Sustainability at GEON
Our Commitment to People, Customers, Communities and Planet
At GEON our view is simple: we can’t succeed as a business without a healthy planet and the trust and engagement of our employees, customers and suppliers. Our sustainability strategy ensures accountability for our operations and expands beyond our footprint to consider the different roles that we play to positively impact our industry and the communities in which we live and work.
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In 2020, we developed a set of actionable, outcome-driven sustainability goals to evolve our business and maximize our positive impact, based on three focus areas:
- Optimize and advance operational excellence
- Shape thriving communities
- Collaborate and innovate across our value chain
We are committed to the efficiency and sustainability of our operations, while continuing to grow our business and improve safety. We accomplish this through problem-solving, teamwork and transparency – annually measuring and reporting our progress.
We seek to shape communities that thrive both now and into the future, within our own employee population and within the towns and communities in which we operate.
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By working across the industry value chain and understanding the impacts of our products and services through their life cycles, we help close key resource loops, advance innovation of sustainable products with customers and accelerate our top-line growth.
By achieving our 2025 Sustainability Goals, we will positively impact the environment, safety, our associates, communities and innovation for our customers, suppliers and the industry.
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In 2020, we developed a set of actionable, outcome-driven sustainability goals to evolve our business and maximize our positive impact, based on three focus areas:
- Optimize and advance operational excellence
- Shape thriving communities
- Collaborate and innovate across our value chain
-
We are committed to the efficiency and sustainability of our operations, while continuing to grow our business and improve safety. We accomplish this through problem-solving, teamwork and transparency – annually measuring and reporting our progress.
-
We seek to shape communities that thrive both now and into the future, within our own employee population and within the towns and communities in which we operate.
-
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By working across the industry value chain and understanding the impacts of our products and services through their life cycles, we help close key resource loops, advance innovation of sustainable products with customers and accelerate our top-line growth.
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By achieving our 2025 Sustainability Goals, we will positively impact the environment, safety, our associates, communities and innovation for our customers, suppliers and the industry.
Skilled and Engaged Workforce
Sustainability Goal: A thriving culture built on trust
>65% Great Places to Work (GPTW) Survey Employee Engagement Index by 2022
Certified GPTW by 2025
60% of our people participate in a flagship talent program by 2025
PROGRESS
65% GPTW Survey Employee
Engagement Index
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17% of our people participated in flagship talent program
Diversity & Inclusion
Sustainability Goal: A skilled and inclusive workforce
50% of college hires are U.S. minority and/or female
30% of leaders are U.S. minority and/or female
PROGRESS
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46% of college hires are minority and/or female
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34% of leaders are minority and/or female
Community
Sustainability Goal: A caring GEON nation taking action in our communities
100% of associates have the opportunity to get involved and take impactful actions in our community by 2025
PROGRESS
THRIVE teams completed volunteer events at 100% of sites
"We have shown that we can formulate material with recycled content to have equivalent performance versus their prime offsets. Customers can count on a confirmed level of recycled content, active quality control procedures for our recycled raw materials, and virgin equivalents so customers have the flexibility to switch from virgin grades to RESILIENCE® R grades as needed, allowing them to support sustainability goals such as reducing plastic waste or cutting greenhouse gas emissions without compromising performance.”
- Al Chan, Senior Market Manager – RESILIENCE Performance Polyolefins
Optimize and Advance Operational Excellence
Sustainability Goal
Reduce solid waste by 15% by 2025.
Recycled 69% of waste generated and decreased waste-to-landfill by 16% over 2022
Sustainability Goal
Reduce electrical consumption by 15% by 2025.
Energy use of 0.17 kWh per pound of product
Sustainability Goal
Reduce our total recordable injury rate (TRIR) to >0.2 by 2025.
GEON’s recordable injury rate was 0.69, a 22% improvement over 2022
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Sustainability Goal
Reduce solid waste by 15% by 2025.
Recycled 69% of waste generated and decreased waste-to-landfill by 16% over 2022 -
Sustainability Goal
Reduce electrical consumption by 15% by 2025.
Energy use of 0.17 kWh per pound of product
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Sustainability Goal
Reduce our total recordable injury rate (TRIR) to >0.2 by 2025.
GEON’s recordable injury rate was 0.69, a 22% improvement over 2022
Collaborate and Innovate Across the Value Chain
Circular Economy Sustainability Goal:
Collaborate with value chain to develop solutions.
Identify and pilot one closed-loop ecosystem with customers and/or suppliers by 2025
Product Innovation Sustainability Goal:
Innovate alongside customers to meet mutual goals.
Increase post-consumer and post-industrial recycled products in our portfolio by 2025
R&D focus on developing industry-leading products containing recycled materials by 2025
Industry Collaboration Sustainability Goal:
Participate in industry alliances
Collaborate with industry associations to advance circular solutions of materials sustainably sourced by 2025
Successfully commercialized and produced >1.6MM pounds of a closed-loop product for a customer using recycled materials from its manufacturing process
Developed a low-odor bio-fiber-based formulation for automotive interiors, contributing to wider adoption of renewable materials in automotive applications
Boosting external collaboration with select trade organizations, industry conferences, university engagement, and regulatory agencies and standards
Named +Vantage Vinyl-Verified Company by the Vinyl Sustainability Council for fourth consecutive year
"Our company seeks to be valued for not only our business performance, but also for the value we create for our customers and society. Driven by our values of Win Together, Create Opportunities and Pay It Forward, we continue to raise the bar. We have set challenging sustainability goals and are confident we will meet them. We are holding ourselves accountable and being transparent with our progress. Together, our team of global associates is taking action to build a more resilient, responsive and efficient company, ready to flourish in a fast-changing world and thrive alongside our communities and customers.”
Tracy Garrison, Chief Executive Officer
Reporting and Resources
This is just the start of our journey to advance progress against our sustainability goals. We want to be as transparent as possible about our progress and learnings. As we work, we’ll continue to share our results with you each year.
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