Page 292 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

268 Cha pte r F o u r tee n

lenses. J&J has long prided itself on being a leader in environmental
performance and sustainability [4].
The J&J Credo, originally framed in 1943, is one of the earliest
examples of a corporate responsibility commitment. It identifies a
variety of stakeholder groups and affirms the company’s responsi-
bilities for product quality and affordability; employee safety, dig-
nity, and equal opportunity; community citizenship; environmental
protection; and, of course, stockholder returns. Adherence to these
principles helped the company to respond effectively to the Tylenol
poisoning crisis in 1982 and to rapidly redeem the brand and recap-
ture market share.
Today, the company’s sustainability program is built around a
threefold vision—Healthy People, Healthy Planet, Healthy Busi-
ness. By 2005, J&J had largely achieved or exceeded its environmen-
tal goals, most of which were based on typical operational metrics,
including reductions in waste, emissions, and resource consump-
tion. A more unusual goal, already achieved, was 100% implemen-
tation of a systematic Design for Environment (DFE) process by all
divisions. As shown in Table 14.1, the company identified business
benefits for all of these goals, including over a half billion dollars in
direct cost savings.
J&J’s 2010 Healthy Planet goals, announced in 2006, are predicated
on the notion that “the environment is the ultimate human health and
safety issue.” The goal categories include compliance, environmental
literacy, biodiversity, transparency, product stewardship, water use,
paper and packaging, greenhouse gas reduction, waste reduction,
and external manufacturing standards. J&J’s environmental footprint
goals are not normalized in terms of sales volume—they call for abso-
lute reductions regardless of growth.
By 2007, the company had conformed 93% of all its packaging
with either 30% post-consumer recycled and/or certified content,
and had eliminated virtually all polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from pack-
aging. In addition, the company obtained 38% of its electric power
from renewable sources, including a solar photovoltaic tracking sys-
tem at its headquarters in New Brunswick, NJ. To help achieve its
goal of 30% reduction in CO per mile (from a 2003 baseline), J&J has
2
acquired the largest corporate fleet of hybrids in the United States—
approximately 1,600 as of 2008. Finally, J&J has established electronic
product take-back programs for its used medical device products,
recovering over 340 metric tons in 2007.

DFE Practices
As mentioned above, DFE is routinely applied as a business practice
in 100% of J&J’s business units. To support adoption of DFE through-
out the company, J&J has established a corporate-level Design for
Environment group. The group provides training and support to all