Policies, Standards & Management

Environment, Health and Safety Policy

We have updated our Global EHS Policy to achieve these objectives:

• Foster a work environment that promotes employee health and productivity and is ultimately free of injuries;
• Improve the efficiency and sustainability of our business activities and products, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste;
• Require contractors working on behalf of Abbott to conform to regulatory requirements and meet applicable internal EHS standards;
• Integrate sound EHS practices consistent with our management system into all aspects of the business, maintaining legal compliance; and
• Establish goals and strategies for the enterprise and report publicly on our progress.

Energy and Water Policies

EHS has outlined two key sets of commitments in the following documents:

Energy Policy

This outlines a number of aggressive and significant goals to further reduce our environmental footprint, including the commitment to a carbon-neutral fleet and to dramatically reduce our overall CO₂ emissions.

Position Paper on Access to Water

This details Abbott's commitments to improve access to clean water in communities around the globe as well as our own commitment to reduce and manage efficiently the company's water use.

EHS Standards

We have clear, consistent policies and standards requiring that we operate in a manner that protects human health and the environment. Our global standards include technical program requirements, metrics and audit and reporting mechanisms that serve as a baseline expectation for EHS performance worldwide. Every Abbott plant implements a plan based on these standards and is evaluated regularly.

Our management standards set minimum requirements in the following areas:

• EHS Policy and Program;
• Strategic Planning;
• Self Assessment/Risk Assessment;
• Business Integration;
• Training and Awareness;
• Communication and Information;
• Performance Measures;
• Assurance Reviews; and
• EHS Global Standards.

These technical standards allow Abbott to have consistent technical expectations in all our manufacturing operations around the world.

EHS Technical Standards

EHS Management, Performance & Training

Improving our performance requires clear lines of accountability and senior-level leadership and support. We have multiple levels of EHS management oversight within businesses and across the company. The Vice President for Global Engineering Services, a corporate officer, reviews metrics, key programs and progress with the Chairman and CEO on a regular basis.

We recognize that continuously improving our EHS performance demands clear lines of accountability and senior-level leadership and support. The following groups implement our EHS programs and initiatives:

• EHS Executive Council: This body sets priorities for all Abbott plants, and makes resources available to meet local needs. Chaired by a corporate officer, the council consists of our heads of manufacturing and senior EHS executives.
• Commercial EHS Executive Council: This council sets and implements EHS goals and objectives for our sales operations around the world. A corporate officer chairs this group.
• EHS Leadership Team: This group develops and implements programs and actions that are consistent with the priorities set by the EHS Executive Council and the Commercial EHS Executive Council. This team meets regularly to share best practices and discuss EHS issues with companywide implications. This group also builds awareness of EHS performance, promotes our EHS and Energy Excellence Awards, supports EHS training and conferences, and communicates our pollution-prevention and injury-reduction initiatives.

Property Remediation

Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund, we have been identified as one of many potentially responsible parties in investigations at 13 locations in the United States, none of which are owned or operated by Abbott, for releases of materials into the environment. At four of these locations, there has been no involvement on the part of Abbott, and we believe that we have no liability at those locations. We also are engaged in remediation at five other locations, some of which are owned by Abbott, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or similar agencies. While it is not feasible to predict with certainty the final costs related to these investigations and remedial activities, we believe that such costs should not have a materially adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows or operations.

Waste Management

All vendors responsible for the management of Abbott-generated waste are expected to meet minimum requirements in areas such as compliance, financial assurance, inventory control/record keeping, facility design/operating conditions and permission, among others. Vendors who do not meet these standards are not permitted to do business with our company. Substandard waste management firms are identified through the implementation of Abbott's waste vendor assessment program. This includes periodic on-site evaluations and documentation reviews to help ensure that only appropriately qualified and responsible vendors are permitted to manage Abbott waste. Our approach helps us to quickly identify emerging issues and resolve problems in a timely fashion.

Managing Potentially Hazardous Materials

Abbott's Process Safety Management Program is aimed at preventing the consequences of incidents involving hazardous materials used in our manufacturing processes. In 2006, we refined our long-range plan to help ensure consistent implementation of the systems necessary for process-safety in each Abbott division. We conducted more than 80 process hazard analyses at our sites around the world. Additionally, communication between our sites has improved through the use of online training, working committees to exchange ideas and the deployment of technical guidelines.

Global EHS Audits

Abbott's Global EHS audit function systematically evaluates our EHS-related performance and compliance status. These periodic assessments serve several purposes, including identifying significant risks to employees, the environment and the company; fostering continuous improvement; developing staff expertise; and promoting knowledge transfer. Abbott facilities are typically audited once every 36 months to assess compliance with regulatory and internal requirements. If noncompliant situations are found, audited facilities are responsible for developing and implementing action plans, which are tracked through completion.

To ensure compliance with internal Abbott Global EHS Management and Technical Standards, Abbott EHS professionals have partnered with commercial management to complete formal on-site EHS GAP assessments. During these assessments, affiliates are provided with compliance tools and implementation resources designed to ensure sustainable compliance and program improvement.

During 2008, Abbott conducted 28 environmental site audits, compared with 24 in 2007, placing greater emphasis on our manufacturing facilities outside the United States.