Putting Purpose into Action: Environmental Stewardship

The health of our planet is vital to the health of society and the patients we serve. For years, we’ve been committed to reducing our use of natural resources and investing in renewables to sustainably power our operations and promote environmental stewardship. Today, it’s more important than ever that we acknowledge and plan for the challenges caused by climate change. That is why we have set a goal to be carbon neutral in our operations by FY30. This milestone will increase the resilience, longevity, and sustainability of our business as we continue to improve patient health.

To achieve this, we aim to:

• Offset 800,000 megawatt (MW) hours per year with renewable energy
• Offset 250,000 tons of CO2 per year
• Cut our carbon emissions over the next decade by an amount that is approximately equal to how much would be generated by 80,000 U.S. homes over the same time period

In FY20, we not only achieved, but surpassed, all five of our 2020 environmental intensity targets from a FY13 baseline, reducing:

• Energy by 23%, beating our target of 15%
• Greenhouse gas emissions by 36%, far exceeding our goal of 15%
• Non-regulated waste by 32%, going beyond our goal of 15%
• Regulated waste by 13%, beating our target of 10%
• Water by 20%, doubling our goal of 10%

We accomplished today’s goals, but we know we can do more for our shared future. We’ve set even more ambitious targets for 2025 from our FY20 baseline, including: 

• 20% reduction in energy intensity 
• 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity 
• 50% of our energy sourced from renewable and clean sources
• 15% reduction in water intensity 
• 15% reduction in waste intensity 

We remain committed to growing our business sustainably, in a way that will have a positive impact on the company and the environment. To prove this, we implemented 79 eco-efficiency projects that will save Medtronic more than 20,000 MWh of energy and $2.8 million per year. In 2020, we generated 12% of our electricity onsite, and in 2021 we expect to bring an additional 67,000 MWh of low-carbon capacity online across 40 additional technology projects, like solar, cogeneration, and fuel cells. Learn more about how Medtronic is saving energy and reducing our operational carbon footprint.

We also strive to limit the environmental impact of our products. We recycle, refurbish, and reprocess Medtronic products at the end of their lifecycle when appropriate. In 2020 alone, we collected more than six million used products and diverted 250 metric tons of waste from going into landfills. We also are working to advance sustainable packaging. This year, we supported CB², a collaborative university-led group, to research options for bio-based packaging for future Medtronic products.

Environmental stewardship is a shared responsibility, and we are committed to providing lifesaving technology while also reducing our environmental footprint.

Learn more.