Baxter Meets its Renewable Power Goal Early
Company Launches 2012 Sustainability Report
DEERFIELD, Ill., July 8, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) today issued its 14th consecutive Sustainability Report, available at http://sustainability.baxter.com, detailing the company’s commitment and progress to creating lasting social, environmental and economic value by addressing the needs of stakeholders worldwide.
“Sustainability encompasses virtually every aspect of how we do business,” said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., Baxter's chairman and chief executive officer. “Just as Baxter’s mission is to save and sustain lives, we are committed to helping our many global stakeholders thrive.”
Highlights from Baxter’s 2012 Sustainability Report include:
- Exceeding Baxter’s goal of using 20 percent renewable power in its facilities by 2015. In 2012, 22 percent of Baxter's total energy use for operations was from renewable energy sources due in part to several on-site renewable energy projects. These included installation of a photovoltaic (PV) system at Baxter’s Toongabbie, Australia, facility that produces sufficient electricity for the office complex with the exception of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, and installation of a comprehensive geothermal cooling system at Baxter’s Orth, Austria, facility that uses the relatively constant temperature of the groundwater for cooling and heating the building, as opposed to traditional HVAC chiller systems. In late 2012, Baxter’s Malta facility began installation of the company’s largest on-site PV system that will provide approximately 23 percent of the site’s electricity and reduce the site’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 1,100 metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
- Reducing GHG emissions by 12 percent on an absolute basis since 2005, 39 percent indexed to revenue, placing Baxter on track to exceed its 2015 goal to reduce GHG from operations 45 percent indexed to revenue. This is due in part to adoption of innovative technologies such as Baxter’s Malta facility converting 95 percent of its lighting to high efficiency light emitting diode (LED) technology, and three facilities using boilers powered by sustainably sourced biomass fuels.
- Creating a Human Rights Policy and updating its Ethics and Compliance Standards for Suppliers to encourage business partners to make similar efforts in the area of human rights. Baxter evaluates the sustainability performance of its suppliers, including related to human rights, via a survey to learn about each supplier’s sustainability programs and identify opportunities for best practice sharing and collaboration to improve the performance of both Baxter and its suppliers. Baxter routinely conducts quality audits of its suppliers and joined the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative in 2012, a group of pharmaceutical companies who share a vision of better social, economic and environmental outcomes for all those involved in the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Baxter's nine sustainability priorities reflect issues of key concern to Baxter and its stakeholders in areas where the company is positioned to have a positive impact. Priorities include strengthening access to healthcare, enhancing math and science education, and a range of environmental initiatives such as reducing energy use, waste generation, and water use.
Baxter's 2012 Sustainability Report is aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, which provide a uniform and transparent set of metrics to systematically report on sustainability initiatives and results.
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.
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