa and he actively works as a volunteer financial counselor with the Small Business Development Center in central Iowa.

John Bruntz

Currently retired, John Bruntz was the Chairman and CEO of The Boulder Company, an industrial product distributor with operations in four states and serving an eight-state market region. He held the position from 2014 to 2019. Prior, he was the

CEO of The Wittern Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automatic merchandising equipment and controlled access technology. He became the CEO in 1990 and began work for the company in 1985. John also serves as a Director for Dexter-Apache Holding, Inc., a $300mm revenue ESOP company with more than 900 employees across six different business lines. In addition, Bruntz is on the Board of Directors of Cementech, Inc., an ESOP company headquartered in Indianola, Iowa. Cementech is the market leader in the production of volumetric cement mixers. He is a licensed attorney who graduated from the University of Iowa, College of Law and has published articles in law journals in the areas of labor and employment law. He has been involved in numerous civic organizations including ChildServe, the YMCA of Greater Des Moines and the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

George Milligan

George Milligan is a 1978 graduate of Iowa State University, earning a B.S. in Economics with a minor in Industrial Administration (Business). From 1978 to 1985 he worked for Continental Grain Co. in various trading and management positions in four different locations. From 1985 to the present, he has worked at The Graham Group, Inc., and as its President since 1988. The Graham Group, Inc. is a diversified real estate development company and general contractor. He has been involved in many central Iowa charities and boards. He currently serves on the board of two public companies, United Fire Group, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and West Bancorporation, Inc., of West Des Moines, Iowa. Both are Nasdaq traded companies.

Safety Employee Well-being

MISSION AND VISION CORE VALUES

Mission

‒ To be a leader in providing innovative solutions and services that align with our core values.

‒ To enable our customers to sustainably manage their products or services for the betterment of all communities.

‒ To ensure long-term viability of the company supported by attractive value appreciation to our employee-owners.

‒ To provide team members with an environment that enables them to achieve their personal and professional career goals.

Vision

‒ Leverage our core competencies to create new environmental product lines and services.

‒ By 2024 traditional business lines will represent 50% of the company’s gross profit margin while continuing to remain #2 in our core market segments.

‒ Be a leader in sustainable environmental solutions to the industries we serve.

‒ Expand into new services and market segments that will align customer and environmental needs with our expertise and capabilities.

Grow our company in the U.S., Canada, and beyond.

‒ Attract, retain and reward the highest quality talent in the industry.

SAFETY

It is everyone’s responsibility — we each own it.

INTEGRITY

We abide by the highest ethical standards.

EXCELLENCE

We continually strive to exceed our customer’s and our own expectations.

TEAMWORK

It is how we operate and we hold each other accountable.

INNOVATION

We anticipate our clients’ needs and we deliver creative services and solutions.

FAMILY

It is our foundation; it is who we are.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

WSC Sustainability Report / CSR Mission Statement

Service

KPI Overview

Safety

OVERVIEW OF COMPANY INITIATIVES

Safety

Safety is our number one value. Our employees are trained on a consistent basis to ensure best safe practices are in place and mitigate any potential risks or hazards. Internal protocols are routinely reviewed and updated by our risk and safety departments to ensure the latest trainings and protocols are followed to ensure our employees can get home safely each and every night. Our employees follow the Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper motto, striving to achieve zero OSHA recordable incidents.

Employee Well-being

Our employees create a rich work environment. Our family culture is what makes WSC unique and attractive to the next generation of the workforce. This includes a safe, enjoyable, diverse environment that offers opportunity for professional growth within. As competition for talent grows, WSC is committed to offering an attractive workplace to retain and foster talent through our family of companies at all levels. WSC is proud to be employee-owned since 2002, and 100% employee-owned since 2006. Continued training, education and development, and our employees’ well-being are top of mind.

Environmental Sustainability

As a family of companies who are in the environmental services industry, we strive to protect and preserve all ecosystems. We continue to reduce our footprints and promote carbon positive practices at our offices and in the communities we serve. The Wright Service Corp. North American headquarters based out of West Des Moines, Iowa, began a remodel in 2020 with environmental sustainability and economic sustainability in mind. This posed an opportunity with many working from home to remodel the existing buildings on the headquarters’ campus to accommodate the growing amount of support staff while also providing the infrastructure needed for the flexibility with the newly enacted Work from Home Policy.

Community Engagement

Wright Service Corp. supports activities that benefit our employees and add value to the communities where we live and work. Through monetary and in-kind donations such as labor or education, we’re able to support various causes and organizations that align with our values. We take pride in building and developing relationships with our employees, clients and communities.

SAFETY

Safety is our number one value. Our employees are trained on a consistent basis to ensure best safe practices are in place and reduce any potential risks or hazards. Internal protocols are routinely reviewed and updated by our risk and safety departments to ensure the latest trainings and protocols are followed to ensure our employees can get home safely each and every night. Our employees follow the Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper motto, striving to achieve zero OSHA recordable incidents.

Our corporate office is highly trained to assist those in the field as it relates to our safety protocols. We also pride ourselves with a low incident rate for our industry, and award employees that reflect our company standards.

Safety protocols and prevention are at the forefront of all of our decisions. Disaster protocols are in place as well as evacuation plans that are posted throughout the WSC corporate office. These plans include a map of each area of the office with information on the location of AEDs, first aid kits, extinguishers, tornado shelters and assembly area.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement

Safety

ANNUAL INCIDENT RATE

INCIDENT RATE

All WSC companies track and report incidents. At-fault accidents are tracked by company with goals established for reduction. These incidents and near misses are used in training materials to identify preventative actions to continue to enforce.

At-fault Rate

Our 2021 OSHA Incident Rate was 2.69 across our family of companies, down from 2.75 in 2020.

Days Away/Restricted or Transferred Rate (DART) represents OSHA injuries or illness that results in days away from work, restricted duty, or transfer of duties. This is because only the more severe OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses are included in the DART rate which was 1.38 for the fiscal year.

At-fault incidents are often broken down into the following categories:

Property Damage

Auto Liability

The WSC family of companies averaged 0.12* claims per employee in 2021.

with the U.S. presence. These values do not include the family of companies in Canada due to different calculations than OSHA.

Safety

TRAINING

Safety Challenge

WTS sponsors bi-annual safety challenges, focusing on continued training and learning from field and at home experiences.

