Driven by more than 100 years of continuous innovation, Eastman is bringing sustainable materials to market and delivering financial value to our shareholders while scaling positive societal impact for our stakeholders.
Progress on A Better Circle
We launched our updated sustainability strategy to build A Better Circle three years ago, and continuous, steady progress is yielding substantive results. I am excited to share that progress in our 2023 sustainability report, which offers results and key highlights that reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
The power of Eastman innovation gives us the opportunity — and responsibility — to help create a more sustainable future for all. Global waste, climate change and caring for a growing society are among the greatest challenges our world faces, and our company is uniquely positioned to provide solutions that make a real difference.
We are targeting the end of 2023 to begin operating one of the world’s largest material-to-material molecular recycling facilities in Kingsport, Tennessee. We will recycle complex polyester plastic waste that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration. Instead of being wasted, these materials will become Eastman Renew products with certified recycled content — enabling us to make more sustainable choices for many of the products that touch our daily lives.
Dozens of major brands have already adopted Eastman Renew materials, and you can read about several of those successful partnerships in this report. As we make significant progress toward enabling a circular economy, we’re investing approximately $2.25 billion to build three molecular recycling facilities. In addition to the Kingsport plant, we plan to build a facility in France and another at a second U.S. site that will be announced before the end of this year. PepsiCo has agreed to purchase Renew materials from the second U.S. plant, and we are collaborating with some of the world’s largest consumer brands for additional Renew partnerships.
We are continuing to make progress on our climate strategy. Driven by our goal to be carbon neutral by 2050, we continue to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions year over year and we increased our use of renewable energy in 2022. And our recycling technologies not only tackle the waste crisis but also produce molecular building blocks at an improved carbon footprint versus traditional processes, extending the benefit of reducing GHG emissions to our customers.
Plastic waste, climate change and caring for a growing population are challenges that are interrelated, and solving them takes bold action, perseverance and partnerships. Eastman’s purpose to enhance the quality of life in a material way demands that we make a difference.
Eastman is taking action now to build A Better Circle — a better, more sustainable world. We look forward to partnering with all who want to join us in achieving that future.
Mark Costa, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer