DEERFIELD, Ill., April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a keynote address today to nearly 600 attendees at the 2007 Ceres Conference in Boston, Baxter Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Parkinson, Jr. emphasized the important role that corporations are playing in advancing solutions to such global challenges as climate change and access to healthcare. Parkinson announced in his remarks that Baxter has committed to continue to incorporate renewable energy sources into its sustainability strategy and encourage greater access to green power sources in the future.
“Our position as a healthcare company has a strong connection to our responsibility to help protect the environment,” said Parkinson. “We’re in the business of promoting health. We recognize that the health of the planet affects the health of the people who inhabit it, so we work toward improving both.”
Specifically, in recent weeks Baxter has purchased Green-e certified renewable energy certificates equivalent to the 15.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity used on an annual basis at its corporate headquarters campus located in Deerfield, Illinois. Baxter purchased these renewable energy certificates from Baltimore-based Constellation NewEnergy, which in turn purchases clean renewable wind energy from a network of wind power generators across the country. While the facility does not directly receive power supplied by these wind power generators, the company’s investment in renewable energy certificates provides an economic incentive for these power generators to increase the supply of clean, renewable energy to the electric grid in other parts of the country.
“Baxter’s approach to climate change is multifaceted, with energy conservation as the cornerstone,” Parkinson said. “We have achieved significant reductions in energy usage over the last decade through a variety of facility-based initiatives.”
Parkinson noted that a number of Baxter facilities use alternative or renewable energy, such as solar, biodiesel and biomass, but some of these initiatives are not currently practical at the company’s headquarters campus.
“We can take a leadership role in other ways, like purchasing renewable energy certificates,” he said. “We believe it sends a strong message about the importance and growing demand for renewable energy sources.”
Baxter’s headquarters campus in north suburban Chicago covers 100 acres, and includes 654,000 square feet of office space housing approximately 1,500 employees. Baxter’s headquarters campus relies on electricity for 98% of its energy needs, which will be offset through the purchase of the renewable energy certificates. An additional 2% of Baxter’s energy use at its headquarters campus comes from natural gas. To offset the emissions associated with Baxter’s natural gas use, the company has purchased credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange. The Chicago Climate Exchange enables companies to trade their greenhouse gas emissions through a voluntary, legally binding, emissions-trading market. Baxter was one of the founding members of the Chicago Climate Exchange.
The combination of purchasing Green-e certified renewable energy certificates to offset 100% of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the Deerfield campus’ electricity use and offsetting the emissions associated with the facility’s natural gas use creates what is known as a “carbon neutral” facility. Baxter’s investments in alternative fuel sources through the purchase of renewable energy certificates on behalf of its headquarters campus will keep more than 11,600 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere on an annual basis. This amount is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions of 2,172 passenger cars per year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Baxter’s purchase of 15.5 million kilowatt hours also equates to the amount of electricity needed to power more than 1,257 average American homes annually.
In his remarks today at the Ceres annual conference, Parkinson also emphasized the bottom-line benefit of increasing corporate focus on sustainability.
“As global corporations increasingly play a greater role in addressing sustainability issues, they are changing how they operate in fundamental ways. Sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are closely intertwined and reinforcing. The sooner we all recognize this, the better -- for business and society,” he said.
“More U.S. companies realize that climate change is an enormous business issue that they need to manage immediately,” said Mindy S. Lubber, Ceres president. “Companies like Baxter realize that we need to act proactively to advance solutions to global environmental and social challenges, and that doing so makes good business sense.”
Ceres is a leading coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change.
To view the full text of Parkinson’s keynote remarks, see http://www.baxter.com/about_baxter/news_room/speeches_events/2007/2007_04_25_c eres_parkinson.html.
Baxter’s commitment to sustainability spans nearly three decades. The company has been recognized by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens in the United States. Baxter is a member of the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, the Business Environmental Leadership Council of the Pew Center on Global Climate Exchange, the Chicago Climate Exchange, the U.S. EPA’s Climate Leaders, the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association and Hospitals for a Healthy Environment. Baxter endorses the Ceres principles and is an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative. To learn more about Baxter’s sustainability initiatives, please visit http://www.baxter.com/sustainability.
Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, assists healthcare professionals and their patients with the treatment of complex medical conditions, including hemophilia, immune disorders, cancer, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma and other conditions. The company applies its expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to make a meaningful difference in patients’ lives.
Baxter International Inc.
CONTACT: Media, Deborah Spak, +1-847-948-2349, or Tom Kline,+1-847-948-2251; Investors, Mary Kay Ladone, +1-847-948-3371, or ClareTrachtman, +1-847-948-3085, all of Baxter International Inc.
Web site: http://www.baxter.com/
