Linda Casey

March 11, 2015

3 Min Read
Johnson & Johnson reports on sustainable packaging progress


As 2011 marks the 125th year of Johnson & Johnson, the company announced the launch of Healthy Future 2015, a five-year strategic roadmap for its citizenship and sustainability priorities. Healthy Future 2015 encompasses the broadest and boldest goals to date for Johnson & Johnson in both environmental and non-environmental areas. Johnson & Johnson also reported on its performance towards the company's Healthy Planet 2010 Goals, a set of targets focused on carbon reduction, water use, paper and packaging, waste reduction, compliance and external manufacturing, among others.


The Healthy Planet 2010 goals were introduced by Johnson & Johnson in 2006, to "maintain in good order the property we are privileged to use, protecting the environment and natural resources." Here's how Johnson & Johnson evaluated its performance on its paper and packaging goals:

 

Paper and Packaging
Goal: Eliminate PVC in primary, secondary and tertiary packaging in the Consumer sector.* Eliminate PVC in secondary and tertiary packaging in Medical Devices and Diagnostics (MD&D) and Pharmaceutical sectors.

Actual: Since 2005, we have achieved significant PVC packaging reductions:
MD&D: 100 percent reduction in secondary and tertiary PVC packaging.
Pharmaceuticals: 78 percent reduction in secondary and tertiary PVC packaging.
Consumer Products: 87 percent reduction in primary, secondary and tertiary PVC packaging during the goal period; 99.6 percent of all consumer packaging is now PVC-free.*

*Does not include the Consumer sector's over-the- counter drug products in blister packages.

Goal: 90 percent of office paper and 75 percent of paper-based packaging will contain more than 30 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) content or fiber from certified forests by 2010.

Actual: Achieved. 97 percent of packaging and 92 percent of office paper contain more than 30 percent PCR content or fiber from certified forests.


With Healthy Future 2015, Johnson & Johnson aims to help address global health needs with goals ranging from targeting affordable access to HIV and TB therapies for populations in some of the least-developed countries of the world, to donating medicines for treating intestinal worms in more than 30 countries where prevalence is high. These targets align with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the company's commitments to date.

As human health and well-being is firmly linked to a healthy planet, environmental stewardship continues to be a core focus area for Johnson & Johnson sustainability. Aggressive absolute reduction targets of greenhouse gas emissions, water usage and waste disposal are supplemented by product stewardship goals that will help the company strive to introduce at least 60 products that meet the company's rigorous sustainability innovation criteria. Suppliers are also being recruited to play their part in achieving Healthy Future 2015 goals.

To provide ongoing transparency on Healthy Future 2015 and other initiatives, Johnson & Johnson has launched a new Responsibility website, www.jnj.com/responsibility, an online portal that covers more than 100 aspects of the company's citizenship and sustainability commitments and priorities; policies and practices; achievements and challenges; and goals and related performance.

"Today the world is facing a number of complex social and environmental challenges, from the millions of people around the world who lack access to adequate healthcare and medicines, to the rising global demand for natural resources in the face of a burgeoning population," says William C. Weldon, the company's chairman, board of directors and CEO. "Whether it's the private, public or nonprofit sector, we must all play a role, preferably in collaboration, to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for generations to come."

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