CooperCompanies Publishes 2023 ESG Report, Highlighting Efforts To Drive Positive Change for People and the Planet
CooperCompanies (“Cooper”) (Nasdaq: COO) today released its 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report showcasing progress on enhancing the health and wellness of people around the world while protecting the planet and serving its communities.
CooperCompanies made significant investments in learning and development programs for global employees, maintained its commitment to protect the planet, and continued making its leading healthcare solutions more accessible in underserved communities.
“We are most innovative when we leverage synergies across our ESG priorities,” said Al White, President and CEO of CooperCompanies. “We believe in the importance of sustainability and are pursuing a future in which everything we create mutually reinforces the wellbeing of people and planet.”
The 2023 ESG Report includes expanded and updated ESG performance data and highlights the Company’s efforts to drive positive change for people and the planet. The report is aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards, a leading framework that identifies important ESG topics most relevant to investors.
Key highlights from the report:
People + Planet
We enhance the health and wellness of people around the world, while doing our part to protect the planet and serve our communities.
- Scored 100 on the Human Right Campaign’s 2023 Corporate Equality Index
- Named to the Top 20 Global Inspiring Workplaces and the Top 10 North American Inspiring Workplaces
- CooperVision Puerto Rico received the President’s Award for workplace safety
- More than 2,000 employees participate in our employee resource groups
- Women received 49% of management-level promotions and made up 49% of our global workforce
- Launched our Generation Sight initiative to bridge myopia management access disparities among children in the U.S. and train the next generation of optometry care providers
- In 2023, CooperVision sites in Puerto Rico and Costa Rica achieved LEED Gold certification; 8 of CooperCompanies’ facilities are LEED® or BREEAM® certified
- Received our first Zero Waste Facility certification at our CooperVision Distribution and Packaging Center in West Henrietta, diverting more than 90% of waste from landfill
- Prevented 6.9 kilograms of plastic waste from entering the ocean since the start of our partnership with Plastic Bank [1]
- 100% renewable electricity sourcing at all CooperVision facilities in New York and the United Kingdom
Governance
Adherence to high standards of ethics, compliance and accountability provides long-term value for our stakeholders.
- Employee engagement is now a KPI for all executives
- 50% Board gender diversity
- Launched the Speak Up awareness campaign, highlighting the responsibility of all employees to speak up if they observe or suspect misconduct
- Three ESG organizational bodies, including our Executive Leadership, our ESG Team, and a dedicated ESG Cross-Functional Project Team; the Board of Directors oversees ESG topics
Read more in the Cooper 2023 ESG Report.
About CooperCompanies
CooperCompanies (Nasdaq: COO) is a leading global medical device company focused on improving lives one person at a time. The Company operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision is a trusted leader in the contact lens industry, improving the vision of millions of people every day. CooperSurgical is a leading fertility and women's health company dedicated to assisting women, babies and families at the healthcare moments that matter most. Headquartered in San Ramon, CA, CooperCompanies ("Cooper") has a workforce of more than 15,000 with products sold in over 130 countries. For more information, please visit www.coopercos.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This media release contains “forward-looking statements,” as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements relating to guidance, plans, prospects, goals, strategies, future actions, events or performance, and other statements, of which are other than statements of historical fact, including all statements, regarding planned ESG programs, and goals, the anticipated impact of ESG activities, and product and technology plans, are forward-looking. To identify these statements, look for words like “believes,” “outlook,” “probable,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “seeks,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” or “anticipates,” and similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements necessarily depend on assumptions, data, or methods that may be incorrect or imprecise and are subject to risks and uncertainties.
Among the factors that could cause our actual results and future actions to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements are: Adverse changes in the global or regional general business, political, and economic conditions, including the impact of continuing uncertainty and instability of certain countries, man-made or natural disasters that could adversely affect our global markets, and the potential adverse economic impact and related uncertainty caused by these items; the impact of international conflicts and the global response to international conflicts on the global economy, European economy, financial markets, energy markets, currency rates, and our ability to supply product to, or through, affected countries; our substantial and expanding international operations and the challenges of managing an organization spread throughout multiple countries and complying with a variety of legal, compliance, and regulatory requirements; compliance costs and potential liability in connection with U.S., and foreign laws and healthcare regulations pertaining to privacy and security of personal information; a major disruption in the operations of our manufacturing, accounting, and financial reporting, research, and development, distribution facilities or raw material supply chain; disruptions in supplies of raw materials, particularly components used to manufacture our silicone hydrogel lenses; new U.S. and foreign government laws and regulations, and changes in existing laws, regulations, and enforcement guidance, which affect areas of our operations including, but not limited to, those affecting the healthcare industry; new competitors, product innovations or technologies; reduced sales, loss of customers, and costs and expenses related to product recalls and warning letters; failure to receive, or delays in receiving, regulatory approvals or certifications for products; costs and expenses and the risk of an adverse decision, prohibitive injunction or settlement related to product liability, patent infringement, contractual disputes or other litigation; risks related to ESG issues, including those related to climate change and sustainability; and other events described in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the “Business,” “Risk Factors,” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023.
We caution investors that forward-looking statements reflect our analysis only on their stated date. We disclaim any intent to update them except as required by law.
[1] Data from April 15, 2024. For calculation purposes, Plastic Bank uses the measurement of 50 bottles equating to 1kg (2.2 pounds) of plastic.
Contact:
Kim Duncan
CooperCompanies
