Stericycle recently released its 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, which highlights the company’s progress in prioritizing safety and sustainability while advancing its strategic Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. The report includes updates on data and initiatives from January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, and outlines forward-looking global ESG targets.
Exemplifying its core mission, Stericycle continues to focus on the health and well-being of the communities it serves by investing time and resources in initiatives that help reduce environmental impact, implement operational enhancements, further DEI and employee support initiatives, and execute on corporate governance and ethics goals. Key actions taken during the reporting period include:
- Setting a global environmental target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions for scope 1 and 2 in the United Kingdom by 2045 and globally by 2050, as well as setting a social target to improve the company’s total recordable incident rate by 30% by 2035.
- Driving 2.3 million fewer miles in North America during the first half of 2023 compared to the same time period in 2022, resulting in a reduction of 3,438 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions through routing efficiencies.
- Launching re-engineered one-gallon SafeDrop™ Sharps Mail Back and one-gallon CsRx® Controlled Substance Wastage containers in 2023, which use 40% less plastic compared to Stericycle’s prior containers, helping to reduce CO2 emissions associated with the manufacturing process.
“Every day, our team members live out our mission of protecting health and well-being in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way, and I’m very proud of our organization’s commitment to set our first global ESG targets that will help guide our journey over the coming years,” said Cindy J. Miller, President and Chief Executive Officer at Stericycle. “We will continue to be strategic in our approach to corporate social responsibility by prioritizing data-based solutions, accuracy, and transparency to make a real and valuable impact on the world.”
Additional highlights from the 2023 CSR report include:
Environmental Impact
Stericycle treated 1.5 billion pounds of medical waste and shredded and recycled 1 billion pounds of paper globally, in addition to safely disposing of approximately 2.7 million pounds of expired medications. The company also launched an internal Green Team in 2023, whose goals include identifying opportunities to promote sustainability by optimizing operations and customer programs in the communities where Stericycle operates. Additionally, Stericycle partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation in 2022 and 2023 to plant over 120,000 trees across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The company also completed shoreline restoration projects in Florida and Georgia with the National Park Foundation in 2022 and announced upcoming project locations at Yosemite National Park and Cape Cod National Seashore in 2023.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Stericycle enhanced its culture of belonging with 65% of all U.S.-based new hires in 2022 identifying with racial or ethnic minority groups. The company also created two new Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to support young professionals and team members and their family members who have disabilities, bringing the number of ERGs company-wide to seven. Additionally, Stericycle expanded its strategic partnerships with diverse community stakeholders, including Equality Illinois, Hire Our Heroes, Women In Trucking, Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE), and American Corporate Partners (ACP). In addition, the company was recognized by 50/50 Women on Boards™ as a “3+” company for having three or more women on its corporate Board of Directors. As of 2023, the average tenure of the company’s Board of Directors is approximately 4.7 years, with 60% gender, ethnic, or racial minority representation.
Corporate Governance and Ethics
Stericycle strengthened its corporate governance practices by launching its global ESG Steering Committee, a cross-functional group of global leaders who collaborate to ensure effective alignment and accountability for ESG strategic initiatives and work closely with the company’s environmental justice (EJ) task force to better understand the communities where Stericycle operates.
“Our ESG strategy is closely tied to our promise to protect what matters, and this report highlights the progress we have made and the targets we are focused on achieving to keep this commitment,” said Mike Rozembajgier, Vice President of Environmental, Social, and Governance at Stericycle. “We are early in our ESG journey but believe that with a disciplined approach, we will be able to affect significant, positive change while delivering meaningful shareholder value.”
Learn more about Stericycle and its sustainability efforts in our full 2023 Corporate Social Responsibility report.
