Improving Life Through Science – Responsibly

“We aim to improve the quality of life through science, so being committed to ‘Global Citizenship’ is in our DNA. We work to enable our employees, customers and the greater community to continue to benefit from these fundamental beliefs,” says Jeffrey Whitford, Director, Global Citizenship at Sigma-Aldrich.

“We are constantly finding new ways to increase the sustainability of our business from procurement to production to consumption by our customers. With a global environmental management system for all of our facilities, we have invaluable data that helps guide our decisions and investments to reach the next level of sustainability.”

“We aim to improve the quality of life through science, so being committed to ‘Global Citizenship’ is in our DNA. We work to enable our employees, customers and the greater community to continue to benefit from these fundamental beliefs,” says Jeffrey Whitford, Director, Global Citizenship at Sigma-Aldrich.

“We are constantly finding new ways to increase the sustainability of our business from procurement to production to consumption by our customers. With a global environmental management system for all of our facilities, we have invaluable data that helps guide our decisions and investments to reach the next level of sustainability.”

Shrinking the problem of waste

Sigma-Aldrich has improved transparency and reporting of waste generation through its local Environmental Health & Safety and Facilities teams, which has helped to identify opportunities for waste reduction or beneficial reuse. Sigma-Aldrich will soon announce the completion of its initial 20% waste intensity reduction target.

Sheri Williams, Facilities Team Leader, at the company’s Teutonia facility (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) says, “By 2012, our Teutonia facility in Milwaukee was Sigma-Aldrich’s main central distribution center, handling an increased volume of shipments from all around the world. This inevitably resulting in increased recycling volumes – almost four times the amount of cardboard, plus other waste materials.”

Sheri decided to focus on waste shrink-wrap. She partnered with a local waste provider to investigate possible ways to recycle shrink wrap since the company could not recycle it in-house. “After a very successful trial we now recycle more than 20 tonnes of shrink wrap each year.” This is just one example of the individual contributions employees are making to decrease our impact.

Acting on climate change

Sigma-Aldrich also recognizes the challenges that climate change poses. “We continue to make progress toward our 20 percent CO2 emissions intensity. We are working hard to mitigate annual increases and finding innovative ways to grow our business and manage our carbon footprint. We are about evaluating ground breaking technology to make our energy use more efficient and helping to reduce our impact,” said Whitford.

Water is another major issue for a large-scale company. Sigma-Aldrich has mapped each of its large production, R&D and distribution sites using the World Resources Institute Aqueduct tool and found limited risk, with facilities in high-risk areas requiring limited amounts of water for production. In fact, seventeen percent of the company’s sites are located in designated biodiversity hotspots, but they only account for 6.3 percent of its total CO2 emissions and three percent of total water use.

People make the difference

“The only sustainable way to earn the unwavering trust of our customers is by demanding a high standard of behavior and unquestionable integrity from every Sigma-Aldrich employee,” says Whitford.  “Continued honest and ethical business conduct is a cornerstone of our ‘One Company’ values – the articulation of our commitment to transparency, responsibility and compliance at all times.”

Nobody working for Sigma-Aldrich is above the law, and ethical violations are never acceptable. “A single violation by even one employee can cause great harm to our company’s reputation and ability to carry on our operations, and can compromise the work of many others,” says Whitford. “And, whenever there is any doubt about legal obligations or the appropriateness of conduct in any situation, employees have access to experts who can offer instruction or advice.”

Being socially responsible

Sigma-Aldrich has focused its philanthropic investments in three key areas: science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, scientific research, and economic development through science. These three key areas are also supported by Sigma-Aldrich employees through skills based volunteerism; local initiatives help build a growing network of projects that have a positive impact. In 2014, Sigma-Aldrich invested more than $2.2 million through cash investments and $1.9 million in product donations in the communities in which they maintain offices around the world. There were also 163 employee-led events (126 percent growth in activity since 2004), with employees donating time (13,689 hours – 70 percent increase) and money (US $234,000 – 17 percent growth).

Some charitable works involve collaborating with schools, community organizations, and other corporations to address the growing need for individuals proficient in STEM subjects. The company also supports research focused on diseases, greener chemistry and other areas of interest to its overall mission – “enabling science to improve the quality of life.”