Sustainability Reporting

Children in the Campo Limpo region of São Paulo, Brazil, receive dental care and education thanks to Projecto Arrastão, a recipient of a grant from The Baxter International Foundation.

Baxter is committed to sharing information about its sustainability programs, priorities, goals and performance. This report, the company’s main vehicle for disclosing information about its social and environmental initiatives and progress, illustrates Baxter’s commitment to good governance, balance and transparency. It also serves as an entry point for stakeholder engagement and is an important means for soliciting feedback on the company’s activities in these areas.

As a part of the annual reporting process, Baxter measures and evaluates its performance, and communicates its progress and challenges. The company's annual exercise of collecting, analyzing and reviewing report content engages and educates employees, senior management and the Board of Directors on sustainability issues while driving performance improvements. This report also illustrates the interconnection between content areas, such as how product innovation can support access to healthcare in emerging markets and the relationship between water consumption, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Baxter released its first public environmental report in 1992 and published its first sustainability report in 1999. The company has produced a sustainability report every year since, and is committed to annual reporting. The comprehensive 2011 Sustainability Report is available online. Baxter also produces a downloadable PDF of each section and an overview brochure, available in multiple languages.

Baxter discloses information about its sustainability programs and performance through several additional communication channels as well. These include socially responsible investor surveys, award applications, press releases, responses to customer requests for proposals, governmental reports such as the U.S. Employer Information Report (EEO-1) and the U.S. Toxics Release Inventory, participation in conferences, executive speeches, and targeted stakeholder communications.

Feedback

Stakeholder feedback is an important source of input to support continual improvement of Baxter's sustainability programs and reporting. Baxter encourages readers of its report to provide comments and suggestions through the company’s Sustainability Survey.

About This Report

• This report is intended for global use. Please consult the appropriate country-specific Baxter website for more information regarding activities in that country. Some statements in the report about products or procedures may differ from the licensed indications in specific countries. Therefore, always consult the country-specific summary of product characteristics (SPC), package leaflets or instructions for use. For more information, please contact a local Baxter representative.
• The performance data in this report are from calendar year 2011 unless stated otherwise. Some case studies and program descriptions include information from 2012.
• This report covers Baxter's global operations, including subsidiaries, unless otherwise noted. Environmental, health and safety data include joint ventures where Baxter has a controlling interest.
• All currency in this report is in U.S. dollars unless stated otherwise.
• Significant restatements of data compared to prior years are noted in the section where they appear.
• For more information about this report, please contact the Center for One Baxter at 1-800-422-9837 or 1-224-948-1812, or by email at onebaxter@baxter.com.