Better Health for All

Flexsteel Industries agreed to a $9.8 million settlement for groundwater contamination at a former manufacturing site in Elkhart, Indiana.

The contamination involved trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PERC) from past manufacturing operations, affecting local residents using wells for drinking water. This is described as a significant negative health externality. Flexsteel disputes liability for the contamination, stating its independent investigation determined the source was at another property, but still agreed to the settlement for cleanup costs.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Flexsteel Industries, Inc. is a furniture manufacturer and does not offer lending or deposit services to consumers.

Consequently, there is no evidence to evaluate KPIs related to financial products, such as underserved client share, pricing fairness, exploitative fee exposure, inclusion initiatives, customer financial data accessibility, fair lending compliance, wealth-building outcomes for financial product users, financial literacy initiatives, customer debt burden ratio, or geographic inclusion for financial service access points. The company's product simplicity also pertains to furniture, not financial products. While Flexsteel engages in community service and environmental initiatives, these do not align with the rubric's definition of profit reinvestment in community finance or profit-sharing with underserved communities.

No War, No Weapons

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles to assess Flexsteel Industries, Inc. against the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value. The company's core business is residential and contract furniture. While one article mentions providing furniture for a military family's home makeover,

this is a charitable act and does not constitute involvement in arms manufacturing, military contracts, or dual-use technology. Information regarding conflict minerals only states that 100% of suppliers completed a survey, which is not equivalent to certification of conflict-free materials as required by the rubric.

Planet-Friendly Business

Flexsteel Industries, Inc. sourced 0% of its operational energy from renewables in 2022.

The company does not report carbon emissions data for the most recent year, nor does it specify any reduction targets or initiatives, and is not participating in tracked reduction initiatives or disclosure networks. Flexsteel was involved in environmental contamination lawsuits concerning a former manufacturing site, leading to a consent decree with the EPA and IDEM for cleanup of the Lane Street Ground Water Contamination Superfund Site. The complaint alleged numerous past violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), including improper hazardous waste disposal and lack of permits. The company agreed to pay $9.8 million for cleanup, with a penalty of $3,500 per day for late payment if not paid within 45 days of court authorization. The site was eventually listed on the NPL as a Superfund site due to groundwater contamination with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other hazardous solvents.

Safe & Smart Tech

Flexsteel has not experienced any material cybersecurity incidents to date, and its cybersecurity risk management program aligns with the NIST framework, overseen by the Board of Directors with quarterly CIO reports.

All employees with company email access engage in quarterly cybersecurity awareness training and are regularly tested. The company utilizes a third-party cybersecurity partner for 24/7 system monitoring, penetration testing, and tabletop exercises. However, the company's privacy policy indicates that users are responsible for maintaining their account username and password security, with no mention of multi-factor authentication (MFA) or other advanced authentication methods. The company states its goal is to limit data collection to necessary information and has retention policies, but specific retention periods are not detailed beyond 'as long as necessary for business purposes, legal compliance, and disputes'. The company acknowledges the inherent risk of data interception over the internet despite using commercially reasonable safeguards. The privacy policy states the company does not currently respond to 'Do Not Track' signals. While the company provides users with options to access, update, or delete certain information and to opt-out of communications, including specific rights for California residents, it also states that email and internet use inherently carry a risk of interception without consent.