Millipore's 2009 Sustainability Report (Graphic: Business Wire)

Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL), a leading provider of technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry, today released its second annual Sustainability Report, which discloses the company’s environmental and social responsibility accomplishments and reaffirms its commitment to delivering on its ambitious sustainability goals.

“I am proud of the substantial progress we have made in making sustainability a core part of the way we do business,” said Martin Madaus, Millipore Chairman, President and CEO. “In 2009, we built on our success over the past four years, taking further steps to reduce our consumption of non-renewable resources, eliminate waste and adopt behavioral changes that support long-term sustainability. Despite global economic uncertainty, we sustained our investment in reducing our carbon footprint, and we made substantial inroads in three critical areas: climate and energy, products and packaging, and employee engagement.”

The Sustainability Report details a number of achievements in these areas: In 2009 Millipore reduced its total global energy consumption by six percent (11 percent over the past four years), and reduced its global water consumption by 12 percent (22 percent since 2006). In addition, over the past four years Millipore has decreased its total greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent—close to its goal of 20-percent reductions from 2006 levels.

In 2009 Millipore also launched an innovative Design for Sustainability program, which is now being incorporated into the company’s product development process.

“We are modifying our manufacturing processes in order to reduce energy and water consumption and find new uses for production materials that would otherwise become waste,” noted Madaus. “We are also collaborating with customers on ways to minimize packaging and manage the environmental impact of products through their entire life cycle.”

“Millipore is embedding sustainability principles and best practices throughout its entire supply chain,” added David Newman, Millipore Senior Director, Global Sustainability. “We are empowering employees around the world at every stage of this effort, and they are responding with innovative ideas and solutions that are helping us reduce the impact of our operations on our environment.