These challenges focus on identifying, documenting and submitting safety hazards. They aim to highlight the importance of being always aware of your surroundings and communicating these hazards and their solutions to those around you – whether it be crew members, coworkers, or family.

According to OSHA, one of the root causes of workplace injuries, illnesses, and incidents is the failure to identify or recognize hazards that are present, or that could have been anticipated. A critical element of any effective safety and health program is a proactive, ongoing process to identify and assess such hazards.

From June 6 through June 26, WSC employees were invited to participate in the safety challenge with the theme being home and office. The challenge highlighted the importance of being aware of your surroundings at all times and communicating these hazards with

those around you. Groups of up to five employees were allowed to submit their safety hazard with each week having a different focus.

Weekly categories included:

‒ Week 1: Electrical (14 entries submitted)

‒ Week 2: Slips, trips and falls (13 entries submitted)

‒ Week 3: Environmental hazards (6 entries submitted)

Judging was based on the following criteria:

‒ Does your hazard fit into the specific week’s challenge topic?

‒ Does the picture you provided best show the hazard identified?

‒ Is there an Approved Work Method (AWM) already in place to mitigate this hazard and does that provide the right solution?

‒ How likely is this hazard to expose you or others to risk?

‒ Is your statement for how you mitigated the hazard you found suitable and does it define the actions you took?

To get credited for participation, staff had to watch an introductory broadcast to the challenge and follow-up by taking part in a survey.

CPR & First Aid

OFFICE PARTICIPATION RATE

Thirteen WSC employees became CPR, First Aid and AED certified in 2021. Field staff have weekly safety training and have the opportunity to obtain their CPR, first aid and AED certifications.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community

First Responders

In 2021, the WSC Legal and Risk Mitigation Department organized a first responders’ team with the goal of having trained employees onsite in case of emergencies. The team includes 15 employees from different departments in the office and have designated areas they are assigned to within the building. They meet periodically, receive training, and are involved in the planning and performance of emergency drills.

A first responder is:

‒ Prepared to take action during emergencies.

‒ Expected to be available at the office on a regular basis.

‒ Required to work with the Legal and Risk Mitigation Department for evaluation and enhancement of the Emergency Action Plan.

‒ Expected to collaborate in trainings.

‒ Required to keep a CPR, first aid, & AED certification; with additional training to be provided at company expense.

Our first responders organized a fire drill to provide direction to staff, evaluate and time the evacuation. An emergency evacuation plan was distributed to employees prior to the drill with a first responder assigned to each section on the plan. Feedback was collected to evaluate and improve the plan.

The work they do helps us be better prepared and to improve our emergency plan.”

Juan Contreras, Bilingual Risk Specialist

Safety

SECURITY

Cyber Security

WSC’s Information Technology (IT) Department is dedicated to cyber security and business continuity. In 2019, an Information Security team was created to improve our security posture and execute yearly strategic security roadmaps, updated annually; by doing so this maintains and strengthens our company’s ability to protect company and client data. The team conducts an annual comprehensive security assessment in tandem with monthly vulnerability scans and remediates identified issues. Our SIEM platform, AlienVault monitored 24/7/365 by ProCircular, is utilized to help improve our detection and prevention of attacks on our company’s equipment year-round.

A security awareness program was launched in May of 2020. Employees undergo training to spot ‘phishing’ scams and other malicious emails or attacks. These fraudulent requests are sophisticated and can use known company contacts to lure others into sending funds to illegitimate recipients or compromise confidential data and information. On a monthly basis, employees are tested internally and if the employee fails, they are required to go through additional training and in some cases meet with HR and IT for performance improvement. As scams are ever-changing, training and tips are provided to arm our employees with the knowledge to be a digital Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper and ensure we protect our family of companies and their employees.

Iron Mountain

In 2021, a major joint project with our IT, PMO, and HR departments was initialized and completed. More than 750,000 paper records were being stored on company property and needed to be secured and digitally managed. The project team worked with a new vendor, Iron Mountain, over the course of seven months to ensure all records were properly collected, safely scanned, and made securely accessible on a new digital platform. This project helped us to ensure these records weren’t at risk, allowing us to better manage their inventory, retrieval for review, and eventual retention removal. Doing this allowed us to move forward toward a paperless environment while keeping our documents safe.

Additional Security Measures

In 2021 additional security measures were implemented for the WSC headquarters. This included over 20 new or updated policies, procedures, or programs such as:

vCISO Service Program

Zero Trust Mission Statement

Security Awareness Training and Testing Policy

Temporary Elevated Permissions Agreement and Policy

Information Security Diagram

In 2022, WSC will continue to implement tools and training for increased company preparedness and due diligence against increasing cyber security risk.

SAFETY GOALS

Security: In 2021, company participation improvement by 200+ hours of additional security awareness training, surpassing the goal of 100 hours.

Training: Establish tracking of CPR, First Aid, and AED training, and certifications across the WSC family of companies in 2022.

Security: In 2022, monthly vCISO and Executive meetings will be conducted to ensure company goals and controls are met while mitigating cyber security risks.

Security: In 2022, ensure company participation and improvement by 10% or 500 hours of additional security awareness training.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement

EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING

Our employees create a rich work environment. Our family culture is what makes WSC unique and attractive to the next generation of the workforce. This includes a safe, enjoyable, diverse environment that offers opportunity for professional growth within. As competition for talent grows, WSC is committed to offering an attractive workplace to retain and foster talent through our family of companies at all levels. WSC is proud to be employee-owned since 2002, and 100% employee-owned since 2006. Continued training, education and development, and our employees’ well-being are top of mind. Our small company beginnings still ring true with the company culture at the corporate office. A Culture Club, comprising of a Wellness Committee, Community Involvement Committee, Special Events Committee, and Employee Ownership Committee educate and/or host events for the corporate office and Wright Outdoor Solutions (WOS), a local subsidiary, staff. There are instances those events, if held in a digital or virtual format, are open to all employees throughout North America.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement

Culture and employee engagement plays a huge role in who we are as a company.”

Scott Packard, Chairman and CEO

“

Safety

DIVERSITY

WSC takes pride in its employees and their diverse backgrounds. A world map was placed in the café for each employee to put a push pin on their hometown. This helps us and our visitors recognize the global roots of our company.

