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Sustainability Principle
Be safe, ethical and responsible in all business activities worldwide. |
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Sustainability Goal
Achieve an injury-free workplace. |
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Read More About Safety
Read the Fostering Safety section of the 2012 FMC Sustainability Report
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Additional Resources
INFOGRAPHIC: FMC Safety Manifesto |
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| FMC Partnership: Working with Panthera on wild cat conservation. Learn more about FMC Partner Panthera. |
"As a pragmatic, conservation scientist, it is very gratifying for me to work with FMC on resolving complicated problems where the needs of people and wildlife collide."
Luke Hunter, PhD
President, Panthera |
| We believe nothing is more important than the safety of people. And first and foremost, we are a company of people. |
| The safety of employees, customers, business partners and the public is one of our most important core values. We are determined to achieve an injury-free workplace. We know it will take time, effective systems, a steady focus and the total commitment of every employee to make it happen. Our workforce has come together, embracing our company manifesto on safety. As expressed in this company-wide statement, our people are focused forward on living safely – in the workplace, at home and everywhere in between. |
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FORWARD TO 2015: REDUCE OUR TOTAL RECORDABLE INCIDENT RATE
 FMC is dedicated to achieving an injury-free workplace. Nothing is more vital to our sustainability than keeping each other safe. So our intermediate target, by 2015, is to reduce the total recordable incident rate by at least 50 percent when compared to 2011. Although this goal is aggressive, particularly as FMC continues to expand worldwide, it is clear that our employees are embracing this important challenge. |
SAFETY PERFORMANCE STATUS
 In 2011, the number of recordable injuries at FMC took a disappointing turn. We entered 2012 with a sense of urgency to assess our safety programs, refocus employee attentiveness to safety, and return to a positive trajectory of improvement. We made significant adjustments to several safety processes in 2012 to heighten awareness, regain commitment and provide new tools that help us track and improve occupational safety. These changes are already producing positive results. In 2012, FMC improved its TRIR by 15 percent compared to 2011. This demonstrates only part of an important turning point in 2012. FMC also saw 60 percent fewer recordable injuries in the second half of 2012 compared to the first half. |
A NEW ERA OF SAFETY: TH!NK SAFE
 Our 2012 safety progress was driven by a new, coordinated campaign called “Th!nk. Safe.” This program works to create a culture in which employees raise their safety consciousness in all areas of their lives – at work, at home and on the road. The program is grounded in our safety manifesto that drives employees to be aware of their environment and alert to hazards and behaviors that may affect their own and others’ safety.
FMC reviewed its safety policies, procedures and systems across all company facilities, sought input from industry peers, and applied best practices to revise corporate environmental, health and safety standards for its global operations. We also increased communications to share experiences and effective practices related to safety. |
PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP AND RESPONSIBLE CARE®
 FMC has long supported ACC’s Responsible Care® program, an industry initiative to improve environmental, health, safety and security performance. Over the past two years, FMC worked with other ACC members on a strategic review of the existing Responsible Care program, which has served the chemical industry well for more than a quarter century.
This collaboration resulted in recommendations to improve Responsible Care with two new codes covering product and process safety, both of which were approved by the ACC at the end of 2012. Compliance certification for the two new codes will be phased in from 2014 to 2016. |
TRAINING FARMERS ON RESPONSIBLE PRODUCT USE
FMC’s focus on safety extends throughout the product lifecycle: from design through development, manufacturing, distribution, storage and end use. We provide technical and safety information as well as training at each phase to foster careful use and stewardship of our products.
In 2012, our FMC Agricultural Products Group (APG) trained over 2 million farmers on the responsible and effective use of our products. We deliver this training through farmer meetings, educational materials and technical programs. APG tailors such efforts to different regions of the world to focus on the stewardship issues most pertinent to each locale and to relay messaging most effectively for the given audience. |
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Sustainability Principle
Drive sustainability in our innovation efforts.
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Sustainability Goal
Increase revenue derived from products that create a sustainability advantage.
