As we celebrate Earth Day this Sunday, April 22, we’re all thinking of ways we can reduce our environmental impact and help sustain our planet for the future. On this Earth Day, I wanted to share just a few of the many efforts across the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies to reduce our impact on the environment. It’s a commitment that’s not only reflected in Our Credo, it’s one that’s constantly brought home to me as an employee at our World Headquarters facility when I see the array of solar panels here on our campus in New Brunswick, or shop at the Farmer’s Market that visits our campus once a week during the spring and summer months to offer locally-grown fruits and vegetables to employees. Commitment to the environment is a central tenet of Johnson & Johnson’s responsibility to the community. In 1947, decades before sustainability was on most people’s radar, General Robert Wood Johnson, who was Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson at that time, wrote:
“We must use our resources wisely, avoiding waste of both raw materials and scrap, while we seek substitutes for things already in short supply. We must employ replaceable materials where we can, must let forests restore themselves as we cut, must prevent loss and pollution of water, and must halt wasteful erosion of soil…Sound business demands their employment, just as it demands reduction of waste in a factory or store. (Or Forfeit Freedom, by Robert Wood Johnson, Doubleday & Company, Garden City, New York, 1947, pp. 37-38)
Today, we have a wide variety of efforts across the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies to use recycled materials, reduce packaging, make our buildings and workplaces greener through the use of solar energy and many other efforts to reduce our environmental impact. Here’s a really creative way to re-use lipstick packaging from our consumer business:
And here’s a story about our efforts to increase the sustainable use of palm oil, a valuable natural resource.
Here’s a time lapse video of the installation of solar panels at one of our operating companies in New Jersey. It’s one of the largest solar panel arrays in the state:
At our operating companies, our EARTHWARDS™ program helps Johnson & Johnson operating companies understand and improve upon the environmental footprint of a product in the areas of materials use, waste reduction, water reduction, energy reduction, packaging, product innovation and positive social impact. To date, a number of products from our operating companies have earned EARTHWARDS™ designation, and the goal is to have at least 60 products in that category by 2015. Here’s a story about water conservation from one of our operating companies in India:
And here’s a story from our consumer company in Brazil about how they made packaging for BAND-AID® Brand Adhesive Bandages more sustainable:
If you’re interested in reading more about our commitment to the environment and our sustainability efforts, there’s more information on jnj.com’s Protecting the Environment section and on our Responsibility site.