Water reduction efforts keep Abbott on track to meet 2020 targets

The company, which has more than 90,000 employees and operates in over 130 countries, has released its latest Global Citizenship Highlights update, which includes progress towards its 2020 environmental and sustainability goals, compared with 2010 levels.

Environmental highlights of the report include: –

> 40% reduction in CO2 emissions
> 30% reduction in total water intake
> 50% reduction in total waste

Abbot chair and chief executive Miles D White said: “We take continual steps to reduce the impact of our operations, decreasing emissions and water use to make our environmental footprint as light and small as possible.”

In addition to the reduction in water intake, the report reveals that Abbott has helped communities save 7,811,125 gallons of water since 2009 through a partnership with Project WET.

Water

Energy

The company achieved an 8% reduction in its energy consumption since 2010, 2.3% of which was cut in 2013.Waste

Abbot also aims to reduce 10% of packaging weight by 2020. By the end of 2013, the cumulative reduction was more than 3% – equivalent to 8.9 million pounds of packaging.

The total waste generation dropped by 1.3% in 2013, bringing the total reduction to 19% since 2010.

The company currently operates 14 zero-waste-to-landfill sites, beating its 2015 goal of 12 sites.

Lois Vallely