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"Our sustainability assessment tool has been helpful in guiding our product development processes. As a result of explicitly considering sustainability from the outset of a project, we are finding more ways that we can impact the market shaping shifts and spending less resources on projects that are determined to be counter to these trends."
Jim Walter
Director of Technology Scouting for FMC Agricultural Products Group
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Read more about innovation
Read the Growing Innovation section of the 2012 FMC Sustainability Report
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Additional Resources
DATA CENTER: Investigate the foundation data related to FMC innovation initiatives.
INFOGRAPHIC: Explore our natural products line.
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Our focus on developing products that create a sustainability advantage will amplify our ability to create shared value for all FMC stakeholders.
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FMC’s 2011 Sustainability Report mapped our core business capabilities to the five market-shaping shifts we have identified. FMC is committed to developing innovative solutions which can have a meaningful impact on these societal challenges. More than challenges, however, we see these shifts as clear opportunities to serve our customers’ needs. By intentionally innovating based on the cited market shifts, we can identify more unique solutions that are highly valued by our customers. These criteria spur new ideas and allow clear, consistent evaluation of product potential.
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FORWARD TO 2015: INCREASE INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
In focusing on these five global trends – environmental consciousness, scarce resources, climate change, land competition, and food and health expectations – we have committed to a common framework for our businesses to assess which products and services create a sustainability advantage. We determined that, in 2011, 36 percent of our research and development investment was directed toward at least one of these market trends. So we challenged ourselves to do more. By 2015, we intend to focus at least 50 percent of our R&D spend to address these societal needs.
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PRODUCTS THAT CREATE A SUSTAINABILITY ADVANTAGE
While increasing the share of R&D investments focused on the five market-shaping shifts, we have also adjusted our process to bring new products from concept to reality. By innovating based on the cited market shifts, we can identify more unique solutions that are highly valued by our customers. These criteria spur new ideas and allow clear, consistent evaluation of product potential. Most importantly, they enable richer conversations with our customers during the product development phase, as many are attempting to create offerings that answer these same market trends.
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NATURE’S INGREDIENTS
To satisfy a rapidly growing middle class, FMC is exploring ways to supply more food ingredients that are both sustainable and renewable such as carrageenan, alginate, and microcrystalline cellulose. With over sixty-eight years of experience in the business, our expertise helps customers around the world maintain their competitive position in the market using natural ingredients. In addition to addressing consumer preferences, we help our customers use these products to increase the amount of protein in affordable foods and reduce requirements for refrigeration in the supply chain.
FMC works alongside our customers to better serve local markets through eleven food laboratories in strategic locations around the world. Within the past two years, FMC has opened new food labs in Singapore, Chile, India and Russia to support the growing demand in rapidly developing economies.
To support our customers’ continued growth, we must do more than provide new product offerings. We need to ensure that we have the capacity to produce enough of our traditional high-demand products to meet the world’s growing needs.
INFOGRAPHIC: Explore our natural products line.
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Crop Protection
FMC is addressing sustainability throughout the food chain in many ways. Our agricultural products help growers increase yields by protecting crops from harvest-robbing pests and diseases, while our food ingredient products help preserve the quality of foods and our chemistries for food processors ensure the safety of food by protecting against food-borne bacteria.
Increased food production and more nutritious foods are essential as the world’s population continues to grow. In fact, the United Nations has estimated that the world’s agricultural output must double in the next 20 to 30 years1 to meet the ever-rising demand for food.
Even with today’s available technologies, weeds and pests destroy as much as 40 percent of the world’s crops annually2. One of the best solutions for sustaining the global food supply is to help farmers increase yields on existing land and reduce their crop losses. In the past five years, FMC introduced 120 new insecticide, fungicide and herbicide products to help farmers do more with less. And we continue our work on new formulations to satisfy agriculture’s evolving needs while delivering higher levels of safety for farmers, consumers and the environment.
1http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2009/gaef3242.doc.htm
2http://www.croplifeamerica.org/crop-protection/benefits/increase-food-production
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Sustainability Principle
Respect people and support diversity.
