Promega surpasses all environmental improvement goals set for 2020

Promega Corporation has surpassed all its environmental improvement goals set for the end of 2020, and achieved absolute reductions in key sustainability metrics, according to the company’s newly released Corporate Responsibility Report. The annual report details the global biotech manufacturer’s outcomes from the previous year in the areas of employee well-being, community support and environmental sustainability.

Promega Corporation surpassed all environmental improvement goals set for the end of 2020, according to the biotech manufacturer's newly released 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Reductions and goals, indexed to revenue and over a 2015 baseline, include:

• Carbon emissions – 13% reduction (goal was 10%)
• Electricity usage – 5% reduction (goal was 2%)
• Water usage – 27% reduction (goal was 15%)
• Distribution emissions – 6% reduction (goal was 5%)
• Natural gas usage – 12% reduction (goal was 10%)
• Waste – 15% reduction (goal was 10%)

Even with an increase in building footprint globally, Promega also realized absolute reductions in electricity, natural gas and water usage in 2019. These reductions are equal to charging 47 million smartphones, using 2,000 outdoor natural gas grills and washing 348,000 loads of dishes in a dishwasher.

Employees are really driving this effort. Individuals across the company globally are recognizing ways to be more efficient in how we use energy and resources, ship our products and engage with customers. It’s this heightened awareness and synergy that’s propelling an immense amount of progress toward meeting our environmental sustainability goals.”

Corey Meek, Promega Corporate Responsibility Program Lead

Other initiatives and outcomes featured in the 2020 Promega Corporate Responsibility Report include:

• Promega launched the ‘Ship Ambient’ project in 2019 to reduce packaging weight, size and the need for foam coolers without impacting product performance. The first phase saved 12,700 kg of dry ice, avoided 32 metric tons of carbon dioxide, and eliminated more than 3,000 EPS coolers.
• The company’s largest solar array was installed on the newly renovated Feynman parking ramp in 2019. It will quadruple current renewable energy production.
• Promega made significant progress on global expansion initiatives, completing construction on two facilities in Europe and entering the final phases of construction on two facilities in Wisconsin. Each building is designed to meet ambitious sustainability goals, and innovations incorporated into one project inform the next.
• Promega awarded $2,000 each in reagent sponsorships to ten teams participating in the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition that encourages education, collaboration, and the advancement of synthetic biology. Promega branches and distributors in Spain, Singapore, Germany, Japan, Israel, France, Switzerland, North America and the Netherlands also sponsored teams.
• The company continued to grow programs that teach and support principles of emotional and social intelligence (ESI) to help employees improve relationships, manage stress and solve problems creatively.

Promega has integrated corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices since its founding in 1978. For the last 12 years, the company’s annual Corporate Responsibility Report has documented how Promega continues to align these practices with positive social, environmental and business outcomes. Read the entire 2020 Corporate Responsibility Report PDF here. Explore highlights of the report at www.promega.com/responsibility.