At Gore we believe in conducting business in a fair and ethical manner. Everyone in our Enterprise is expected to demonstrate integrity in all relationships when dealing with suppliers, customers, and stakeholders, as well as with other Gore associates.
We are committed to meeting the needs of customers through our innovative, reliable products and to improving the communities in which we work and live.
We have a legacy of taking a long-term view, and seek to make decisions that are consistent with this commitment. These values serve as the foundation of our corporate culture. In support of these values, which align with industry-specific requirements, we have adopted “Gore Fabrics Guidelines on Social Responsibility”. These set forth our expectations regarding fair labor requirements, positive working environments, compliance with legal and environmental regulations and other topics. In addition to following these guidelines within Gore Fabrics, we expect our suppliers, business partners, distributors, and any other representatives to maintain this same level of social responsibility.
Download Gore Fabrics Guidelines on Social Responsibility (pdf)
Our Enterprise is strongest when we tap into diverse talents and perspectives while driving toward a shared vision. We remain committed to nurturing an environment where we help each other grow and push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Our associates support many social projects around the world. Most of these projects start by an initiative of associates. Individual initiatives are in line with our Gore culture and Gore supports these projects. A selection of these projects will be featured on this page.
The Friends of Camp Colton (FCC) is a non-profit, fundraising organization which was established to support Camp Colton’s environmental programs and educational initiatives. Camp Colton is Flagstaff (Arizona) Unified School District’s experiential environmental education program.
In 2014 Gore became a primary sponsor of Flagstaff’s annual Agassiz Uphill race. Participants compete to raise funds for the FFC organization. In true “all in same boat” fashion, employees from several divisions helped to organize the race. The race achieved a goal of a 40% increase in fundraising, for a total of $30,000.
When it comes to social responsibility the Shenzhen associates play an active role. To show their commitment they have installed a “charity committee” which drives several long term initiatives such as tree planting, mountain cleaning and a “used clothes collection” for donations to poor people.
The focus of the charity program is on supporting schools in poor areas. Since 2013 the Shenzhen plant has been cooperating with a school in a remote area that is a four-hour drive from the next city. Vivian Yang, associate in Shenzhen, explains: “With urbanization, thousands of young people are flocking to cities, leaving their small kids staying with their grandparents in the villages. It is estimated that there are nearly 20 million children left behind in China. It has become a social issue.” The pupils were thrilled to receive donations such as school bags, stationery, pencil boxes, maps, books and sports materials. Gore is now planning to intensify the cooperation by organizing interactive activities such as music, sports or language teaching.
Associate Simon Liao comments: “By visiting the schools, we are able to gain perspective from the kids and teachers, which benefit from our continued support. And through these interactions, the students are able to gain lot of new information, which broadly opens their eyes to the world.”
Gore has been involved in the Mountain Forest Project in the Bavarian Alps. Around 6,000 young trees were planted and around 3 km of forest paths were laid or replaced. Since 2009 Gore has offered its associates the opportunity to become actively involved in environmental protection and nature conservation. Once a year, up to 20 interested associates meet for a four-day work project under the guidance of an exper t. The project is managed and organised by employees of the charity Bergwaldprojekt e.V., which has been organising volunteer work on nature conservation throughout Germany for nearly 20 years.
In September 2014 philanthropist Shiyilang led customers of GORE-TEX products and nature photographer Geng Dong to Nam Co to take part in a “Make Heavenly Lake Clean” campaign and to contribute to the environmental protection and conservation of the Damxung area by undertaking a green and environmentally friendly hiking trip.
During the 6-day tour, the team experienced hiking in the primeval forests, explored a religious site, picked up garbage in the Heavenly Lake area and brought environmentally friendly heating supplies and stationery to Nam Co Township Center Primary School. The team also distributed bilingual environmental protection leaflets in Chinese and Tibetan to tourists and local residents with the goal of delivering the environmental responsibility concept to a wider range of tourists as well as letting Tibetans gain a better understanding of the concept. Their actions were highly praised by the local government and the team was awarded the title of “Pioneer in Environmental Protection” by the Damxung County Environmental Protection Bureau.
2015 is the 10th Year Anniversary of “Bike to Work”. Since the beginning in 2005 Gore donates 10 Cents for every kilometer cycled to work by an associate in Germany. Between 2006 and 2014 our associates cycled more than 410,000 km, donating more than 41,000 Euros to local charity projects such as the Salberghaus in Putzbrunn or the Caritas children’s village in Irschenberg, both in Germany. The goal for 2015 is 90,000 km to get to a grand total for 50,000 Euros in donations.
In 2013 Gore once again supported social projects such as the worldwide “Bird’s Nest” campaign by the manufacturer Arc’teryx. For one weekend, volunteers at Globetrotter in Cologne, Germany made rain capes for the homeless using remnants of GORE-TEX fabric material left over from Arc’teryx’s production of GORE-TEX jackets in their Vancouver, Canada facility. The resulting waterproof and windproof capes were handed over to the Gulliver project for further distribution to the homeless in Cologne.
