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Sustainability

As William Blair celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2025, we reaffirm our enduring commitment to the success of our colleagues, clients, and communities. This shared ethos influences every aspect of our unique culture and guides our recently evolved mission, vision, and values.

Our Sustainability Report provides vivid examples of how we bring our mission, vision, and values to life across our business units. We invite you to explore the report and learn about highlights of our firm’s sustainability efforts in 2024.

Brent Gledhill
Brent
Brent Gledhill
President and CEO
Brent Gledhill

Beth Satterfield
Chief Operating Officer

Our Values in Action

Across our firm, we’re elevating our mission to empower colleagues to deliver client success and engage in our communities.

Read our sustainability report

Empowering Our Colleagues

Our colleagues are central to our success. We provide a comprehensive array of tools, resources, and opportunities that support mental, physical, and financial well-being, as well as professional development and career growth. Our commitment to fostering an inclusive culture underscores the importance of these resources.

Delivering Client Success

Responsible business practices are engrained in our work with clients. We are committed to developing long-term, trusted partnerships and helping clients achieve superior financial results. We help clients achieve their goals by creating value from our talented teams, processes, research, and advisory practices.

Responsible Business Practices

Operating with integrity and adhering to ethical values are essential elements of our business model. These standards are infused throughout our firm and serve as the foundation of our emphasis on long-term relationships and stewardship commitments.

  • 90%

    of firm office space is located in
    green-certified buildings

  • ~50%

    of our partners serve on nonprofit boards

  • 14,000+

    hours of community volunteerism

Engaging in Our Communities

Our commitment to engaging in the communities where we live and work is a part of our firm’s mission. Our philanthropic grants and charitable partnerships are inspired by colleagues through match programs, leadership on nonprofit boards, volunteer engagement, and signature programs such as our Global Community Partners and the Capital Collective.

Managing Our Environmental Impact

Our commitment to environmental sustainability underscores our dedication to enhancing the well-being of our colleagues, clients, and communities. Prioritizing sustainable practices in our business operations and calculating our carbon footprint enables us to be productive in our current environment and lay the foundation for sustainable growth in the future.

Our approach to sustainability is data-driven and designed to inform our understanding of where and how operating sustainably can contribute to our durability in the long term.

Laura Coy, Head of Philanthropy and Sustainability

Laura Coy

We are a people-based business, so we are relentless in our pursuit and retention of highly skilled and talented individuals from around the globe to deliver the tailored, thoughtful work our clients expect and value.

Amber Kennelly, Chief Human Resources Officer

Amber Kennelly

We continue to deliver high quality programs on a wide variety of topics tailored to support colleagues at different career stages. Our professional development programs help colleagues realize their potential by providing platforms to reframe their thinking, communicate effectively, and gain valuable insights from other participants.

Joe Leibold, Global Learning & Development

Joe Leibold

William Blair’s commitment to integrity and ethical practices means that we do the right thing for our clients, colleagues, and communities not only when it is required by law or contract, but also, and especially, when it is not.

Cissie Citardi, General Counsel

Cissie Citardi

Our Insights

  • Consumer-Centric Healthcare: 2025 Update

    Discover how the consumer-centric ecosystem, driven by disruptive healthcare technology and services, is transforming the U.S. healthcare market by addressing high costs and mixed quality.

    Read more

  • What If We Never Age?

    What would it cost to live forever? In this episode of The Active Share, Hugo Scott-Gall is joined by Dr. Greg Bailey, co-founder and executive chairman of Juvenescence, for an in-depth discussion about the science of aging, the societal and economic impacts of extended lifespans, and how advancements in biotech are paving the way for longer, and healthier, lives.

    Listen to the podcast

  • Solid Waste and Recycling—One Man’s Trash Is an Investor’s Treasure

    In this report, Trevor Romeo explores not only the what, but also the why; namely, we analyze the current and future U.S. landfill capacity situation, which suggests that nearly half of all open municipal solid waste landfills, representing over half of all annual tons accepted into landfills today, are currently expected to close by 2050.

    Read the report

  • How Material Science Companies are Changing the Industrials Landscape

    Material science tech companies are positively disrupting traditional products by melding innovation with sustainability. Equity analyst Ryan Merkel, CFA, explores why two markets—construction and packaging—are ripe for change.

    Read more

  • The Energy Transition: Fueling Tomorrow’s Economy

    As growth investors, we’re inherently interested in global mega trends. One such mega trend is the energy transition—a long-tailed phenomenon benefiting from many catalysts.

    Read more

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For disclosure information, please visit www.williamblair.com/disclosures