We have employees across North America, including 43 states, and three provinces in Canada. Our total workforce under our umbrella increased by 8.96% in fiscal year 2021, and by 17.47% at WSC alone.

WSC continues to upgrade our workplace processes and improve digital infrastructure. The team introduced and launched a Human Capital Management (HCM) system through Workday in August 2021. This new platform helps shared services support staff recruit,

hire and onboard new talent on day one. In addition, Workday’s intuitive portal allows employees to easily access their personal information via mobile device or computer. On average, we recruit, hire, and onboard between 1,500-2,000 employees per year. Launching this new HR platform helps automate our processes that were previously done manually. This rollout allowed for complete and increased reporting capabilities on workforce demographics in 2021.

WSC Corporate Office Employee Distribution

Employee distribution numbers are based on fiscal year 2021, meaning October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. As of September 30, 2021, WSC had 195 corporate office employees. During that time WSC had 65 new hires. Each company’s individual report will release company specific demographics. These numbers do not include contingent employees who are recognized as employees contracted by outside vendors.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental

Translation Program Committee

As we strive for continual improvement, we realized a need for consistent, high-quality professional translations for our workforce, customers and clients. Through a process of evaluating multiple vendors, our Translation Program Committee of eight employees, found a translation service company who met all of our needs, now and into the future.

They provide Spanish and French-Canadian translations, and many more. Employees are able to request translations through our shared services department liaison for items such as and not limited to:

‒ Internal communications – brochures, postcards, newsletters

Recruitment advertisements

‒ Procedures/training materials – operations, compliance, software

‒ HR materials – policies, forms/applications, benefits

‒ Public-facing or external use documents

‒ E-learning content

‒ Video and closed captioning/subtitles

‒ Websites

The liaisons handle the process of submitting requests to our vendor and provide estimates before submission. A full policy and a company glossary were provided to the translation service company to ensure branding and consistent translations – both can be found on our company intranet.

meets monthly and consists of two employee representatives from each of the below committees, WOS representative, and a Culture Club chair. Culture Club and committee involvement is all volunteer based. Committees include:

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT – A newer committee, providing opportunities for employees to get involved in our communities with volunteer and philanthropic opportunities.

rich history. Graphics acknowledging holidays and special months are published on the digital screens located throughout the headquarters. In addition, social media posts for all companies continue to be more inclusive and celebratory of all cultures, holidays and traditions rather than focusing on the standard holidays we often celebrate in the United States.

In the future, Culture Club will look to adopt initiatives driven by CNUC’s Diversity and Inclusion Club and host its own Diversity and Inclusion Week.

EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP – An established committee that continues to educate employees on the benefits of being an employee-owned company and hold Employee Ownership Month festivities. They have recently restructured to include focused subcommittees and expand members to include more field staff.

Employee Owner of the Year

The WSC Employee Owner of the Year (EOY) award serves as recognition for an employee within the WSC family of companies who is an outstanding citizen, exhibits the characteristics of an employee owner and the values of our company, and makes contributions in the best interest of the company.

Culture

The WSC Culture Club combines forces of employee committees so that we can support each other’s initiatives and unite in our goal to create a community-focused culture for the WSC and WOS employees. The Culture Club

SPECIAL EVENTS – A newer committee that spearheads holiday celebrations, corporate office summer picnic, end of fiscal year party and additional events for employees.

The Employee Ownership Committee goes through all of the nominations and selects five nominees to move forward through the judging process. A judging panel consisting of management across companies selects the year’s EOY. The 2021 WSC EOY was Wright Tree Service Division 80 Project Manager Alejandro Reyes.

WELLNESS – An established committee to lookout for the health and well-being of our employees via a wellness portal, educational videos, programs, community garden and more.

The Special Events Committee hosts a virtual trivia two to four times a year, often including questions focused on world holidays and its

Ethical Standards

WSC’s employee handbook outlines several employment policies, procedures and practices. This contains equal opportunity employment policies, a code of conduct policy, business ethics statement, a harassment policy and a protection against retaliation policy. Management and human resources staff have an open-door policy as well to report incidents and provide suggestions to improve the workplace.

Safety

EDUCATION

DEVELOPMENT

Learning Management System

Onboarding

True Colors

UNIVERSITY

Wright Service Corp. University (WSCU) is a learning platform that documents and tracks your online training. WSCU creates the ability to reach every employee in the company who has a company email for training and continued learning. Topics include management, leadership, customer service, productivity, tips and tools, and more. The Training and Development Department have increased course offerings significantly in the Learning Management System (LMS). More than 8,000 LinkedIn Learning courses are available to employees.

In addition, new employees will be assigned training on WSCU to review topics such as:

Harassment and discrimination

Colors

service

Timesheet tracking

Retirement savings, and enrolling in a 401(k) or Roth

Accessing the company clothing and apparel store

The Training and Development Department leads a two-part orientation session for all corporate office new hires. In a new hire’s first week, they’ll take a deeper dive into each of our family of companies and their history, the company structure, touch on various policies, review available learning on WSCU, benefits and resources. The second session takes a deeper dive into the WSC culture, mission, vision, values, ESOP, setting personal and professional goals, events the employee can look forward to and a mini–True Colors workshop.

True Colors® is a personality assessment is used to boost interdepartmental and team cooperation. Each employee completes a survey and is given a portfolio with potential strengths, weaknesses, and strategies for communicating with people of different personalities. This improves employee self-awareness and conflict resolution. Three employees are certified True Colors facilitators.

Individual Development

Training and Development offers companies and departments with individual development options based on needs and desires. For example, several sessions were held across companies focusing on presentation skills for the virtual setting. In 2021, Being Remarkable by Paul Axtell was offered for individual development for leadership learning with 13 participants, totaling 116 hours. Additional leadership and professional development training programs and mentorship opportunities are available for employees.

LEAD Program

The LEAD Program is an 18-month, WSC sponsored leadership, training and development program. Following a nomination process, individuals who have shown they are dedicated to their career and growth within our family of companies are selected. We utilize this program to give selected employees a comprehensive perspective of our family of companies, a platform for cross-company networking, and the tools to enhance their leadership potential. Since the program’s inception, sixty-one employees have graduated from the program. The latest cohort, which took place 100% virtually except for their final session leading to graduation, concluded their journey in November 2021 and completed a total of 1,632 training hours.

