Baxter Engages in Environmentally Responsible Product Transport Partnerships

DEERFIELD, Ill., April 2, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) uses several approaches to decrease the environmental impact of its product transport. Different modes of transport, such as air, ocean, river barges, trucks and rail, have varying levels of environmental impact largely because they use different amounts of fuel per ton of product shipped. Given Baxter's product mix and global reach, combining multiple modes of transport for a single shipment offers the greatest opportunity for the company to save costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). To this end, Baxter has developed innovative strategic partnerships with companies in varying industries to create transportation synergies and decrease GHG emissions.

For example, Baxter has been co-loading transports between Belgium and Ireland since August 2012 with Donaldson Company, Inc., a global manufacturer of filtration systems, through the synchronization of shipments. By using fewer containers and higher capacity utilization, the initiative reduces GHG emissions by approximately 14 percent per shipment while also reducing transportation costs for both companies. Since 2011, Baxter has been co-loading with another global healthcare company on multiple destinations to central and eastern Europe.

In Canada, Baxter arranged a shipment optimization process with Mohawk Shared Services Inc. (MSSI), a healthcare procurement shared services organization, which has reduced transport and transfer costs, fuel and gas emissions by shipping products directly from Baxter's manufacturing facility to the MSSI warehouse. Prior to this agreement, Baxter products were shipped to an intermediary warehouse for processing before shipment to the MSSI warehouse and customers.

About Baxter
Baxter's commitment to sustainability spans more than three decades. The company is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and has been recognized by Corporate Responsibility magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens and Newsweek's Green Rankings as the leading U.S. healthcare company. Baxter is a member of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, and the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association. The company endorses the Ceres principles and is an Organizational Stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative. Further information about Baxter's sustainability activities can be found at www.sustainability.baxter.com.

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, 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.