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Eastman is ranked No. 21 in Fortune magazine's 2021 Change the World list, which recognizes companies that have a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy. Fortune identified Eastman as a company that is changing the world through advanced recycling technologies that process hard-to-recycle plastics and reduce the company's carbon footprint. One of the key factors Fortune uses to evaluate companies for impact is "measurable social impact," which carries extra weight in the magazine's evaluations. In determining the list, Fortune editors and writers use that factor to consider "the reach, nature and durability of the company's impact on one or more specific societal problems." Eastman was selected for the Change the World list because the company has innovated advanced recycling technologies that are processing hard-to-recycle plastics that have previously been destined for landfill, incineration or end up in the environment. Eastman has committed to recycle more than 250 million pounds of plastic waste annually by 2025.
JUST Capital, along with its media partner CNBC, released the annual JUST 100, recognizing Eastman for its commitment to address key environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues Americans care about most through its ongoing engagement with employees, customers, communities, the environment, and shareholders. The JUST 100 is the only ranking that honors companies doing right by all their stakeholders as defined by the American public. Through vigorous, objective analysis, JUST Capital, in partnership with CNBC, evaluates and celebrates U.S. corporations that outperform on the issues that matter most to the American public – such as creating jobs in the U.S., paying a fair, living wage, prioritizing accountability to all stakeholders, protecting worker health and safety, providing benefits and work-life balance, cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace, producing sustainable products, and protecting customer privacy.
Eastman has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2022 Corporate Equality Index, the nation's foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Eastman joins the ranks of over 840 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year. The results of the 2022 CEI showcase how 1,271 U.S.-based companies are not only promoting LGBTQ+-friendly workplace policies in the U.S., but also for the 56% of CEI-rated companies with global operations who are helping advance the cause of LGBTQ+ inclusion in workplaces abroad. Eastman's efforts in satisfying all of the CEI's criteria earned a 100 percent ranking and the designation as one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality. n 2002, the first year of the CEI, only 13 companies achieved a top-score, demonstrating the incredible impact the CEI has had on the business world over its 20-year life. This year's CEI reflects growth across every measurement category.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Eastman Board Chair and CEO Mark Costa will jointly announce Eastman's plan to invest up to $1 billion in a material-to-material molecular recycling facility in France. This facility would use Eastman's polyester renewal technology to recycle up to 160,000 metric tonnes annually of hard-to-recycle plastic waste that is currently being incinerated. The investment would recycle enough plastic waste annually to fill Stade de France national football stadium 2.5 times, while also creating virgin-quality material with a significantly lower carbon footprint. Eastman is the largest investor at this year's "Choose France" event, which is focused on attracting foreign investment to France. This multi-phase project includes units that would prepare mixed plastic waste for processing, a methanolysis unit to depolymerize the waste, and polymer lines to create a variety of first-quality materials for specialty, packaging, and textile applications.
Eastman ranks No. 27 on Barron’s 2021 list of the Most Sustainable Companies in the United States. To arrive at its list of the 100 Most Sustainable Companies, Barron’s analyzed performance by the 1,000 largest U.S. publicly traded companies on a wide range of indicators related to sustainability and environment, social and corporate governance (ESG). Barron’s collaborated on the list with Calvert Research and Management, which analyzed data in five categories: shareholders, employees, customers, community and planet. An investment firm that specializes in sustainability and ESG investing, Calvert’s data analysis included company scores on distinct topics within those five categories. Those topics included such areas as policies on greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and efficiency, workplace diversity, business ethics, product quality and product safety, lifecycle of products, workplace safety, and others.
Eastman announced the company's plans to build one of the world's largest plastic-to-plastic molecular recycling facilities at its Kingsport, Tenn site. Through methanolysis, this world-scale facility will convert polyester waste that often ends up in landfills and waterways into durable products, creating an optimized circular economy. Over the next 2 years, the company will invest approximately $250 million in the facility, which will support Eastman's commitment to addressing the global waste crisis and to mitigating challenges created by climate change, while also creating value for its stakeholders. Using the company's polyester renewal technology, the new facility will use over 100k metric tons of plastic waste that cannot be recycled by current mechanical methods to produce premium, high-quality specialty plastics made with recycled content. This process of using plastic waste as the main feedstock is a true material-to-material solution and reduces the company's use of fossil feedstocks and reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by 20-30 percent relative to fossil feedstocks.
Eastman proudly announced that it received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. Eastman joins the ranks of 767 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year. “Eastman’s strategy begins and ends with people,” said Mark Costa, Eastman Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “As we develop new products to meet society’s most pressing needs, we must inspire fresh thinking and innovative ideas. And that requires a culture that makes every team member feel valued, empowered and motivated to do their best work. We’re proud of improvements we’ve made, based on feedback from our team members, and earning this recognition from HRC reflects our progress and commitment.”
Popular Science has named Sustain water bottles made by Nalgene as one of its greatest innovations of 2020. The bottles are made with Tritan Renew, an Eastman product made from revolutionary new recycling technology that transforms single-use waste into basic building blocks that are then used to make durable, high performance, food-safe materials.
Eastman announced ambitious 2030 sustainability commitments in tandem with the publication of its 2020 sustainability report. The report highlights the company's commitment to sustainable innovation and establishes goals to address three difficult, long-term and potentially devastating challenges that will affect our rapidly growing population: climate change, the plastic waste crisis and social inequities. Eastman has a responsibility to continuously improve its operational footprint. The company supports the Paris Agreement and in alignment with it, Eastman is committing to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Eastman is contributing to a circular economy. For Eastman, that means keeping plastic waste out of landfills and the environment through recycling innovations that convert waste to materials thereby reducing the use of fossil feedstocks. By working from the inside out to ensure its employee population mirrors the world's population in its diverse make-up and aligning its external partnerships, Eastman will contribute to creating a more equitable society.
Eastman was recently named as the Tennessee Tri-Star Champion for its COVID-19 response over the past several months. The Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 2020 Special Edition Environment and Energy Awards recognized businesses that have demonstrated outstanding innovation, resilience, and community stewardship in response to the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Categories of Innovative Retooling and Repurposing, Excellence in Operational Health and Safety, and Outstanding Community Stewardship were recognized. Eastman received the highest honor for exemplary achievement in all three categories. "On behalf of the Tennessee Chamber/Tennessee Manufacturers Association, we are proud to recognize the tremendous efforts during the pandemic that a number of businesses and manufacturers, like Eastman, demonstrated going above and beyond for their customers, communities and employees,” said Bradley Jackson, TN Chamber president and CEO.
