Sanofi North America Highlights Commitment to a Healthy Planet In Recognition of Earth Day
One of the cornerstones of Sanofi’s Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy is creating and maintaining a Healthy Planet. Because the environment we live in directly affects our health, Sanofi cares for the planet by reducing our carbon, waste and water footprint. For instance, by 2020, Sanofi is committed to achieve a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions*, and a 25% reduction in water consumption, compared to 2010.
To achieve these goals, we focus on minimizing our company’s environmental footprint throughout our day-to-day operations in North America. Since 2014, we decreased waste to landfill by 20% and increased our recycling rate by 17%. Our distribution site in Taylor, PA achieved zero waste to landfill in August 2015. We also educate employees on how to maintain a “green” lifestyle and promote the green initiatives that our business and our partners engage in on a daily basis.
Earth Day 2017 gave our North American sites the opportunity to join the more than 1 billion people celebrating this annual event across the world. At Sanofi’s U.S. corporate headquarters in Bridgewater, NJ, employees participated in an Earth Day Expo organized by CSR and our Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) group. A variety of information tables were featured, underscoring eco-friendly activities of our colleagues, vendors and neighbors. Over 300 employees attended the event and learned about environmental sustainability initiatives led by HSE, sustainable local transportation and farm-to-table eating, green office supplies (available at Sanofi), green lighting practices, as well as our commitment to plant trees to offset annual paper consumption in North America. In addition, we hosted a volunteer project in which participants decorated flower pots and provided seed packets for the children who benefit from the services of The Center for Great Expectations.
Our other U.S. sites took part in their own Earth Day activities including hosting recycling events to advocate for the proper disposal of household items and office supplies, volunteer projects to clean up a park in association with the Sudbury Valley Trustees as well as the Charles River in Allston, MA, green transportation activities such as bicycle repairs and e-commuter programs as well as educating employees about sponsoring beehives at local apiaries to promote biodiversity. Many sites in Massachusetts also take part in the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe Program, which recycles old shoes and rubber products into new materials that are used as surfacing for playgrounds, running tracks, tennis and basketball courts. A tree-planting ceremony took place in our Toronto site, in honor of Earth Day, and to mark a donation of $14,089 to plant 6,289 trees in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
* reduction for the combined scope 1 and scope 2 CO2 emissions for industrial and R&D sites and sales force vehicles
