Baxter International Inc. on June 19 released its 2007 Sustainability Report – Our Priorities. Our Progress. – which highlights the company's 2007 social, economic and environmental performance. The report features the establishment of performance goals to support the company's sustainability priorities announced in 2007. The goals further demonstrate Baxter's commitment to integrating sustainability more deeply in the company, encouraging continuous improvement and helping stakeholders assess progress.
"As a healthcare company dedicated to saving and sustaining lives, the critical nature of our work naturally aligns with sustainability," said Robert L. Parkinson Jr., Baxter's chairman and chief executive officer. "The establishment of Baxter's sustainability goals will help us monitor the progress we make in each priority area in working toward a more sustainable future."
The sustainability goals focus company efforts in the priority areas of Baxter employees, Baxter operations and products, and the world in which the company operates. They reflect issues of key concern to Baxter and its stakeholders and areas where the company is uniquely positioned to have a positive impact. Examples include:
· Reducing greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent indexed to revenue from 2005 baseline to drive reductions in the company's carbon footprint by 2015;
· Reducing total waste generation 30 percent indexed to revenue from 2005 baseline to drive reductions in the company's natural resource use by 2015; and
· Increasing R&D investment to improve access to healthcare for developing and emerging economies by 2015.
Other goals were established in areas such as diversity, ethics and compliance, product stewardship and education. A complete list of Baxter's sustainability goals and priorities is available at http://sustainability.baxter.com/.
Other initiatives highlighted in the 2007 report include:
· Baxter's manufacturing facility in Cartago, Costa Rica, became the country's first to be recognized as a "carbon-neutral" facility by offsetting 100 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions, joining other Baxter sites, including the company's corporate headquarters;
· The company launched an employee wellness campaign, BeWell@Baxter, which offers an expansive array of programs and resources to help the company's 46,500 employees and their families stay well; and
· Total giving by Baxter and The Baxter International Foundation reached nearly $55 million in product donations, cash contributions and foundation grants, including more than $31 million in product donations to 53 countries for disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
Baxter's comprehensive 2007 Sustainability Report is available online at http://sustainability.baxter.com/. An abridged print version and a summary brochure are also available online or via e-mail at onebaxter@baxter.com. The report is aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and features in-depth reporting across key sustainability topics, including community support, employees, environment, health and safety, ethics and compliance, governance, and product responsibility.
About Baxter
Baxter's commitment to sustainability spans three decades. The company has been recognized by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens in the United States. Baxter is a member of the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, the Business Environmental Leadership Council of the Pew Center on Global Climate Exchange, the Chicago Climate Exchange, the U.S. EPA's Climate Leaders, the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and Hospitals for a Healthy Environment. Baxter endorses the Ceres principles and is an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative.
Baxter International Inc. develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.