Although the LEAD Program has continued to evolve over the years, the foundation of the curriculum has remained the same with a mix of:

and

Reimbursement

reimbursement is available to WSC employees pursuing further education aligned with their current or future career goals.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental

WELLNESS

WSC provides both full-time and part-time positions with a benefits package that far exceeds the industry standard. Employees receive comprehensive benefits such as health insurance, wellness incentive programs, life insurance, disability, vacation and sick time, bereavement, identity theft protection, traditional pre-tax Roth 401(k) retirement plan options, and employees are part of profit sharing through an ESOP.

Health Insurance

WSC offers medical with prescription coverage, dental, and vision insurance to all eligible non-union employees. Plans are offered either as individual or family. Family plans are not limited to number of dependents. WSC pays a portion of these insurance fees to provide competitive premium rates for employee’s insurance packages.

Tobacco free lifestyles save money ($312 annually or $26 monthly) on insurance plans and cessation programs are in place to seek help with quitting.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a professional and confidential, short-term counseling service available to the employee and their immediate family. This is a company paid benefit and offered to the employee at no cost. Immediate telephone access to a counselor is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Resources include up to three sessions for in-person appointments per separate issue per year, legal services, financial consultation, and eldercare resources.

Those in need can visit a doctor on their smartphone, tablet or computer from virtually anywhere and offered at no cost. Doctor on Demand offers no cost, virtual doctor visits with board-certified doctors who can treat most common medical conditions and prescribe medication.

In 2021, WSC and its subsidiaries saw a 4.51% increase from 2020 in the number of those enrolled in the health insurance benefits.

From 2020 to 2021, plan types remained the same with 55% of those plans being employee only and 45% being family plans.

Healthy Options

With the remodel at our headquarters, WSC added a micro market service offering food and beverages at the convenience of the workplace provided by Company Kitchen. In collaboration with Company Kitchen and our Wellness Committee, the item’s price tag is labeled with a red, yellow, or green to indicate the healthiness of the option. This program includes criteria supported by the latest nutrition research in line with both government and expert nonprofit guidelines.

Wellness Program

WSC and WOS employees are enrolled into a wellness program, implemented by Mercy, a Des Moines hospital, where they can earn rewards for competing activities throughout the year on individual and group activities such as challenges, event participation, and watching or attending educational sessions on topics like nutrition and eating well, reducing stress, sleep, exercise, financial wellbeing, community involvement, and more. Annual biometric health screenings are hosted at the corporate office through Mercy. Flu shots are also provided on location in the fall open to employees and their families.

Since the opening in June 2021, the distribution of employee selections has been 41% beverages, 32% snacks, and 26% food options. Although most of the selections have not been the green category, the Wellness Committee’s will continue their education efforts to inform employees of their purchasing decisions and its various impacts on their health and well-being. The goal is to continue to provide additional green “healthier” options and see those selections increase over time.

LONGEVITY

CATEGORIES

CATEGORIES

Every March, we celebrate our employees who reached milestones (5, 10, 15, and so forth) in their years of service within our family of companies. The 2021 Annual Awards Banquet was held virtually, so employees being recognized had the opportunity to redeem a Packed with Purpose gift box. The woman-owned business curates gifts with products picked from their impact partners – organizations that produce high-quality products that create a social impact. 158 boxes were ordered to support the impact areas such as women’s empowerment, workforce development, youth development, environment and wellness.

Getting Active

Adjacent to the building is a 3-acre area where a meandering concrete 0.28-mile walking trail was incorporated. The grading and trail were completed in the fall of 2021 with an opening planning for the spring of 2022. This small acreage is dedicated to native habitat. See more in the biodiversity section

A bike rack is available to employees to store their bikes if they choose to ride before or after work, or during their lunch break. The remodeled building now includes female and male locker rooms with two showers each to allow employees to shower after a workout.

They also include 12 lockers to store personal belongings.

YEARS OF SERVICE - WSC & U.S. SUBSIDIARIES

FY2021 years of service only

participants and eligible for the

Employee Ownership

who are

WSC has been a proud employee-owned company since 2002 and 100% employee-owned since 2006. Through shared ownership, WSC’s ESOP helps promote a positive, unique organizational culture and supports company success. The ESOP is also designed to assist our employees with their retirement and provide them with a financial stake in the company. For our customers and partners, we are empowered to provide exceptional service and innovative solutions.

The ESOP enables employees to directly affect profitability and value and see the results. The ESOP has also allowed the company to protect jobs and support the communities we work in.

A Deferred Shared Unit (DSU) plan was established for Wright Canada Holdings Ltd. (WCH) and its subsidiaries to provide similar

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Well-being

benefits to our Canadian employees. Look for our inaugural WCH report in 2022 for DSU-related data.

Only non-union employees are eligible who are at least 18 years of age, worked for the company for one year totaling at least 1,000 hours. Employees are automatically enrolled in the ESOP after meeting the qualifications on April 1 or October 1, following their 1-year anniversary date with the company. The Employee Ownership Committee conducted 162 hours of ESOP training to those new to the plan. This is an employer-funded plan that is at no cost to the employees.

Retirement

WSC offers a comprehensive 401(k) retirement savings plan with the same eligibility requirements and entry dates as the ESOP.

WSC has a Safe Harbor March Program to the 401(K) offering, matching 100% of the first 3%, plus an additional 50% of the next 2% employees would contribute to their retirement savings. The matching funds are placed in the ESOP account. Meaning, employees should contribute at least 5% annually to receive the full company match. These company-matched contributions are 100% vested.

ESOP Stats

VESTED - WSC & U.S. SUBSIDIARIES

The Automatic Enrollment Program is an automatic 3% pre-tax 401(k) enrollment process for all eligible employees which increases contributions from salary pay by 1% each year until 10% is reached with an opt-out available. This was enacted to ensure employees were taking steps for their financial security in the future.

401K CONTRIBUTIONS - WSC ONLY

Numbers are out of 127 employees who are contributing.

an additional 50%

with the max match potential hit at 5%. 82% of those contributing are receiving the full match potential.

can change daily

EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING GOALS

Education & Development: Online training hours in WSCU were increased by 94% from 2020, surpassing the 2021 10% goal.

Diversity & Inclusion: Increased reporting capabilities on workforce demographics in 2022 with Workday.

