At Eastman Chemical, sustainability drives the innovation of new products. By watching trends in consumer behavior, emerging markets, and new technologies Eastman has created new product lines that meet customer demands for sustainable alternatives.
Godefroy Motte is Senior Vice President, responsible for the Integrated Supply Chain, and Chief Regional and Sustainability Officer for Eastman Chemical Company. Motte joined Eastman in 1985 in Paris, France where his early career focused on the commercial and product side of chemicals and polymers. Throughout his career, Godfrey has gained a wealth of experience relevant to sustainability, having led the European Chemical Association (CEFIC) Responsible Care® Programme as well as Eastman’s participation in REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals). He is also currently a member of the ACOM Board of the European Chemical Association (CEFIC), The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the Advisory Board of the Rotterdam School of Management.
What trends are you watching that might help Eastman grow its business?
Sustainability is a micro-trend that is driving our industry. We know that people want to buy products that are healthy and we can be part of the solution by providing products that meet consumer needs.
There are four important trends we are watching and developing solutions for: health and wellness, the emerging middle class, energy efficiency, and feeding the world’s growing population.
In the Health and Wellness sector, we need to build products that extend basic needs to the world in a way that is safe and affordable, while being sustainable.
With the emerging middle class, we need to help add to the level of quality and comfort in products that are accessible to them. When consumers have more money, they tend to spend on better quality products. Finding that level of quality and comfort while building a sustainable solution is important for us.
Energy efficiency is another macro-trend. There are a multitude of products of interlayer film on glass. We can improve measurements like heat transfer in glass and improve energy efficiency with our products. This type of glass has many applications, like controlling heat in the Middle East, reducing consumption of gasoline, and saving trees.
Feeding the world’s growing population is another priority at Eastman. Recently, we acquired a company called Taminco which provides products that protect food and feedstock. Crop protection is a major concern.
What are some examples of Eastman’s overall impact when looking at the value chain?
Eastman’s corporate profile has shifted over the past two years from commodity to become a more specialty chemical company. As our business strategy has evolved, our sustainability strategy has evolved. We’ve become an active voice in the chemical industry as well as other industries looking to improve sustainability. For example, we are working downstream with brands and retailers which gives us insight to consumer needs and behaviors. We now have a valued partner in terms of education and awareness of material regulation and alternative solutions. Our internal Life Cycle Assessment group has completed work that resulted in a change in regulations on solvent-borne automotive coatings in China, and we are seen as a leader in energy management, along with that we are sharing best practices across industry sectors as a result of being named an EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year three consecutive years.
Why did Eastman create a Sustainability Council and how does the council operate?
We established the Innovation & Sustainability Council in 2010. It was our goal to provide guidance and guarantee focus throughout the company in order to embed sustainability across Eastman. As Eastman’s Sustainability and Innovation efforts continued to develop and increase, we made the decision to branch into separate councils, with cross-representation on both councils. For example, Eastman’s Chief Technology officer sits on both Councils.
The Sustainability Council continues to provide direction on all corporate sustainability investments. The Council ensures alignment of the company’s sustainability strategy with the corporate strategy, leveraging sustainability as a key driver of innovation and growth. The Council also enables and empowers employees to work on sustainability projects and serves as an advocate for sustainability internally and externally. The Council meets quarterly and consists of four executive team members and three vice presidents. It is structured as one governing body with four sub-council teams representing the four focus areas of the Council: Trends-based Innovation, Design and Natural Resources, Environmental Stewardship, and Societal. The Council works closely with each sub-council to provide governance and prioritization of corporate level sustainability issues and goals.
How have you embedded sustainability into the corporate culture and engaged employees?
When I talk about sustainability at Eastman, I often describe it as a journey. We’ve made tremendous progress in embedding sustainability into our corporate culture, but there are continued efforts to engage employees.
We have been successful in educating our employees through our Green Leader Training module. Over 100 employees have completed the 2-day training and more than 30 customer facing employees completed the online module. This helps them to understand how sustainability applies to their job.
