A Comprehensive Water Strategy

Abbott understands that water is a critical and finite resource, one that is essential to sustaining human health, economic growth and the environment. More than 1.1 billion people have no access to clean water; 2.4 billion lack proper sanitation; and 2.3 billion live in water-stressed areas. We also know that access to clean water is critical to maintaining our manufacturing operations and to the customers who use our products. Population growth, industrial expansion and agricultural development pose challenges for water access in many parts of the world.

It is within this global context that Abbott is committed to managing its water use in an efficient and sustainable manner and to improving access to clean water in communities where we play a part. In 2008, our company adopted a new water policy which has four elements:

• Continuous improvement of our operations and water use efficiency – with the goal of reducing water use by 40 percent by 2011 (indexed to sales, on a 2004 baseline);
• Recognition of the risks that water stress and scarcity pose for our business, along with concrete steps to mitigate those risks; and
• Facilitating access to high-quality water in all of the communities where we operate, and
• Educating community members about the importance of protecting water resources that are vulnerable to overuse or contamination.

During 2008, we completed an evaluation of local water stress for each of our manufacturing sites globally and prioritized them for further action. The top 4 sites identified are: Casa Grande, Arizona; Campoverde, Italy; Temecula, California, and Singapore.

By focusing efforts and resources on these higher risk sites, the plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, succeeded in reducing its total water usage for the second consecutive year (refer to chart data below), and the plant in Campoverde, Italy, has reduced its water consumption by more than 20 percent (51 million gallons/year) over the last two years while increasing overall production.

In addition, we are committed to improving the discharge of clean water where water cleanliness is at issue. Many Abbott sites do not discharge water that contains chemicals. Therefore, we measure water discharge results only at those sites where the cleanliness of water discharge is at issue.

Managing Our Wider Water Footprint

In the many water-stressed regions where we operate, Abbott recognizes the role we can play in helping to educate local communities to better manage their water supplies. We are focused on helping communities with water conservation, starting with a water audit assessment, followed by consultations with experts from Abbott and from external nongovernmental organizations who can help develop a timeline to meet water use reduction goals. In 2008, for example, Abbott began working with the Project Wet International Foundation to develop an approach for use at Abbott manufacturing sites in water-scarce areas, such as Casa Grande, Arizona; Campoverde, Italy; and Singapore.

Improving Access to Water

Our comprehensive water strategy focuses on three key areas:

• Improving our operations and product design;
• Assessing and mitigating risks to our business due to regional water stress;
• Facilitating access to high-quality water in global communities.

Position statement on access to water

We implemented new information technology to enable the evaluation of water-related risks at our manufacturing sites and to plan our water-management strategy accordingly. Moving forward, we will collaborate with our businesses and stakeholders to identify water conservation projects, especially in water-stressed regions where we have manufacturing operations.