Education & Development: Increase online training hours by 10% in WSCU.

Education & Development: Continue to gauge interest and feedback from employees to determine topics – hosting Power Hours every other month.

Healthy Options: Wellness Committee to see an increase in the green options offered in the micro mart compared to the red in 2022.

Employee Well-being: Conduct a survey for total reward offerings and preferences to employees.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

The WSC North American headquarters based out of West Des Moines, Iowa, began a remodel phase in 2020 with environmental sustainability and economic sustainability in mind. With many working from home, we had the opportunity to remodel the existing buildings on the headquarters’ campus to accommodate the growing amount of support staff while also providing the infrastructure needed for flexibility with a Work from Home Policy.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement

ENERGY

Prior to the remodel, the headquarters had many energy efficiency actions implemented. An estimated 50% of the lighting was on a motion activated setting. Thermostats were also set on timers to decrease air conditioning energy in the summer months and reduce heat in the winter after typical workday hours. The building now has 100% LED lighting, 95% motion activated with vacancy switches and on a lighting control system, and the heating and cooling system on an efficiency timer to optimize energy and cost savings in 2021.

The existing state-of-the-art high-efficiency HVAC system was enhanced with additional zones and reworked for optimized employee comfort. Since the building now has many large glass windows on the exterior, WSC worked with a local contractor, Baker Group, during the remodel to optimize energy use in our infrastructure.

With the remodel the corporate office added 2 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations in the parking lot.

Another local service provider, MidAmerican Energy Company, has a 100% renewable energy vision by 2021. In 2019, they produced 61.3% of annual energy needs with renewable energy and increased to 83.6% in 2020. MidAmerican has also reduced their CO2 emission by 58% since 2005.

In addition, the IT Department takes steps to reduce energy consumption with the devices they select for office and field staff use. IT will generate a reference guide for employees to educate themselves on extending battery life for devices in 2022. The corporate office has 3 Canon copiers and 5 Lexmark printers. The Canon copiers are ENERGY STAR® certified. The default settings are established for energy efficiency and manufactured for low energy use.

Expenses include monthly base service fees such as service availability/transport fees, taxes, demand charge, etc., plus the cost of electricity and gas. Energy cost varies month to month based on demand for us as well as demand in the area.

WATER WASTE

Prior to the remodel plans, the corporate office was underway on upgrading to low flow and water efficient fixtures. Post remodel restrooms in 2021 now have hot water recirculation lines installed to provide hot water quicker, and all fixtures are low flow and automatic to use less water. A Kinetico water system, a reverse osmosis water treatment system that works with a water softener to filter 99% of contaminants from our water supply for drinking and ice making is present at the corporate office. This efficiency will also reduce natural gas usage to heat water.

WSC HQ Total Annual Water Consumption

WSC reduces, reuses, and recycles at the corporate office to minimize our waste footprint.

Reduce

PLASTIC

In 2019, an initiative at the corporate office was to reduce the use of plastic water bottles for meetings and events. Company branded reusable cups and a filtered water source is provided. The office has three drinking water fountains equipped with a water bottle filling station that reduced 5,452* plastic bottles in 2021.

In the new micro mart, no plastic water bottles are available for purchase due to our company’s commitment. Instead, a Bevi machine was installed in that same area. The machine not only dispenses water but up to four flavored still and sparkling water options. Flavors were voted on by the office and can be switched upon request. Since that installation in June of 2021, 10,811** bottles have been saved.

In total, 16,263 plastic bottles were saved through reusable water bottles and cups at the Bevi machine and bottle filling water stations. The number does not include the use of the reverse osmosis water taps.

In pursuit of our reduced plastic waste initiatives, the office purchased compostable cups, plates, and silverware to be available for use during the three-month remodel/move-in transition period before reusable silverware, plates and bowls became available.

compostable hot cup 2,100

compostable fork 2,400 compostable spoon 2,400 compostable bowl 500 compostable plate 1,000 compostable knife 600 wood beverage stirrer stick 3,000 total units

The office also moved away from the use of plastic-based Keurig K-Cup machines to four Keurig commercial machines that utilize compostable pods through our compost program to reduce plastic waste. WSC selected Kauai Coffee as our coffee supplier for the pod machines. Kauai Coffee, located in Hawaii, is the U.S.’s largest coffee grower and are dedicated to social and environmental sustainability.

Expenses include monthly base service fees such as taxes, sanitary sewer service, sewer availability, stormwater management fee, etc., plus the cost of water used. A gallon of water in 2021 cost an average of $.0062 from West Des Moines Water Works.

Based on bottles saved from the Bevi machine.

*Based on 20 fl oz/bottle

**Based on a 12 fl oz/bottle

The café area also has a large whole bean grinding coffee machine. WSC selected a local coffee supplier, Blk & Bold, the first Black-owned nationally distributed coffee brand that also achieved B Corp status. BLK & Bold pledge 5% of its profits to initiatives aligned to sustaining youth programming, enhancing workforce development, and eradicating youth homelessness.

PAPER

In 2019, the office started to track total paper purchased and where most of the paper was being used in the office for various processes. In 2022, the headquarters will explore sourcing paper made with a higher portion of post-consumer recycled content.

‒ 365 cases of paper were purchased in 2019

‒ 237 cases of paper were purchased in 2020

‒ 137 cases of paper were purchased in 2021

The Marketing and Communications Department outsources highquality printing projects. The first digital edition of the company’s biannual newsletter, The Wright Perspective, was published in the spring/summer of 2020. In 2019, we used 1.8 tons of paper. The first digital edition decreased the paper used by 95%, using 221 pounds of paper. This is an estimated reduction of 9.5 tons of CO2e.

A small quantity is still printed and mailed to employees upon request. In 2021, 183 newsletters were printed on Flo sheets by a local FSCcertified printer, Garner Printing. These sheets automatically come sold with an FSC Mix Credit CoC claim (FSC-C014955) and sold standard with 10% recycled fiber.

In addition, Workday benefits our process administrators by relieving the burden of manual, paper processes.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental

Workday significantly reduced the amount of paper Wright Service Corp. and its subsidiaries uses. The most significant reduction can be seen in our onboarding processes. Currently, we recruit, hire, and onboard between 1,5002,000 employees per year, each requiring about 46 documents to convert from applicant to employee. This was all done through manual, paper processes – that means we printed and stored anywhere from 69,000-92,000 paper documents per year, just to hire employees. Workday eliminated this need, converting paper documentation to digital and automating our manual processes.”

we will produce over each device’s lifetime while also savings on device costs. Further information on device redeployment will be provided in 2022’s report.

