Product Stewardship

We are revising product features and design to limit the adverse environmental effects in the manufacturing, storage, distribution and disposal of our products throughout their lifecycle. We are doing so through improvements in the sustainability of our product packaging, our manufacturing and our distribution processes to minimize their environmental impact, and we are exploring options for reducing the environmental impacts of the ingredients we use.

Sustainable Packaging

Packaging is an integral part of the products we deliver. It protects our products from damage and contamination, helps ensure their safety, communicates essential product information to consumers and, with much of our more innovative packaging, makes the product easier for consumers to use. At the same time, our company recognizes that our product packaging affects the environment – through the resources required in its manufacture and through its ultimate disposal. The environmental impact of our packaging is further complicated by differing regulatory and safety requirements throughout the world, by the complex supply chains that go into making many of our products and by the fact that the ultimate decision as to how a package is disposed of rests with the consumer. In late 2007, we formed a team to address sustainable packaging, with representatives from all our business functions and divisions.

We are now developing sustainable packaging guidelines for use in designing packaging for all Abbott products, but in general our approach begins with designing packages that perform their essential functions while using less packaging material, whatever that material may be. Our initial goal is to reduce by five percent the amount of packaging used in key products by 2013. In 2008, we reduced the amount of plastic used in our reusable infant formula container by 15 percent.

Our guidelines also call for careful management in the use of certain ingredients, including PVC, Bisphenol A (BPA) and melamine, which have become matters of concern in recent years. While scientific understanding in this area is still evolving, we take a precautionary approach. We are committed to reducing its use, where possible, in our packaging.

In addition, we rigorously test our products and our product packaging, sharing our test results and our analytic tools with regulators around the world. We also screen our packaging suppliers, holding them to stringent quality requirements.

As in other parts of our business, Abbott actively engages with regulators around the world to share the scientific knowledge we gain, along with best practices as they apply to product packaging. We believe the development of scientific knowledge and best practices in our business must be a team effort, not just within Abbott but throughout our industry.

We are also looking for opportunities to purchase packaging materials from certified sustainable sources. Whenever possible, we use recycled or recyclable paperboard packaging for our products. In addition, all of the paper Abbott buys in the U.S. comes from sources meeting the certification standards of the Forestry Stewardship Council.

Abbott works with a number of industry and independent groups to better monitor our environmental performance in the area of sustainable packaging. These groups include the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (Europen).

We also pursue green purchasing goals with suppliers around the world, working with them in many cases to help raise their own sustainability performance.

Pharmaceuticals in the Environment

Because most Abbott pharmaceutical products contain no toxic chemicals, we believe their environmental impact to be minimal. Nonetheless, we continue to investigate the potential impact of key compounds, and we support improved product labeling to ensure that distributors and consumers of our pharmaceuticals dispose of all unused quantities properly and safely.

Our Green Chemistry program seeks to eliminate or reduce the amount and number of toxic substances used in developing and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. In 2007, a team of scientists was identified to facilitate the growth of the Green Chemistry program. The team created a system that will allow Green Chemistry metrics to be included and tracked when a compound enters the development process and will enable us to identify efficiencies and opportunities to reduce environmental impact.

In 2008, the team expanded to represent more areas of Global Pharmaceutical Research and Development. For example, we eliminated many chemical solvents in our processing, substituting water-based processes instead. We are also investigating manufacturing processes that are more energy efficient than existing processes—fermentation, for example—and we are scrutinizing many of the key ingredients in Abbott products to more fully assess their environmental impact throughout the manufacturing and product lifecycle. We also partnered with Teliosis Institute to pilot innovative solutions at the community level that will foster responsible disposal of unused pharmaceuticals.

Abbott's approach to protecting human health, safety and the environment is underpinned by rigorous standards, based on ISO 14001 environmental management standards. We also set regular performance improvement goals for ourselves. Abbott's Global Environment, Health and Safety Policy sets forth our key objectives.