MILFORD, Mass.– Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) today released its 2021 Sustainability Report, highlighting companywide achievements such as reductions in environmental impacts, supply chain enhancements and diversity and inclusion initiatives. In addition, the report covers Waters’ COVID-19 response priorities that include ensuring the safety and well-being of its employees, helping to mitigate the public health crisis, and maintaining global business continuity.
“As we look to a future beyond the pandemic, I believe Waters’ commitment to solve problems that matter has never been stronger,” said Dr. Udit Batra, Waters President and CEO. “Our efforts are focused on ensuring we leave the world better than we found it, becoming more representative of the diverse society we live in and enhancing our long-term value through governance and oversight. We have made great strides, while also recognizing there is much more to do as we continuously strive for measurable progress.”
In 2019, Waters announced its 2025 sustainability goals focused on reducing its environmental footprint, while making the world healthier and safer for generations to come. As part of its commitment to annual reporting, the newly released 2021 Sustainability Report highlights Waters’ progress towards those goals for 2020 through June 30, 2021.
Highlights from the report include:
COVID-19 Response
- Helped pharmaceutical researchers with rapid development of methods on Waters’ systems used to characterize the mRNA molecules that have become COVID-19 vaccines
- Implemented safety measures that resulted in zero confirmed COVID-19 on-site transmissions across 82 global sites during the reporting period
Environmental
- Reduced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 6.4% year-over-year from 2019-2020 and by 9.7% from a 2016 baseline, Waters also began tracking Scope 3 GHG emissions for the first time during the reporting period
Social
- Launched a new STEM program aimed at supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and inner-city high schools through hands-on, immersive experiences that combine scholarships, local mentoring, career coaching, and Waters’ innovations
Governance
- Waters’ board is 40% diverse based on gender and ethnicity combined
Waters’ 2021 Sustainability Report offers greater transparency and data for its stakeholders. The report includes detailed disclosures in line with the Core Level of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards, and for the first-time reporting information has also been aligned with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards for the Healthcare — Medical Equipment & Supplies Sector.
