Environment+and+Sustainability+Assessment

**Environment and Sustainability Assessment**

Overall Johnson and Johnson's Environmental and Sustainability policies and practices are sound. Their active participation in various endeavours relating to the environment are considerable and not just token attempts to green-wash. They are however weaker in Sustainability practices. There is a lack of uniformity across all of its subsidiaries although this is a work in progress and progress is being made. Their policies for sustainability are internally created and although considerable work has been done to improve the policies there is difficulty in having all members of the Johnson and Johnson family adhere to these standards consistently. As well, external manufacturers are not included in their supply-chain improvement practices and sustainability objectives. It is clear that a company with the leverage that Johnson and Johnson has should do far more to bring every entity in its supply-chain under its umbrella of sustainability practices or have external players utilize their own standards if they are equivalent and can seamlessly be integrated into Johnson and Johnson's policies.

Here are some angles of assessment that give an overall picture:

- Johnson and Johnson participates quite extensively in environmental initiatives. It has joined the following external initiatives and participates to varying degrees in each one: The Climate Group (UK); US Climate Action Partnership; WRI’s Green Power Market Development Group; WWF’s Climate Savers; US EPA Climate Leaders; US EPA Green Power Partnership; US EPA SmartWay; California Climate Action Registry; The Climate Registry; and CDP’s Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration.

- Currently external manufacturing (outside of the family of Johnson and Johnson companies) is not included in any of their data and is not presented in their sustainability report. Considering the number of subsidiaries (250+) and the fact that Johnson and Johnson utilizes external manufacturing facilities this leads to a questioning of the validity of a portion of the sustainability report, or in its entirety.

- The corporation has been recognized by Barron’s as one of the world’s most respected company’s

- The says in its Carbon Disclosure Project response that climate change is the responsibility of the Public Policy Advisory Committee of the Board. Interestingly enough, the Public Policy Advisory Committee charter is not available online making it difficult to assess adherence.

- Johnson & Johnson’s Climate-Friendly Energy Policy was approved by the Executive Committee in 2003. The policy requires each business to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet the company-wide carbon dioxide reduction goal of a 7 percent absolute reduction of CO2 emissions from stationary sources by 2010 relative to 1990 levels. The company’s Healthy Planet 2010 set of goals also targets a 30 percent decrease in emissions per kilometre driven for the company’s fleet of cars relative to 2003. Johnson & Johnson has exceeded its target, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 12.7 percent between 1990 to 2007, at the same time global sales increased by over 400 percent.

- As part of its Health Planet 2010 goals, Johnson & Johnson plans to increase employee environmental literacy by 2010 by having every facility create a five-year education plan and conduct one environmental education campaign each year. It is still moving towards achieving this goal but has made significant progress.

- In Europe, the corporation submitted a letter in April 2007 to the EU President expressing support of the European Energy Strategy to set aggressive GHG reduction goals. It also signed a Bali Communique in support of international action on climate change at the 2007 UN Conference in Bali.

- The Uptime Institute recognized Johnson & Johnson as a 2009 Global Green 100 Honouree for its outstanding corporate commitment to energy efficiency.

- The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship honoured Johnson & Johnson as the fifth most socially responsible company according to an analysis of data collected in the Reputation Institute’s 2009 Global Pulse Study.

- Johnson and Johnson is working with PhRMA ((Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America), European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals, to find a solution for pharmaceutical constituents entering our waterways and water table. It is a complex subject and the organization is opening dialogue with the U.S. EPA and FDA to address this major concern.

- The organization works with SMARxT Disposal to inform the public of how to properly dispose of pharmaceuticals.