Kodak Renews its Commitment to the Environment and Global Community
Recently Kodak renewed its commitment to the company’s social and environmental performance by publishing a series of Corporate Responsibility Goals. Corporate responsibility is not a new priority at Kodak, and its commitment to issues such as environmental stewardship, diversity and inclusion, workplace safety, philanthropy and volunteerism can be traced back for generations.
According to Dick Szembrot, Kodak’s Director of Health, Safety and Environment, publicly identifying corporate responsibility objectives, and measuring the company’s performance against them, is a powerful way to focus Kodak’s efforts and concentrate on its most critical priorities:
ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS (compared to 2016 baseline)
- Approach zero waste at Kodak sites worldwide – 99% overall waste diversion from landfill and incineration by 2025
- Reduce GHG emissions from worldwide operations by 25% by 2025
- Reduce water consumption by 25% from worldwide Kodak operations by 2025
- Enable Kodak customers to reduce water and energy consumption through innovative products
- Triple the quantity of spent solvents recovered by Kodak from external sources by 2025
As a global manufacturer, we have a role to play as a good environmental steward. In recent years, we’ve tried to align very closely to the G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, disclosing our most critical impacts on the environment – and working hard to divert waste from landfills through recycling and reuse of materials; reducing water consumption; and minimizing our greenhouse gas emissions.
We also see a growing demand for resource-efficient solutions to help our print industry customers – and those they serve – lower their environmental footprint. Products such as KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates and energy-efficient CTPs not only enable our print customers to meet their sustainability goals, but also to be more efficient and profitable. Kodak is committed to continued innovation in sustainable products that meet these criteria.
In addition, Kodak has applied its legacy in film manufacturing to become a commercial service provider in solvent recovery. Based on existing equipment and technology, Kodak takes spent solvents and by-products from external manufacturers and returns these materials to near virgin specifications, creating a quality, remanufactured solvent intended for use in production applications.
SOCIAL GOALS (compared to 2016 baseline)
- Achieve 25% reduction in Occupational Injury Rate by 2025
- Maintain 100% Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC) Index score and continue to be included on the organization’s list of ‘Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality’ each year
- Empower employees to support local communities through philanthropy and employee volunteerism by doubling the number of hours that Kodak enables its employees to pursue volunteer efforts in the community by 2025 (US and Canada)
- Maintain employee community service engagement in 100% of communities in which Kodak operates worldwide
- Engage employees in building a culture reflecting our Values of Creativity, Sustainability, Global and Trust, and energize individual and organizational productivity
Historically Kodak has always been very socially conscious, going all the way back to our founder George Eastman. Eastman was one of the first employers of his generation to establish a safety committee and offer his employees things such as an annual bonus and a free dental program. He was also one of the biggest philanthropists of his time, gifting approximately $2 billion of his personal wealth to medical/health philanthropy, music, education and diversity.
Today, Kodak remains committed to driving improvements in workforce safety, in continuing to be a diverse and inclusive workplace and encouraging employees to participate in the world around them. Our vision is to provide an environment where all employees are engaged, committed to being creative and sustainable, while having a global view.
Having Corporate Responsibility Goals that have been approved at the highest levels of the company – and being public about them – should assure all our stakeholders we are committed to continued improvement of our performance. From both a social and environmental standpoint, this is important work which will ultimately create more value for our customers, our employees and our communities.