An estimated 166 laptops were redeployed in FY2021.

In 2021, the corporate office began a 3-stream waste collection system to include a compost program along with current recycling efforts. These bins were created by Max-R out of recycled milk jugs. A total of 7,575 milk jugs were reused in the creation of the 11 WSC branded waste bins at the office.

In the last phases of the building remodel, outside furniture was purchased from Sister Bay (sister company of Max-R) to provide durable lasting pieces to withstand our seasons in Iowa.

Another 14,000 milk jugs were reused in the creation of the outside furniture.

This is estimated to reduce an average of 805 pounds of paper annually which would equate to reducing 2.3 tons of CO2e annually.

Reuse

WSC has provided branded reusable cups and mugs to corporate offices employees over the years to reduce the amount of plastic waste from water bottles or coffee cups. With the remodel, our Wellness and Employee Ownership Committees provided all employees with a new reusable branded item to continue this trend. Beginning June 2022, new hires will be given a reusable cup on day one at their orientation as part of an onboarding/orientation initiative.

The IT Department purchases and redeploys electronic devices that are in good working order to reduce the amount of electronic waste

POUNDS OF PAPER IN 2021 EQUATES TO REDUCING 7.1 TONS OF CO2e

A REDUCTION OF

Workday Project Management Team

MILK JUGS

continued

A 3-stream system requires employees to sort their waste into either landfill, recycle, or compost. These everyday decisions cause employees to think beyond the bin, think of reclaiming value from waste to reduce their individual footprints together with the company, a joint effort for us to be successful in our sustainability goals.

A local Iowa company, GreenRU, will repurpose our organic wastes to create nutrient rich soil compost materials and keep a portion of our waste out of the landfill reducing our environmental footprint. Our Training and Development Department created a brief interactive game called Stop. Think. Sort. to optionally play on WSCU after watching an educational workshop led by GreenRU to inform employees about the company and our compost program.

3,260 lbs of organic waste was diverted in 2021

25,940 lbs of non-organic waste and trash was sent to a landfill in 2021

380 lbs of material was recycled in 2021

Recycle

In 2020, WSC started new office recycling initiatives with TerraCycle. In 2021, this program was expanded to accept all office supply waste program including tape, scissors, staplers, binders, document filers, and more.

We continue to discard of sensitive information with the use of secure shredders located through the office by utilizing with a local secure document recycler, The Shredder. This information is not currently captured into our waste assessment.

1,480 total pounds of E-waste recycled with a local certified recycler, Midwest Electronic Recovery. Since implementing the program, we’ve recycled 6,054 pounds of electronic waste.

MIDWEST ELECTRONIC RECOVERY RECYCLING

OF ELECTRONIC WASTE RECYCLED SINCE IMPLEMENTATION

lbs 25,940 lbs 380 lbs

In 2021, phases 2 and 3 were completed bringing the full WSC corporate office remodel to completion. Additional 14,600 pounds of plastic, metal, wood, & fabric materials was saved from the landfill from furniture donations, adding to the majority of donations made in phase 1. These donations supported local organizations.

See page 44 for more information.

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BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity is important to our family of companies that provide a variety of environmental services. Although biodiversity is limited in the workplace, office plants add to our biodiversity as well as out exterior features.

WSC supports industry groups that value biodiversity such as the U.S. Compost Council, the Iowa Sustainable Business Forum, various vegetation management associations, the Arbor Day Foundation, and more.

Biophilia

Even though our footprint is small, we understand the value of plants for the office interior. They improve air quality, absorb pollutants, reduce airport dust, and absorb background noise, creating a positive environment for our employees and guests. WOS supplies the corporate office with plants placed throughout the office from the lobby, offices, workstations, common areas, café, connector and other areas throughout the office. They also provide landscaping work and a different seasonal arrangement for our front desk in the lobby each week.

Our interior plantscaping team brings plants indoors. This design practice is known as biophilic design and is based on the principle that contact and exposure to nature is a basic human need, as opposed to an amenity or individual preference. Bringing plants indoors can purify the air and provide insulation which in turn, can reduce heating, cooling, and utility costs. Green spaces within a home or office space also provide numerous health and wellbeing benefits to those occupying a space.”

Jennifer Anderson, General Manager at Wright Outdoor Solutions

Employee Community Garden

Due to the renovations, the employee community garden was removed and relocated on the campus. Materials were reused and the garden was rebuilt by WOS in 2021. The community garden now has 34 plots that were filled with 68CY of Lounsbury’s garden mix which is a mixture of topsoil, sand and compost. Each plot has an irrigation system to assist with watering as not all employees with a plot are at the office each day to do so. A shed was added to house tools and materials and a compost bin is now located within the garden to dispose of wasted produce and plants at the end of the season via the office compost program.

Landscaping

At the remodeled headquarters, 70 trees were planted of 29 different species with an estimation to have the potential to sequester 66.2 tons of carbon a year. (Source: A medium growth coniferous or deciduous tree, planted in an urban setting and allowed to grow for 10 years, sequesters 23.2 and 38 lbs of carbon respectively Greenhouse Gases Equivalencies

Calculator - Calculations and References | US EPA)

A total of 857 trees, conifers, shrubs, perennials & grasses were planted during the WSC renovation.

Trees: 70 planted, 29 species

Conifers: 33 planted, 15 species

Shrubs: 162 planted, 26 species

Perennials: 392 planted, 22 species

Grasses: 200 planted, 7 species

BIODIVERSITY continued

LANDSCAPE DESIGN OBJECTIVES:

‒

Provide native trees and plants that will fit into the natural theme of the design and that will provide a natural food source and cover for migratory songbirds.

‒ Provide a deer resistant (tolerant) tree and plant palette.

‒ Ensure that we do not have a monoculture of trees/plants. As pests and diseases emerge in the future, it is important that we choose a wide variety of plants. This prevents massive loss of specific plants if a new pest should appear in our area.

‒ Seasonal interest – select trees and plants that will offer interest through all seasons: spring flowers, summer shade with different leaf sizes and textures, fall color and winter interest with interesting bark or overall plant structure.

