CooperVision Honored for Outstanding Environmental, Health and Safety Practices
Company Wins Multiple Awards at PRMA Environmental, Occupational Health and Safety Summits; Also Recognized for Excellent Compliance by PRASA
PLEASANTON, CALIF., August 18, 2016 — CooperVision, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses, has been honored by the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association (PRMA) with a series of prestigious environmental, health and safety awards in recognition of advancements in its Puerto Rico high volume production facility. Contact lenses manufactured at the site, including MyDay® and Biofinity® brands, are shipped to locations worldwide.
CooperVision was lauded in part for advances in its manufacturing processes, winning the Environmental Innovation Project of the Year Award. The company reported an initial reduction of 12.4% in alcohol use and a 55% decrease in water demand for manufacturing purposes in its Puerto Rico facility, with plans to add two additional manufacturing lines to the environmentally-sound process this year. CooperVision’s streamlined manufacturing process reduces landfill disposal, and has presented a company cost savings of $1 million in 2015, and is projected to save an additional $7.5 million in operating costs by the end of 2017.
During PRMA’s 2016 Environmental Summit and Occupational Health and Safety Summit, CooperVision received additional awards that included:
- The Recycling Platinum Award, which is presented to an organization that exemplifies best practice standards in alternate energy and sustainability. The CooperVision site recycles over 90 percent of its manufacturing process materials.
- The Best Practice Initiative Award, presented to the company that is involved in innovative safety initiatives with exceptional results or that had excelled in the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) field. The Environmental, Health & Safety team was recognized through this award for their EHS Annual refresher, a training initiative provided in a single multimedia experience that boosted attendance, management participation, and comprehension.
- The President’s Award, given to the company with employee injury rates that are 50-74% below the national average. CooperVision’s Environmental, occupational health and safety team accepted the award for the fourth consecutive year.
The company also won awards in Recycling, Waste Minimization, Water Conservation, Reuse and Reduction, Energy Conservation, and Minimization of Hazardous Waste or Substances categories. Other honorees included multinational manufacturers such as Bristol Myers Squibb, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Medtronic.
CooperVision was also recognized this summer by the Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority (PRASA) for its excellent compliance among significant industrial users. This places CooperVision among a select group of companies, and is especially notable because of the size and scope of the company’s operations.
“Our green practices reflect a commitment to protect and maintain healthy environments in the communities in which we operate, all while creating the highest quality products and responsible economic growth,” said Rolando Torres, senior vice president, Americas Manufacturing Operations at CooperVision. “Likewise, the health and safety of our employees is paramount to our continued success. It’s an honor to receive this recognition from PRMA, especially alongside some of the world’s largest and best-known manufacturers.”
In keeping with the company’s ever-evolving green practices, CooperVision opened a newly constructed, energy efficient manufacturing plant in Alajuela, Costa Rica in June. The environmentally friendly facility features a high-efficiency luminary system with natural light support, a vegetable oil-powered main transformer to reduce energy and waste, rain water tanks for toilets, waterless urinals, and a lubricated air compressor to cut energy consumption. The plant also recycles up to 90 percent of its solid waste, 100 percent of plastic components generated by the manufacturing process, and derives 90 percent of the facility’s electricity from by renewable sources.
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About CooperVision
CooperVision, a unit of The Cooper Companies, Inc. (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The Company produces a full array of monthly, two-week and daily disposable contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism and presbyopia; and offers the most complete collection of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
About The Cooper Companies
The Cooper Companies, Inc. ("Cooper") is a global medical device company publicly traded on the NYSE (NYSE:COO). Cooper is dedicated to being A Quality of Life Company™ with a focus on delivering shareholder value. Cooper operates through two business units, CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision brings a refreshing perspective on vision care with a commitment to developing a wide range of high-quality products for contact lens wearers and providing focused practitioner support. CooperSurgical is committed to advancing the health of families with its diversified portfolio of products and services focusing on women’s health, fertility and diagnostics. Headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, Cooper has approximately 10,000 employees with products sold in over 100 countries. For more information, please visitwww.coopercos.com.