THIS WEEK

Building Trust at Work: Lessons from the Better Is Possible Design Challenge

At a time when polarization and misunderstanding shape so many parts of daily life, building trust across differences has never felt more urgent — or more difficult. The 2025 Better Is Possible Design Challenge brought together more than 200 Steelcase employees, partners, customers and community members from around the world to take on that challenge together.

Through design thinking, participants explored how trust and communication are practiced in everyday moments. The experience shows how intentional design can help strengthen community, empathy and meaningful connection at work.

PEOPLE + PLANET

How a Long-Term Community Partnership is Changing Young Lives

What does long-term community partnership look like in practice? For 10 years, Steelcase and World Vision Romania have worked together through Camp Ignite to support young people in building confidence and opportunity, while creating meaningful ways for employees to engage beyond the workplace.

LEARNING

Student Success + Sustainability: Inside George Brown Polytechnic

What if an academic building could improve learning and help the environment at the same time? Designed for learning that happens everywhere, George Brown Polytechnic’s new mass‑timber, net‑zero building shows how sustainability, comfort and choice can help students stay engaged and succeed.

WORK BETTER PODCAST

The Preschool Skills Business Leaders Need

SEASON 8 / EPISODE 6

Dr. Laura Jana explains that the human abilities we develop earliest — curiosity, self‑management, empathy, adaptability and creative thinking — are the same ones adults need to navigate today’s fast‑changing, AI‑shaped workplace. Hear why she believes they’re becoming even more valuable than technical expertise and how her framework can help leaders see these so‑called “soft skills” as concrete, developable strengths that directly improve collaboration, innovation, and performance.

New & Notable

Places and products that work better

SEATING

Where Sustainability Meets Seating

Sustainability is top of mind for many workers today and it’s a priority we take seriously at Steelcase. Since 2022, we’ve expanded our CarbonNeutral® product certification option to our best work chairs. Each meets a rigorous standard — delivering the same trusted performance and durability while offsetting the carbon impact — so customers don’t have to choose between sustainability and quality.

Editor’s Picks

What we’re talking about this week

French bank Crédit Agricole and Steelcase Remade prove circular economy works at scale with 4,700 remanufactured chairs.

Get an in-depth look at how we’re creating community and getting closer to a net-zero future in our Impact Report.

The new home of the Stelcase Global Talent Team is a welcoming and inclusive environment designed with the people who use it.

Let’s help make work better.