‒ Block or enhance views – block unappealing views and enhance beautiful views through tree and plant placement.

‒ Provide sustainable pollinator habitat and food source for honeybees, butterflies and other wildlife.

A cover crop seeding of oats was utilized to protect the soil surface and for weed suppression. In November, the corporate office staff at the headquarters hand-seeded the space by dedicated department area for frost seeding for a 2022 spring germination. One a low native prairie mix dedicated to the bee pollinator species and a tall native prairie mix for butterfly pollinator species.

Arboretum

Incorporated into the 3-acre area where the new employee walking trail is located will be the future home of a pollinator space project. This small acreage was dedicated to native habitat, and therefore WSC partnered with the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund (BBHF) to provide seeds and expertise advice. BBHF is an organization whose mission is to increase and improve pollinator habitat by working with landowners and developing precision seed mixtures to build a healthy and sustainable pollinator habitat.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY GOALS

Water: Accounting for water used to water both office interior plants, exterior office platers and landscaping from services provided by WSC subsidiary, WOS through the water meters at the corporate office.

Waste: By 2021, remove the availability of plastic water bottles from the office.

Waste: Adding 2 new e-cycle towers to gather batteries, office supplies, and small electronics for expanded TerraCycle recycle program to continue to reduce our waste footprint.

Waste: Track total tonnage of municipal solid waste/landfill waste disposed of at the headquarters and monitor a reduction with the new compost program in place starting in 2021.

Waste: Establish annual TerraCycle program for used branded clothing following a clothing swap event for employees.

Waste: IT Department to start tracking in 2022 ink cartridges recycled as well as cell phones. Data was not available for 2020 or 2021.

Waste: Capture amount of paper recycled from secure shred company, The Shredder. Data was not available for 2020 or 2021.

Waste: Capture amount of food product wasted from the Café. This data was not available for the 2021 waste assessment.

Recycle: IT Department to implement program to begin tracking redeployment of handheld technology like cellphones and iPads.

Recycle: IT Department to host an annual E-Waste drive open to employee personal items as well as office technology waste in 2022 (Option was not available in 2021 due to COVID-19.)

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

WSC has been embedded in our central Iowa community since 1933. WSC supports activities that benefit our employees and add value to the communities where we live and work. Through monetary and in-kind donations such as labor or education, we’re able to support various causes and organizations that align with our values. We take pride in building and developing relationships with our employees, clients and communities.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement

WSC recognizes the important role that charitable, non-profit organizations play in the communities where we live and work. To align with our values and mission, we strive to provide financial contributions and volunteer support to causes/organizations that support public safety, sustainable communities and environments, champion education and innovation within the vegetation management industry and our communities and support the health and well-being of families.

A charitable giving policy and committee was established in 2020 to outline qualifications that must be met for all giving efforts. To align with the WSC mission and core values, the company’s charitable giving focuses in six areas:

Health and well-being

Innovation and education

Sustainable environments and communities

Industry (labor/agriculture/arboriculture)

Disaster recovery

Veteran support

Although WSC contributes monetarily to organizations and causes, brand recognition often goes toward subsidiaries such as Wright Outdoor Solutions or Wright Tree Service in the markets they serve in Iowa.

Beyond monetary donations, each WSC full-time employee has eight hours of paid time per year to use toward volunteering for a companysponsored event, or a charity or non-profit of their choice. Although COVID-19 interfered with many company-organized activities in 2020 and 2021, we still participated in the following:

annual sponsorship and participation in the Meals from the

Heartland

Hunger Fight

our 4th annual

Red Cross

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the

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CONTRIBUTION continued REPUTATION

Memberships

WSC is proud to be members and support the following local and national organizations.

‒ Iowa Sustainable Business Forum – connects Iowa businesses to continuously improve practices that positively impact people, planet and profits.

‒ West Des Moines Chamber – a network of community and business leaders in West Des Moines.

‒ Iowa/Nebraska Chapter of The ESOP Association – more than 130 ESOP companies and professional service providers with a mission to help ESOP companies excel by providing their members with educational and networking opportunities.

‒ Des Moines Performing Arts – part of a dedicated group of community and business leaders that value Des Moines Performing Arts and their tradition of providing world-class entertainment, education, and cultural activities.

‒ Hoyt Sherman – provides quality programming year-round. The membership helps keep entertainers including live music, comedy, spoken word, big band and more returning to the historic theater.

The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) updates an Employee Ownership 100 list each year – recognizing the nation’s largest companies that are at least 50% owned by an ESOP or other broad-based employee ownership plan. WSC is the 28th largest employee-owned company in the United States.

2021 IA/NE ESOP Company of the Year

The Iowa/Nebraska Chapter of The ESOP Association recognized WSC as the 2021 Company of the Year at its Annual Spring Conference. The ESOP Company of the Year award is presented to a company that demonstrates a commitment to employee ownership, as exhibited by involvement with the Association and its programs, clear communication with employees, and its commitment to the Association’s vision of endorsing employee participation, wealth creation, and individual dignity and worth.

To be considered for the honor, the company had to submit answers to questions regarding how the value of the ESOP has been maximized to benefit employee-owners, ownership education, chapter, and national involvement, and more. Our Employee Ownership Committee was able to transition many of our traditional in-person events into virtual ones. They used the “new” virtual space to expand our reach to a larger audience. We saw a large jump in participation in submissions for Employee Owner of the Year, Poster Competition, and Guess the Value. For the first time, we had a live broadcast to reveal the 2020 share price. A field outreach group was formed to improve engagement and outreach across our family of companies.

Social Media

WSC recognizes that social networking platforms can be powerful digital communication tools for sharing ideas and exchanging information. We’re committed to using social media to promote its brand and maintain communications with current and prospective employees, customers, business partners, vendors and suppliers, and the general public. WSC is focused on ensuring that its use of social network platforms serve its need to maintain its brand identity, integrity, and reputation while minimizing risks to the Company, its customers, and employees. Employees who post to social media should be mindful that their online activities do not violate our social media policy.

WSC uses LinkedIn to share updates about our family of companies to employees, clients and the community. By the end of 2021, 1,073 people followed the company page, a 30.48% increase from 2020. Compared to the previous year, the WSC LinkedIn page had a 520% increase in reactions, 300% increase in comments and 566.7% increase in shares on our posts.

