EHS Management Systems

Baxter's global Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Policy and EHS requirements provide the foundation for the company's EHS program, establishing the minimum standards all facilities must meet and maintain. These requirements are designed to protect employees and company assets, minimize environmental impact, reduce company risk, and enhance Baxter’s reputation and EHS leadership. Baxter assesses all of its facilities using the same performance measurement system.

Global Management Systems

Baxter's EHS program follows a management-systems approach guided by its global EHS requirements. The program has evolved from using internally developed standards, prior to the availability of globally accepted standards, to applying external standards to develop and achieve EHS program objectives. Baxter currently applies the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management System Standard to systematically manage its environmental programs, and the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 to properly manage hazards that pose risk to employees. Successful ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 assessments verify that a facility's management system enables compliance with relevant regulations and company policy. Following a successful corporate EHS audit, an external auditing and certification body may recommend a facility for certification to these standards.

As part of subscribing to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001, Baxter uses management tools at the facility, business unit, regional and corporate levels to identify EHS aspects¹ and hazards, assess risks, set goals and prioritize risk-reduction initiatives. Facilities must review and update their EHS aspects, hazards and risk assessments as conditions change.

ISO 14001 Certification

Baxter generally requires third-party certification to ISO 14001 for the company’s manufacturing and research and development sites, and distribution sites with a capacity of more than 10,000 filled pallets or a workforce of 100 or more people. Exceptions may be granted based on company criteria. Facilities that do not meet these criteria still may choose to apply ISO 14001 standards and seek certification to improve their environmental performance. Baxter subjects newly acquired facilities to a phase-in plan and evaluates those sites against the certification standards within two years of acquisition. As of year-end 2010, 68 Baxter locations, which are all of the facilities required to do so per Baxter policy, have met the requirements of ISO 14001 and are covered by Baxter’s group certificate (see map).

OHSAS 18001 Certification

Baxter recommends but does not require facility certification to OHSAS 18001. Manufacturing, research and development, and distribution sites that have achieved third-party ISO 14001 certification generally also pursue third-party OHSAS 18001 certification, as it helps improve a facility’s health and safety programs. Baxter incorporates OHSAS 18001 principles into corporate EHS audits even at facilities that do not pursue certification.

As of year-end 2010, 49 Baxter locations (see map) were certified to OHSAS 18001.²

Global Certifications

In 1997, Baxter began to certify a group of facilities to ISO 14001, working with ERM Certification and Verification Services, the company’s external auditing and certification body. Since then, Baxter’s group certification has evolved into a global certification including 68 facilities worldwide.³ In 2007, Baxter also established a group certificate for OHSAS 18001.⁴

With its global certifications, Baxter has improved consistency in evaluating individual facilities, and therefore, in implementing its overall EHS program. Specifically, the group certificate requires Baxter to focus on areas of weakness across all facilities managed under the certificate. Additionally, the company can reduce the frequency and costs of audits by the external certification body.

View facility list.

1	An environmental aspect is an element of an organization's activities, products or services that can interact with the environment, for example, air emissions, wastewater discharges, or energy use.
2	Certification to OHSAS 18001 is not accredited to the same level as ISO 14001.
3	This covers the facilities described in the ISO 14001 Certification section above.
4	This covers the facilities described in the OHSAS 18001 Certification section above.