In every office, we have Sustainability Ambassador Teams. The first teams were established in Europe and Latin America, we are now working toward a full North American team. This helps us to roll out new tools to our employee and use our strategy to align business opportunities in the region.
We have 20 volunteer Green Teams worldwide helping to communicate sustainability initiatives and manage sustainability projects at their sites.
Currently, for example, we launched an internal campaign to share sustainability stories on a personal level. We’ve developed posters, banners, digital signs, and various other pieces of collateral featuring an Eastman employee and a brief summary of something he/she is involved in that falls under sustainability. It’s fresh and engaging.
Are there particular initiatives that Eastman is engaged in that are top priority? Are you engaged in industry forums to help drive change?
Eastman is an active member and participant in a number of advocacy programs and organizations in the sustainability realm. The company is working across different industries to create – or participate in existing – programs that are truly focused on identifying solutions that will improve sustainability. To say one is the most important is difficult. We have a comprehensive list of these organizations in our sustainability report. With that said, Responsible Care is certainly a cornerstone for Eastman. We have been an active leader in Responsible Care® for 25 years. It is the foundation of our corporate Health, Safety, Environment and Security (HSES) strategy and is integrated into the way we operate facilities and conduct business worldwide.
Together for Sustainability is also a crucial new program for Eastman. (Here’s a link to the TfS website, and here’s a link to a story on Eastman’s decision to join). It’s worth restating that Eastman is the first American company to join the initiative and the company is positioned to continue its support of the UNGC and GRI principles while identifying new ways to collaborate with leaders in various stages of the value chain to influence a change in the marketplace. This program is really raising the bar across the supply chain. It started in Europe, and developed a very high set of standards for suppliers. These include labor, environmental, health and safety, ethics, and governance.
Sustainability is a global concern. How does Eastman participate in efforts at the international level?
Eastman is an active member of The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). As part of our involvement, we are collaborating with other leading corporations to develop a framework for action — from Vision 2050 to Action2020. This framework is designed to rally the efforts of businesses to deliver economic, environmental and social promises made by Vision 2050. Vision 2050 is WBCSD’s tool for thought leadership and a platform for beginning the movement toward a more sustainable future. WBCSD is one of the organizations we use to create collaboration across the value chain. To be a leader in sustainability, you need to be part of the solution and you need to innovate to bring better products to market.
Eastman is also part of a subgroup of global chemical companies that are collaborating on a WBCSD project called Reaching Full Potential. Eastman is a member of the UN Global Compact and supports the 10 principles of the Compact. I’m also pleased that Eastman has just announced we are the first US-based company to join Together for Sustainability, a procurement-led initiative established by European-based multinational companies to drive improvements in sustainable procurement.
How might a chemical company become a leader in sustainability?
For Eastman, sustainability is about showing the company’s heart and brain. Rather than focusing only on environmental impact, we pay attention to how sustainability can help us create better products. The chemical industry is enabling that movement by taking a leadership role in embracing and applying that concept. This is particularly interesting because the chemical industry typically has a negative connotation connected to it when it comes to sustainability. But in reality, we can be the drivers of change through our work. We can drive innovation and enable the development of products with a better impact. That creates value across the full value chain.
Bio:
Kelly Eisenhardt is Co-Founder and Managing Director at BlueCircle Advisors, an environmental compliance and sustainability consulting and training firm based in Massachusetts (www.bluecircleadvisors.com.) In her role at BlueCircle Advisors, she is responsible for providing business intelligence, strategy and implementation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk programs. Her experience aligns well with her client’s needs for technology, compliance, and sustainability expertise by helping companies create and manage their corporate environmental and social responsibility programs.
To contact Kelly Eisenhardt, send emails to kelly.eisenhardt@bluecircleadvisors.com or follow her on Twitter @KelEisenhardt. For more information about BlueCircle Advisors and the company’s products and services, please visit www.bluecircleadvisors.com, on Facebook at BlueCircle Advisors, on Twitter @OurBlueCircle, and on the LinkedIn group at the BlueCircle Advisors group.