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Sustainability Goal
Continue to cultivate a work environment that is ethical, supportive, and provides opportunity for professional and personal growth of employees.
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Mindful Supply Chains
We took steps this year to reduce the potential for human dignity concerns in our supply chain. FMC expects our external partners to uphold similar policies to ensure ethical operations within their businesses.
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Read More About Talent
Read the Empowering Talent section of the 2012 FMC Sustainability Report
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Additional Resources
DATA CENTER: Investigate the foundation data related to FMC talent initiatives.
FMC Code of Ethics
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At FMC, we are focused on developing our greatest resource: our employees. Every day and in many ways, our people bring value to our business.
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When FMC made a choice to move sustainability to the forefront of our corporate consciousness, we knew we could only deliver on this long-term promise with the shared commitment of our greatest resource: our employees. This year, we established an organizational structure to enable our employees to turn our sustainability strategy into focused action. Though much progress has been made, we recognize the potential to do much more. We continue to embed sustainability into employees’ everyday roles and provide ongoing development opportunities for FMC’s current and future leaders.
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DEVELOPING OUR POTENTIAL
We believe the most critical learning happens on the job and we work to create an environment in which everyone has opportunities to learn, grow and apply their skills. If we expect to generate world-class ideas and challenge each other’s assumptions, FMC knows that we must strive to reflect the diversity of our human family. To support greater diversity in our workforce, FMC created a range of new ways to attract the best and brightest to join us. Over the course of 2012, we added more than 400 positions in 24 countries to fill a broad array of roles.
Once employees join our team, they have access to on-the-job training opportunities. In addition to position-specific training, FMC offers a variety of development and leadership programs that nurture employees through different stages of their career. Some of our specific workforce development programs are describe in the report in the detail.
Additionally, our Education Program empowers employees to prepare themselves for further development opportunities by supporting the cost of tuition and fees for approved continuing education programs. We also continue to work on programs that help prepare and support our employees who are transitioning into retirement. These programs include career transition support, services through local employee assistance programs, financial counseling from our benefit vendors, and personalized care from local human resources managers and supervisors.
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LABOR AGREEMENTS BASED ON RESPECT
Treating employees with respect is more than a policy; it’s at the heart of how we build positive, constructive, effective teams around the world. Independent of the size of a site or its primary line of business, a strong relationship among those responsible for its operations drives benefits for all involved. Currently, 32 percent of all FMC employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We focus on collaborating to find solutions for everyday interactions as well as contract renegotiations. We strongly believe in this cooperative approach. See the 2012 FMC Sustainability report for specific examples of our approach.
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ETHICALLY OPERATING WITH DIGNITY
Our focus on people extends beyond FMC employees to encompass the many people around the world who directly and indirectly touch our business. As we continue to grow globally, we recognize the potential risks of operating in multiple regions with differing laws and business practices. Regardless of location, FMC is committed to working in a way that respects human dignity. During 2012, we clarified our commitment in this area by updating our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct to unambiguously state our expectations related to human dignity. While our businesses have consistently maintained high standards in this area, we saw this policy update as an important reaffirmation of our ethical principles and practices, especially as our business grows worldwide.
We published the revised Code of Ethics in late 2012 and are requiring all employees to be retrained and recertified under the new code in 2013. The most recent recertification took place in 2011. Every new FMC employee receives ethics compliance training, followed by recertification at least every three years to ensure strict adherence to our Code of Ethics. FMC employees completed more than 3,600 hours of compliance training in 2012, including courses taught by the FMC Law Department.
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CHOOSE WELL, LIVE WELL
Our employees represent our greatest resource, so we focus on both their safety and health. In 2O13, FMC will initiate a comprehensive employee wellness program, "Choose Well. Live Well." By helping employees identify their own health risks, prevent longer term illnesses and maintain their current health, we hope to improve lives and lower healthcare costs for participants and the company. Initially, the program will focus on education, awareness and lifestyle changes. Employees, spouses and domestic partners will be able to participate in a free biometric wellness screening and complete a health assessment. Resources available to participants will include support for managing health issues such as high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels and making wise health choices such as a commitment to stop smoking. FMC offers financial incentives for participation in certain programs.
