Climate

Climate change is perhaps the single greatest challenge to the quality of life on our planet.

Goals and commitments

We are committed to decarbonizing our operations and working across the value chain to lessen our carbon footprint, which will preserve precious resources. This involves many elements across our company, which are woven together to form a holistic strategy designed to reduce our footprint and drive toward our ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. 

Our strategy is guided by Eastman’s climate policy that includes three key commitments: 

  • Developing material solutions to address society’s climate change challenges

  • Reducing our carbon footprint, building resiliency measures and managing climate change risks and opportunities

  • Pursuing strategic partnerships and initiatives to advance the understanding of climate change to bring forward innovative solutions

View policy

We are going carbon neutral

Addressing the challenge of climate change — as well as setting ambitious goals and holding ourselves accountable — is squarely aligned with our purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way. We intend to abide by the Paris Climate Agreement and have established an overarching goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. 

Our commitments 

  • Reduce our absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by one-third by 2030 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 

  • Increase renewable energy use at Eastman so 100% of our purchased electricity in North America and Europe will be renewable by 2030 

  • Establish a comprehensive understanding of our Scope 3 footprint and develop a strategy that addresses it 

  • Innovate to provide products that enable energy savings and GHG reduction down our value chains and at the consumer level   

 A comprehensive review of our climate goals and commitments can be found in our 2022 CDP Climate Change report. 

View report

Two men in safety vests standing by active wind turbines

Decarbonization strategy

Eastman has dual-horizon GHG reduction goals: reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by one-third by 2030 (working from a 2017 baseline) and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Learn more about our efforts here.

We have a robust portfolio of GHG reduction options in four main categories: energy efficiency, renewable energy, process transformation — which includes our circular economy technologies — and breakthrough technologies. 

Energy efficiency

Improvements are foundational to our strategy to remove energy, costs and GHG emissions from the footprint of our operations. We have a strong history of focused energy efficiency improvements, for which we received multiple ENERGY STAR® awards. We also partner with government organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Plants program. Additionally, we committed to the DOE’s Better Climate Challenge to both learn from others and share what we have learned. Read more about our approach to energy management here.

Energy management

Renewable energy

We established a goal that 100% of our purchased electricity in North America and Europe will come from renewable sources by 2030. 

Process transformation

Our family of molecular recycling technologies has fewer emissions than our heritage production processes. The benefits of carbon renewal technology (CRT) and polyester renewal technology (PRT) are typically framed in terms of the circular economy, but these technologies also deliver fundamental GHG savings — up to 50% fewer emissions than heritage processes. In addition, we are considering lower-GHG fuel options. 

Breakthrough technologies

We are exploring alternative energy technologies that have the potential to accelerate our progress toward decarbonization. Our project team is studying the uses of clean hydrogen; carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); and other emerging innovations.  

We are confident these robust GHG reduction options will position us to achieve one-third of our GHG emissions reductions by 2030. An Eastman team consistently evaluates paths we could take toward both 2030 and 2050 goals. 

Energy management

Scope 3 emissions

The quantification and reduction of Scope 3 emissions are integral to our decarbonization journey. We have a cross-functional steering team focused on driving results on Scope 3 upstream and downstream impacts. This steering team is championed by Julie McAlindon, senior vice president, regions and chief supply chain officer. 
“We view decarbonization of our value chains

as a transformational issue, and we are committed to collaborating innovatively with our suppliers and other key parties to drive the needed emissions reductions." 

Julie A. McAlindon

Julie A. McAlindon
Fork and knife on table with fruits and vegetables

Upstream  Scope 3 emissions

Eastman is actively participating in a Together for Sustainability work stream focused on developing and launching a standard guideline for consistent product carbon footprints and corporate Scope 3 reporting across chemical supply chains. This standard will provide the visibility needed to drive specific improvements in upstream Scope 3 emissions.  
Learn more

Downstream  Scope 3 emissions

Eastman has engaged external expertise to consult with us on deepening the understanding of our downstream Scope 3 emissions. Reducing emissions that are directly in our control is the priority. Meanwhile, we’re working with key customers and collaborating to identify opportunities to reduce product footprints. As product circularity is a key pillar of our climate strategy, we are actively identifying opportunities, like molecular recycling, where possible. Eastman is also focused on scaling the efficiency of our downstream transportation.  

Learn more

Collaboration

Collaboration is key to addressing climate change, and we are proud to be a member of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, commonly known as C2ES, which is the successor of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. We are a member of the C2ES Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC). BELC includes the top companies in the power, manufacturing, transportation, technology, oil and gas, and finance sectors and is the largest U.S.-based group of companies devoted solely to addressing climate change. C2ES’s climate position is to advance strong policy and ambitious action to:

  • Reduce GHG emissions
  • Promote and accelerate the clean energy transition and strengthen adaptation and resilience to climate impacts
  • Facilitate the necessary financial investments to achieve these initiatives

C2ES believes a range of solutions, including market-based approaches and other complementary policies, are critical to achieve these goals. Solutions that are developed through inclusive stakeholder engagement; informed by the latest science that is in line with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement; and equitable while creating jobs are essential ensure a strong, sustainable domestic and global economy.