Managing A Better Circle: sustainability governance
Using our materiality assessment to understand our stakeholders, we connect the most significant issues to emerging sustainability trends and drivers within the markets we serve. We translate these insights into action through a structured governance model that presents scenarios, options and recommendations to advance action on our most significant issues.
Inclusive stakeholder engagement informs and refines the way we govern material sustainability/ESG issues:
- Collect data from a diverse set of external and internal stakeholders: materiality assessment
- Identify key issues and opportunities and align them with reporting standards: GRI, TCFD, SASB, CDP, UNGC, SDGs
- Conduct internal interviews to prioritize issues and opportunities with substantiative impacts: sustainability sub-councils
- Confirm top issues and priorities with senior leadership: Sustainability Council, Eastman executive team and Eastman’s Board of Directors
- Assess our strategy, goals, metrics, performance and transparency on each issue: corporate sustainability team
Board of directors
Eastman is committed to strong governance.
We remain committed to maintaining our strong corporate governance policies and practices while enhancing the transparency of our business. Integrated into our strategy are Eastman’s ESG and sustainability initiatives.
Guiding this integration, the environmental, safety and sustainability (ESS) committee of the BOD reviews with management and, where appropriate, makes recommendations regarding the company’s policies and practices concerning health, safety, environmental, security, sustainability, philanthropy, public policy and political activities matters. This committee is chaired by Julie F. Holder.
The board remains committed to maintaining a strong alignment between company performance and our executive compensation program and has taken greater steps to align the outcomes of the company’s I&D and Sustainability/ESG efforts with executive compensation as another measure of accountability.
Sustainability Council and executive oversight
Eastman’s sustainability council is composed of executive team members and senior leaders to drive alignment of our commitments across the enterprise and address emerging opportunities. Eastman’s CEO and board chair has executive responsibility for the company’s strategy and performance, including sustainability performance as it aligns to the corporate strategy. Sustainability goals are included in our CEO’s annual personal performance commitments, including environmental performance and safety.
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Chief Sustainability and Technology Officer |
Alignment of corporate innovation and technology strategies to Eastman’s sustainability commitments
Assessment of disruptive macro trends
Development of robust innovation pipeline
Sustainability assessment of product portfolio |
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Chief Legal Officer |
Corporate governance
Ensure adherence of business practices to global business conduct standards
Global health, safety, environment and security
Product stewardship and regulatory affairs
Public Affairs/Community Relations |
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Chief Human Resource Officer |
Inclusion and diversity
Ensure excellence in talent acquisition, retention, management and development
Organizational effectiveness, employee relations and labor relations |
Chief Manufacturing, Engineering
and Supply Chain Officer |
Alignment of manufacturing operations and supply chain strategy to the company’s sustainability commitments
Asset design and improvements
Capital spending for projects that help reduce the company’s environmental footprint |
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Chief Commercial Officer |
Alignment of procurement and sales strategies and priorities with company’s sustainability strategy
Customer engagement to understand market needs |
Chief Financial Officer
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Alignment of corporate responsibility efforts and Eastman Foundation investments to corporate strategy and sustainability goals
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Sustainability sub-councils
Eastman’s three sustainability sub-councils and their working groups proactively identify emerging issues, assess options and make recommendations. The membership of the sub-councils is strategically selected for organizational representation and subject matter expertise to catalyze action on important issues.
Code of Conduct
To be successful and fulfill our purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, we must maintain trust and confidence with all of our stakeholders. Eastman has a number of policies and initiatives in place that allow employees to cultivate a culture of integrity and ethical standards. The company has an Office of Global Business Conduct, which administers the Code of Business Conduct. The code raises awareness of legal and ethical issues that may arise and outlines the company’s expectations for compliance with the most current regulations and standards. Annual training on the
Code of Business Conduct is required for 100% of employees. In conjunction with the Code of Business Conduct, Eastman provides a
Third Party Code of Conduct to our suppliers, which defines our expectations for conducting business with Eastman. We expect the same ethical behavior of our suppliers and hold them accountable via annual supplier surveys to drive the highest standards of sustainability, fair labor practices and safety along our value chain.