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Sustainability Principle
Use resources effectively and responsibly.
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Sustainability Goal
Minimize the overall impact of FMC operations and supply chain.
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Helping Customers Conserve
FMC offers an online Carbon Footprint Calculator for customers to compare the environmental impact of FMC carrageenan against products with similar thickening functions: gelatin, xantham gum or starch. This web-based tool calculates each raw material's water consumption, fuel and energy use, agricultural requirements, and pesticide and fertilizer use. Carrageenan often emerges as the best choice.
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Read More About Resources
Read the Minding Our Resources section of the 2012 FMC Sustainability Report
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Additional Resources
DATA CENTER: Investigate the foundation data related to FMC efficiency initiatives.
INFOGRAPHIC: FMC Rail and Truck Transport Efficiencies
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We work hard to minimize the environmental impact of FMC operations and that of our supply chain.
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FMC made a choice to incorporate sustainability into every aspect of our business, knowing that environmental consciousness, one of the market-shaping shifts we’ve identified, will increasingly influence demand for our products, just as another market-shaping shift, scarce resources, will continue to impact cost volatility for our manufacturing operations. We are implementing processes to systematically assess these issues and define improvement plans that create increased efficiency and reduced risk throughout our operations and supply chain.
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SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING PRACTICES
During 2012, the use of standardized key performance indicators (KPIs) across the enterprise helped our operations better understand the patterns of their resource utilization and waste generation. We are proud of our employees’ efforts to improve FMC’s waste, water and energy intensity by 29 percent, 8 percent, and 4 percent respectively year over year.
INVESTIGATE OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN THE DATA CENTER >>>
Within FMC-owned operations, we focused our 2012 efforts on energy, waste, water and greenhouse gas intensity. As we continue to expand our manufacturing operations, we will need to use more resources to make products that support growing populations and their rising demand. A key element of our sustainability program is managing our own impact by discovering less intensive and more cost-effective ways of producing our products. In addition to our usual efforts to manage a competitive cost structure by targeting annual efficiency improvements, FMC has several major initiatives underway to ensure we are using current best practices across our sites (more details can be found in the 2012 report):
- A Manufacturing Excellence program, launched in 2012, with focused projects at three of our manufacturing locations. We expect these projects to increase plant productivity and deliver resource efficiency benefits.
- FMC recently created an Energy Management Center of Excellence (EMCOE). This team is comprised of representatives from the procurement, manufacturing, engineering and sustainability experience of 129 years, this team will become a central repository of best practices in energy management.
- FMC has also begun to assess current waste management activities at our sites to determine whether a similar cross-group effort groups and is championed by senior leaders in operations, technology, procurement and sustainability. With the help of external resources added to its combined professional.
- Our Green River, Wyoming, facility expanded the throughput of its mine water product in support of a local utility that increased its needs for SO2 abatement. See our infographic from the 2011 Sustainability report for more detail on soda ash production efficiencies.
- Our peroxygens plants in Tonawanda, New York, and Rheinfelden, Germany, utilize clean, renewable hydroelectric power generated by nearby facilities for use within our operations.
- After analyzing options, we are now in the process of receiving permits to construct and utilize an efficient and safe pipeline to deliver natural gas to our lithium facility in Argentina.
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SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT PRACTICES
In early 2011, FMC formed a global procurement organization to oversee the sourcing of goods, materials and services across the company. This group reviewed best practices in procurement and vendor relationships to revise our own procurement procedures and assure that our program is best in class. One result of these efforts was the 2012 launch of eProcure. This program standardizes processes globally through a suite of online systems designed to efficiently and responsibly manage procurement worldwide. These improved procurement systems help us analyze data in numerous ways and in real time. They also allow FMC to make informed and consistent procurement decisions that create cost-and risk-reduction opportunities.
