Better Health for All

Willdan's core business of energy efficiency and sustainability has a significant positive indirect health impact, with projects saving over 12.5 million MTCO2e since 2008.

The company also directly assists healthcare providers, such as Kaiser Permanente and NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, in decarbonizing and improving the efficiency of their facilities, including over 1,000 hospital and medical office buildings. The company's operations generate substantial positive health externalities by reducing carbon intensity and natural gas usage. Willdan has no revenue from products with direct negative health impacts. The company launched a cloud-based Environment, Health, and Safety (EH&S) platform in January 2023. From 2022 to 2024, both the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART) rate saw a notable decline, but specific rates are not provided to compare against the industry averages of 5.7 (TRIR) and 0.8 (DART). The Willdan Clean Energy Academy (WCEA) workforce training program has graduated over 1,100 participants, with a 52% job placement rate for job-seeking graduates. More than 70% of WCEA graduates are from disadvantaged communities, and the program partners with minority- and women-owned business enterprises. Willdan promotes mental, physical, and financial well-being through comprehensive programs and resources for employees and their families. The company supports STEM education through outreach efforts and community involvement initiatives. Willdan has business continuity and resilience procedures to keep the organization running during a crisis.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Willdan Group, Inc. is a professional technical and consulting services company, not a financial institution.

Its core business involves energy efficiency, engineering, and construction services. As such, the company does not offer lending or deposit services, consumer credit products, or manage customer financial data. Therefore, all KPIs related to fair money and economic opportunity, which are designed for financial service providers, are not applicable to Willdan's business model. While Willdan engages in programs like the Clean Energy Academy that serve disadvantaged communities and has a Supplier Diversity Program, these initiatives do not involve financial products or services as defined by the rubric's KPIs.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In 2024, the CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 35:1.

The company's Recordable Case Rate (RCR) was 0.69 in 2022, and the Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR) was 0.26 in 2022. The 2024 employee engagement survey had an 83% participation rate, with 77% of employees reporting positive sentiments on engagement-related questions. Voluntary employee turnover was 10% in 2024. The company has a publicly published Human Rights Policy and a Code of Ethical Conduct, which all employees review and sign annually. An ethics hotline is available for anonymous complaints, and there is no public record of substantiated labor-law or human-rights violations.

Honest & Fair Business

Willdan Group, Inc. has a formal whistleblower policy, revised on June 24, 2024, which includes an ethics hotline staffed by an independent third party and offers protection against retaliation.

However, the provided articles do not offer evidence of independent investigation processes or specific metrics regarding hotline usage or resolution. The company also has an anti-corruption policy that prohibits bribery of government officials, including facilitating payments, and private parties. It adheres to the UN Global Compact's Ten Principles, which include anti-corruption. However, the articles do not provide specifics on the enforcement mechanisms or frequency of training for this policy.

Kind to Animals

Willdan Group, Inc. is a professional technical and consulting services company. The provided articles contain no evidence of the company having products requiring cruelty-free certification, engaging in animal testing, operating animal husbandry facilities, sourcing animal-derived ingredients, or having animal-related suppliers. Therefore, all KPIs related to these activities are scored as N/A. While one article mentions a 2015 project that aimed to attract wildlife and restore natural habitat, it does not provide measurable biodiversity impact metrics or the percentage of revenue invested, leading to its omission.

Similarly, mentions of general sustainable purchasing or anti-corruption audits do not relate to animal welfare, and R&D focuses on clean energy, not animal-free alternatives.

No War, No Weapons

The company's core business is energy efficiency, engineering, and construction services, with no revenue from arms contracts mentioned, indicating no defense or arms-related activities.

It conducts nearly 100% of its business in the US, meaning no sales to embargoed regimes and no exports requiring end-user certificates. The Board of Directors has no direct oversight of defense matters, aligning with the company's non-defense business. While the company signed a commitment to the UN Global Compact in 2024, it only publicly cites alignment with UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights, with no evidence of specific implementation or third-party audits, indicating major gaps. The company's business model does not involve controversial weapons, mineral inputs, or procurement from conflict-affected areas, thus it has no exposure to these. The company has a Code of Ethical Conduct, but it does not codify specific ethical 'red lines' related to weapons or conflict. The company has principles for Responsible AI, but no evidence of AI systems being used militarily, thus no specific safeguards are needed for military applications.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The provided articles detail Willdan's general community engagement activities, such as purchasing over 400 bikes for the Fred Jordan Mission in 2021, sponsoring the AHA Annual Heart Walk from 2015-2017, and supporting World Central Kitchen in 2018.

However, the articles explicitly state a lack of quantitative data necessary to assess the company's performance against the specific metrics for 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. There is no information on formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, percentage of revenue reinvested locally, cultural appropriation incidents, cultural impact assessment protocols, local employment ratios, grievance mechanisms, FPIC participation rates, cultural preservation investments, or any other specific KPIs outlined in the rubric. Therefore, no KPIs can be scored based on the available evidence.

Safe & Smart Tech

Willdan Group, Inc. experienced a cybercriminal attack on its Lime Energy subsidiary in December 2020, involving a malware infection and potentially unauthorized access to files.

The company launched an investigation, engaged third-party forensic experts, and notified potentially impacted individuals in July 2021. Following the incident, Willdan reviewed its security policies and implemented additional cybersecurity measures. There was no indication of misuse of the specific information accessed. The company's privacy policy states it employs industry-standard security techniques including firewalls, encryption, and intrusion detection, and limits access to personally identifiable information to employees needing it for their job functions. California residents can exercise their state consumer privacy rights by filling out a form or calling a number.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

The company's 2024 Corporate Sustainability Report indicates no regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues related to waste disposal.

No quantitative data is available for waste diversion rate, product recyclability, packaging sustainability, recycled content percentage, single-use plastic reduction, take-back program coverage, circular design principles, waste reduction initiatives, hazardous waste management, product durability, repairability score, waste audit frequency, zero waste certification, material efficiency, packaging-to-product ratio, waste reduction targets, supplier waste requirements, or customer waste education.