WSC was one of 18 companies considered for the national ESOP Company of the Year award, and was one of the five finalists.

5FINALISTS CONSIDERED FOR THE NATIONAL ESOP COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD

ONE OF

Industry Leadership

Employees of our family of companies author and submit articles to industry publications throughout the year, such as the Utility Arborist Association’s Utility Arborist Newsline. WSC has an internal editorial committee who brainstorm topics and determine subject matter experts to write articles.

In addition, many employees are active members of industry and professional organizations. We encourage our employees to get involved in the industries and communities we serve, and it is also a requirement for our LEAD Program participants. These groups will be highlighted in individual company reports.

WSC’s Contract Administration Manager serves on the board of the Iowa/Nebraska Chapter of The ESOP Association.

Vendors

At this time WSC is creating policies such as Vendor Code of Conduct and Supplier Diversity Policy that our suppliers or service providers are required to follow. We seek out those that share our vision and follow a similar mission to reach our goals. We strive to work with local providers in our community. We understand that those we choose to work with will uphold our reputation in the community and with our current and future clients.

Corporate Communications

With the remodel, 13 TV screens were added throughout the building. The Culture Club and departments have the opportunity to create their own screens for approval to inform employees of

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Well-being

YOUTH INTERACTION

company or department news, events, reminders and important dates in history. These have also included progress on the compost and recycling program, information on the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and days or months of recognition with educational information like Black History Month and Women’s History Month and more. It’s an additional way to communicate with employees beyond email communications.

Coloring Contest

The Employee Ownership Committee has had a yearly coloring contest since 2018. Employees were encouraged to ask someone close to them to draw a picture of him or her, their favorite employee, doing what they believe the employee does at work. First place winners received a gift card to enjoy dinner and a movie with their family. Here were 2021’s entries.

“I colored the room and a desk. My mommy stands at the desk. Because her room is beautiful.” – Age 3-4 Winner

“I drolld Nick kuden down a tree with a chanzo and I drolld a buckit.” – Age 5-6 Winner

YOUTH INTERACTION continued

John Wright Memorial Contest

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental

“My dad is important because he help people and he loves me. My picure is my dad and his freind inspecting trees. My dad loves his job.” – Age 7-9 Winner

In 2021, we held our 16th annual John Wright Memorial Contest. The contest honors the memory of both John L. and John R. Wright. It is designed to further the understanding of the importance of trees among the children and grandchildren of Wright Service Corp. employees. There are three divisions with first ($500), second ($300) and third ($200) place prizes for each.

DIVISION 1: GRADES 3-5

DIVISION 3: GRADES 9-12

“Also, trees that have been used as mulch act as a filtering sponge, collecting and filtering water naturally, eventually becoming groundwater supply.”

The John Wright Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 to create a substantial scholarship fund to help college students interested in commercial arboriculture achieve high academic goals and support the arboriculture industry. The scholarship is administered by the TREE Fund, awarding $5,000 to a student annually.

“My mom helps lead her ‘students’ so they can teach, too. But she is a student too. My mom helps guide the other workers so they can be successful in their charier at Wright Tree Service Corp.” – Age 10-12 Winner

“ I drew my uncle Jonathon who is my favorite CNUC employee. In the drawing, he is identifying a hazardous tree. His job is important because he provides his expertise to utility so they can provide reliable power to customers.”

– Age 16+ Winner

DIVISION 2: GRADES 6-8

“Trees give homes to animals and plants, and they not only purify the air, but also the water in the lakes and streams they border.”

Job Fairs

We also participate in job fairs in the communities we serve throughout North America, such as the FFA Convention and Expo where our recruiting team was able to increase exposure of our family of companies to the next generation of leaders. In the future, the recruiting team plans to partner with high schools throughout North America to engage and educate students on career paths in environmental services.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT GOALS

Contribution: Increased opportunities for employees to partake in volunteer events as a company and encourage volunteer opportunities outside of work hours. Increased total volunteer hours by 65.64% from 2020.

Contribution: Continue to increase opportunities for employees to partake in company sponsored events through the Culture Club to increase total volunteer hours by 10% in 2022.

Youth Interaction: Create program to track career fairs attended and work to create a program for youth job shadows across the family of companies.

CORPORATE

By the Numbers

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By the Numbers

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Thank You Building Vendors

We would like to thank all the vendors that assisted in the renovation of the Wright Service Corp. Headquarters. With their goals and contributions we were able to pursue our sustainable construction goals and create an environment for our employees that they are proud of. Each vendor brought their own unique ideas and efforts towards the pursuit of sustainability that was impactful for this project. Some of these vendors listed in the report and below are responsible for the beautiful efforts put into the project:

Academy Roofing & Sheet Metal Co.

Allen Interiors Amstutz Concrete LLC

Architectural Arts

Aronson Woodworks Baker Group

Bee & Butterfly Habitat Fund Beeline & Blue

Builders Iowa Comiskey Glass Confluence CTI Doors, Inc.

Eick & Day

Herman Welding & Repair, LLC

Hilsabeck Schacht, Inc.

Ingamells Commercial Flooring, Inc.

Laurenzo Specialty Products

KRW Construction LRI Graphics & Signs Masonry, Inc. Max-R

Auto Fire Sprinkler

Signs & Graphics, Inc.

Trustin Carlton

Design

Bay

Erectors of Iowa

Security Solutions

Engineering

Door & Security Workspace

Outdoor Solutions Xtreme Xteriors, Inc.

Painting

Safety

CLOSING

The WSC family of companies and our employees strive to live out our values and will continue to improve our sustainable practices to ensure a safe and bright future for our employee-owners. We’re committed to a better world for all, by investing in the communities we serve through innovation, integrity and teamwork. We want to ensure that the decisions we make today make a positive impact on our employees, clients, community and the environment.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability

APPENDIX

An evaluation by EcoPractices®, a sustainability risk management tool from Sustainable Environmental Consultants, a WSC subsidiary, in partnership with WSC. This report is intended to showcase the sustainability journey of Wright Service Corp., dedicated to recognizing their responsibility toward their mission, vision and values for their employee owners, partners, clients, and the public. This preliminary Corporate Social Responsibility Report will be further expanded upon in the coming years to comply with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards.

Safety Employee Well-being Environmental Sustainability Community Engagement