FMC has long chosen to work with suppliers who share in our commitment to ethical and sustainable business practices, but in 2012 we formalized that commitment by implementing a new supplier selection and management process that explicitly incorporates both minimum standards and preferred practices to support our sustainability principles. To explain our minimum standards clearly to existing and potential suppliers, we published FMC’s first Supplier Code of Conduct, which sets forth FMC’s expectations regarding legal compliance, environmental, health, safety, ethical, human dignity and fair labor practice issues. Suppliers also have a responsibility to take reasonable measures to ensure that their vendors and sub-contractors are acting in harmony with these same priorities.
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GREEN PACKAGING
During 2012, FMC Brazil expanded its sustainable packaging line for agricultural products. Derived from sugar cane and other renewable resources, FMC’s “Green Family” of containers is growing:
- The breakthrough Green Jug drum is manufactured in a way that generates 40 percent less greenhouse gases than traditional packaging.
- The stackable JoinJug offers a space-saving option for warehouses, eliminating the use of traditional packaging materials and reducing the number of fuel-burning truck miles.
Development of the Green Family is just the beginning of a larger process to identify FMC locations where the use of bio-plastic packaging makes sense for our customers and their supply chain requirements. To that end, we continue to invite customers to suggest new ideas for packaging and shipping.
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RESPONSIBLE REMEDIATION
FMC’s approach to remediation focuses on returning our formerly used sites to productive new uses. In the past decade, we have restored eight brownfield sites to beneficial reuses, including sports complexes, hospitals, retail developments, car dealerships, community centers and light industrial parks. In many cases, there is more than one type of redevelopment use on a single former property. Over the last three years, we have spent approximately $90 million on remediation of historic sites.
FMC’s ongoing remediation projects are at various stages of completion. FMC made progress on multiple projects and reached several milestones in 2012. A few examples are described here:
- The remediated site of FMC’s former research center near Princeton, New Jersey, now serves as Princeton HealthCare System’s state-of-the-art medical center (shown above), which opened in June 2012.
- FMC worked with the city government, regulatory agencies and local leaders in Nitro, West Virginia, to successfully repurpose an old municipal landfill site into a community access boat ramp that now attracts visitors to the area. FMC handled the majority of the cleanup work, earning the 2012 Environmental Excellence Award from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for our dedication to long-term stewardship of the site.
- In Pocatello, Idaho, we received approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to remediate the site of this former FMC plant. We are engaging with local stakeholders as we proceed with remediation efforts.
- In Front Royal, Virginia, FMC worked with a community advisory team to devise a sustainable cleanup plan for multiple contaminants. Two decades of planning and remediation culminated in the 2012 groundbreaking for the final phase: a multi-million dollar groundwater treatment system. The 440-acre site, now owned by the Front Royal Warren County Economic Development Authority, will support commercial redevelopment as well as wildlife habitats.
- In San Jose, California, 6,256 sports fans attended the October 21, 2012, groundbreaking for a Major League Soccer stadium, setting a Guinness World Record for the largest groundbreaking ceremony ever. FMC helped remediate and redevelop the site, once home to a former FMC division that manufactured and tested defense equipment.
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"IGEL is honored to have FMC as a new member to Wharton's Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership. FMC's thought leadership in formulating sustainable solutions to a number of world challenges is a tremendous value to IGEL and to the Wharton School at Penn. FMC's role as a corporate board member provides a resource to our undergraduate and MBA students as they are seeking mentors and role models for career choices in the environmental management space."
Joanne Spigonardo, Associate Director
Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL)
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
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"FMC has stepped up in a big way at a time when the community needed it most."
