Ethical Corporation Names Life Technologies' First CSO Sustainability Executive of the Year

Cristina Amorim recognized for leadership in driving strategic sustainability initiatives during annual awards ceremony in London

Jul 11, 2012 1:15 PM ET

CARLSBAD, Calif., July 11, 2012 / 3BL Media / PRNewswire/ -- Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) today announced that its newly appointed Chief Sustainability Officer, Cristina Amorim, has been named Sustainability Executive of the Year at the Ethical Corporation's annual Responsible Business Forum awards ceremony. She received the honor in recognition for her strategic role in Life's emergence as a Corporate Social Responsibility leader.

"Life Technologies has made incredible strides in reducing its carbon footprint at its Carlsbad headquarters and throughout its global sites under Cristina's leadership," said Greg Lucier, Chairman and CEO of Life Technologies. "Her experience in successfully driving innovative initiatives will be crucial as we continue our commitment to being responsible global citizens. Cristina's recognition among her global peers is well-deserved."

Recently named the company's first chief sustainability officer, Amorim has spearheaded a team at Life Technologies since 2004 that has implemented several programs to successfully execute sustainability-inspired growth strategies that include design-for-environment and green chemistry principles.

Rather than working to meet compliance standards, Amorim has taken a holistic approach by considering Life Technologies' full life cycle of its products, packaging, services and processes, then implementing strategies to reduce their impact on the environment.

Some of her team's initiatives have included fostering new partnerships in the value chain; transitioning the company from a linear (take-make-waste) to a closed-loop business model; and introducing innovative concepts such as zero waste, low-carbon delivery, reverse logistics, and product take-back for reuse, recycling, and refurbishment.

During 2008 to 2011, Life Technologies reduced energy and water use by 20 percent and 43 percent, respectively, while cutting hazardous waste by 41 percent and non-hazardous waste by 64 percent. At the same time, the company decreased the carbon footprint of its operations by 16 percent and enhanced organizational transparency with participation in the Carbon Disclosure Project.

In 2012, the company is taking aim at Zero Waste, not only as a green initiative but also to stay ahead of regulatory requirements and lower operating costs. Manufacturing sites in Pleasanton, California and Kingsland Grange, UK have just achieved Zero Waste status, meaning more than 90 percent of their non-hazardous waste now finds a home somewhere other than a landfill. Two additional sites —Eugene, Oregon and the company's Carlsbad, California headquarters—are on track to reach this milestone by year-end. Amorim and the company are particularly proud of these Zero Waste efforts, as an extraordinary level of employee engagement, teamwork, and creativity is required to recycle and find new markets for what once was considered trash.

Amorim's commitment to strengthening Life Technologies' environmental, social, and corporate governance performance has led the company to being recognized by other leading organizations, including: Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, FTSE4Good, Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, and Bloomberg-Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes, among others.

About Life Technologies
Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today's most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum with more than 50,000 products for agricultural biotechnology, translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems®, Invitrogen™, GIBCO®, Ambion®, Molecular Probes®, Novex®, and TaqMan®. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. LIFE had sales of $3.7 billion in 2011. Visit us at our website: http://www.lifetechnologies.com.

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Life Technologies Contact
Patty Zamora
760-476-7818
patty.zamora@lifetech.com