​​Sustainability Governance​

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 they way we govern material Sustainability/ESG issues:

1. Collect data from a diverse set of external and internal stakeholders; Materiality Assessment
2. Identify key issues and opportunities and align them with reporting standards; GRI, TCFD, SASB, CDP, UNGC, SDGs
3. Conduct internal interviews to prioritize issues and opportunities with substantiative impacts; Sustainability Sub-Councils
4. Confirm top issues and priorities with Senior Leadership; Sustainability Council, Eastman Executive Team and Eastman's Board of Directors
5. 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.

​Examples of other Executive Team Responsibilities
​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
​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
​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
​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	​Alignment of corporate responsibility efforts and Eastman Foundation investments to corporate strategy and sustainability goals

 

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.