Jill Michal, President and CEO
United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey
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Read the Cultivating Community Partnerships section of the 2012 FMC Sustainability Report
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Discover some of our STEM initiatives >>>
Discover some of our health and human services initiatives >>>
Discover some of our environmental conservation initiatives >>>
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One of FMC’s core principles is to improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and operate. Last year, we formalized this commitment by establishing a goal to increase engagement with our neighbors around the world to create positive change. In addition to strengthening our community partnerships through employee volunteer efforts, FMC invested $1.64 million in our communities worldwide over the course of 2012. Although important, we realize that financial donations alone can only go so far. To maximize our impact, we are developing a strategy to further align our community engagement efforts and measuring our progress.
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FORWARD TO 2015: OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT INDEX
In 2012, we defined a way to measure our engagement efforts in order to track and advance our progress. Our "Community Engagement Index" quantifies our involvement in four categories at our major sites. We selected these categories of engagement based on FMC’s unique role as a chemistry company, our related areas of expertise and our desire to maintain a trusted relationship with our local communities. The four categories are: Safety, Operational Transparency, Community Leadership and Community Partnership (with more details to found in the Data Center).
We believe both the community and FMC benefit from a "participatory approach" to philanthropy. Around the globe, employees donate their time and talent to valued community philanthropic organizations. In many cases, FMC provides matching funds for employee participation and personal donations.
To begin raising our Community Engagement Index, we challenged all FMC sites to get involved in these four partnership categories every year. Each quarter, our sites report on their progress in these areas. Ultimately, the Index calculates an average score, or value, for community engagement, which serves as a useful performance and planning tool.
We used this tool to assess our level of community engagement in 2011, and calculated a Community Engagement Index value of 64 out of 100. In 2012, the index grew to a score of 76. Our 2015 target is to increase the index value to more than 90. If the index were to reach 100, it would indicate that all sites engaged with their communities in all four categories during the reporting year.
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SUPPORTING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING & MATH (STEM)
In 2012 FMC funded nearly $17,000 in STEM scholarships in five countries. We continue to expand our support in this area, as we believe we can directly impact the future of our industry by exposing students to the exciting career opportunities available in science-based companies like FMC.
DISCOVER SOME OF OUR STEM INITIATIVES >>>
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IMPROVING LIVES THROUGH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
FMC is focused and devoted to helping meet global demand for food, better nutrition, and advanced medicines.
DISCOVER SOME OF OUR HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES INITIATIVES >>>
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CONSERVING OUR ENVIRONMENT
FMC supports community programs and projects that mirror our focus on raising environmental consciousness to protect and preserve natural resources.
DISCOVER SOME OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVIATION INITIATIVES >>>
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FOCUSING ON STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
As a company that maintains strong customer and community relationships, FMC has a positive track record of communicating with external stakeholders; however in our 2011 report we made a commitment to continue to increase engagement with external stakeholders. One of the first steps we took was to talk with stakeholders about our sustainability strategy. During 2012, we discussed our program with customers, distributors, suppliers, community advisory panels, educational institutions, regulators, NGOs, industry groups, and investors. Each interaction is helping us calibrate and enhance the practical effectiveness of our program.
After publishing our first Sustainability Report in 2O11, we engaged an independent firm to conduct a series of interviews with a diverse set of stakeholders to gather unbiased feedback on both our reporting efforts and our approach. Our key audiences challenged us to be more specific about our sustainability goals and set firm metrics. We have taken this constructive feedback into account as we developed this 2O12 Sustainability Report. We will continue to draw on this input as our program continues to develop.
Our Industry Partnerships
- As a leading supplier of soda ash for glass manufacturers, we participate on the Glass Packaging Institute’s Board of Directors. Our support efforts include promoting increased glass recycling rates to further reduce the impact of discarded glass packaging.
- FMC is a founding member of the American Chemistry Council’s (ACC) Lithium Battery Materials Panel, where we advocate for the proper use and recycling of lithium batteries – a crucial resource that powers cell phones, electric vehicles and pacemakers.
- FMC also played a key role in updating ACC’s Responsible Care program (see Fostering Safety on page 11 for more details).
- We participated and provided financial support to a sustainability training and certification program that launched in December 2012 in cooperation with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). FMC employees helped design the program alongside academic leaders, industry participants and sustainability consultants.
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