Sustainability Trends in the Scientific Industry Nina Cole

2 Driving Corporate Responsibility Through Sustainability People Health & Safety Associate Development Community Engagement (including volunteerism and giving) Planet Energy & Emissions Waste & Recycling Packaging & Transport Performance Sustainable Products Procurement Continual Improvement

3 Demand for more environmentally preferable products End-of-life product recycling solutions Behavioral changes in the lab to reduce resources and costs Industry Trends in Sustainability

4 Companies are working to define EPPs and identify products that meet EPP criteria to provide greater transparency to customers so that they can make more informed purchasing decisions. EPA-defined environmentally preferable attributes are commonly used to identify EPPs Recyclable Recycled content Reusable Energy efficient Water efficient Bio-based Take-back Durable Easily Disassembled Reconditioned Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) Cost-competitive EPPs Exist Within Our Industry: Centrifuges (recycled content), pipet tips (bio-based), freezers (energy efficient)

5 Defining EPPs (product must meet 1 or more) 1) energy/water efficient4) manufactured with low CO 2 impact 2) recyclable/reduces waste5) safer to human and environmental health 3) contains recycled/renewable content Collecting Data From Suppliers Collecting backup documentation to verify supplier claims Creating Web Transparency EPP attributes and documentation will be on vwr.com “Green Sustainable” Search Filter already exists for known EPPs on vwr.com Providing Customer Reporting VWR will be able to provide EPP spend reporting to customers EPPs: What is VWR doing?

6 Advantages Reduces waste in the supply chain Helps customers achieve sustainability goals Provides customized solutions to customers Product Recycling and Take-Back Solutions Pipet tip box recycling Chemical recycling Garment recycling Glove recycling Equipment recycling & take-back

7 This program can help any customer using tips to reduce waste and increase recycling Customers can purchase cardboard boxes from VWR to participate in the program- Boxes come pre-paid with shipping When customers fill boxes with clean, empty pipet tip boxes, they seal box and send back to TerraCycle ® TerraCycle ® melts plastic tip boxes and pelletizes to make new products New products are created- Waste from VWR customers will be used to make park benches in addition to other products What is VWR doing? Tip Box Recycling: From the Lab Bench to the Park Bench - 125,000 tip boxes collected and kept out of the landfill - More than 20,000 lbs recycled

8 In environmentally forward thinking laboratories, sustainable best practices have been added to laboratory training.  Energy saving habits for fume hoods  Scheduling maintenance and turning off equipment when not in use in the laboratory  Choosing the right size appliance  Replacing broken equipment with energy efficient equipment  Avoiding the use of incubators as refrigerators  Washing labware efficiently Best Practices for Laboratories VWR helps customers find opportunities through presentations and lunch-and-learns