Business News
Kodak Unveils New Worldwide Sustainability Goals
Monday 08. June 2009 - Company Surpasses Current Responsible Growth Goals
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) announced today a new set of three-year Sustainability Goals. This comes on the heels of a prior program that reduced carbon emissions in an amount equal to taking 190,000 cars off the road.
The new Sustainability Goals will be the fourth set of voluntary goals established by Kodak, building on the companys long history of public commitment to health, safety, and environmental performance. The new goals broaden Kodaks focus by boosting expectations for products, suppliers, and employees. In addition to the pursuit of the Sustainability Goals, worldwide manufacturing sites will continue to set additional local goals.
The goals announced today supersede the Responsible Growth Goals established in 2006 and include an emphasis on enabling employees to integrate sustainability principles into their everyday work, a target for increasing the number of Energy Star-qualified products, and a renewed initiative to measure and further reduce Kodaks water usage worldwide.
The Responsible Growth Goals were originally announced in 2006. Unlike former goals that mainly focused on the company’s traditional manufacturing footprint, the Responsible Growth Goals represented a significant expansion of focus, introducing product stewardship and social responsibility elements, as well as operational excellence.
As part of that program, Kodak reduced energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 40% since 2002, surpassing its 20% target. Kodak reduced occupational injury rates by 65% since 2002, exceeding its target to reduce rates by 50%.
The prevention of 1.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions since 2002, the equivalent of taking more than 190,000 cars off the road, is a hallmark of Kodaks progress. A portion of this progress is attributable to Kodaks digital transformation. However, roughly half of the overall progress is the result of applying the principles of lean manufacturing and process design, as well investments in energy-efficient equipment.
“Much of this substantial progress comes down to the creativity and dedication of Kodak employees,” said David Kiser, Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “For example, at Eastman Business Park in Rochester, employees looked for opportunities within the sites transformation. Because of their diligent work, we realized significant energy savings that allowed us to close a 67-megawatt power plant. Its that kind of ingenuity that gives us confidence in meeting our new set of public goals.”
For its efforts, Eastman Business Park earned the U.S. Department of Energys Energy Champion Award in 2007, the highest award for energy efficiency for industrial facilities. In addition, Kodaks world headquarters building in Rochester was designated as Energy Star certified in 2008.
Kiser also noted that he is very proud of the work by employees and Kodak leadership in reducing employee safety incidents.
“During a time when extraordinary demands are being placed on our workforce and on our leadership due to the competitive and economic pressures facing all companies today, there has been an intense focus on keeping people safe on the job, as reflected by the nearly two-thirds reduction in these incidents,” Kiser said.
In 2006, Kodak also set goals to improve the environmental attributes of products throughout their life cycle and improve access to Kodak products that provide direct benefits to societal needs. Achievements in support of these goals include:
Awards for energy-efficient and environmentally conscious digital camera and picture frame designs.
Collection of more than 1.5 billion single-use cameras for recycling.
Introduction of the KODAK Adaptive Picture Exchange (APEX), a dry lab system that produces photo prints and products without using any water or processing chemicals, and generates no regulated wastes.
Development of a variety of graphic printing technologies such as production planning software, flexographic plates and computer-to-plate systems that reduce waste and resource usage at customers sites.
Provision of services to assist customers in being more sustainable, such as the Printers “Go Green Kit,” the U.S. Printers EnviroServices Program, and the digital camera trade-in program.
Donation of products and access to imaging services for socially responsible programs such as The Nature Conservancys Photo Voice project in China, the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and the Olympics.
The new Sustainability Goals include:
Social Responsibility
Employee Education: Raise awareness of Kodaks sustainability commitment and its expectations of employees.
Employee Safety: Achieve a 70% reduction in Kodaks Occupational Injury Rate by 2012.*
Product Responsibility
Product Energy Efficiency: Qualify all eligible newly commercialized Kodak products under Energy Star guidelines.
Product Environmental Attributes: Improve the environmental attributes of Kodak products throughout their life cycle.
Supply Chain Performance: Identify high priority suppliers annually and assess them against the performance expectations of the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition.
Operational Responsibility
Energy Conservation: Reduce the energy usage at Kodak operations worldwide by 50% by 2012.*
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Kodak operations worldwide by 50% by 2012.*
Water Efficiency: Measure Kodaks worldwide water footprint.
*Compared to 2002 baseline year.