Cut, convert, compensate: How we’re achieving our 2030 carbon neutrality goal
Boston Scientific’s commitment to improving the lives of patients extends to protecting the planet we all share. Reducing our carbon footprint is a cornerstone of our efforts to confront climate change, mitigate climate risk to our business and ultimately create a healthier planet for all.
“We’re dedicated to reducing our environmental impact in our sites around the world,” says Paudie O’Connor, senior vice president, Global Supply Chain. “That’s because we know building a sustainable business isn’t just good for us—it’s good for the health of our customers, patients and communities.”
In 2017, we became one of the first medical device manufacturers to pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 in all manufacturing and key distribution sites. We remain on track to meet this goal and have a well-defined path to achieving it.
How we’re doing it
Our carbon neutrality efforts are driven by our C3 energy strategy:
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Cut energy use by investing in energy efficiency and energy management practices, and ensuring new construction meets recognized green building standards
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Convert to renewable energy rather than relying on fossil fuels
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Compensate for unavoidable emissions with carbon credits and projects to offset them
Our work so far
Our distribution center in Kerkrade, the Netherlands is one example of how we’re implementing our C3 strategy.
In 2020, the Kerkrade site obtained an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 50001:2018 certificate demonstrating its commitment to implementing an energy management program. This pushed the site to increase its sustainability efforts.
To move away from fossil-fuel energy sources, the Kerkrade team converted its heating system from natural gas to energy-efficient heat pump technology powered by electricity. This was a major operation that was completed in two steps. First, the old radiation panels in the warehouse were replaced with a state-of-the-art HVAC system, including three large air handling units and three heat pumps placed on the roof. A year later, an additional smaller heat pump was installed to provide heat to offices on site. As of March 2023, the campus was completely running on electricity to heat and cool the buildings, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kerkrade team also installed nearly 1,500 solar panels with a combined output of 0.8MWp on the roof of its distribution center, equaling the electricity use of 228 Dutch households. The onsite solar system is expected to generate approximately 25% of the total electricity needed for the site. The remaining power necessary is purchased from windmill farms in the Netherlands.
Together, these changes have enabled the Kerkrade distribution center to significantly cut energy use and convert to renewable sources, achieving more than 90% renewable energy as of 2024. This progress comes ahead of our goal to achieve 90% renewable energy in manufacturing and key distribution sites by 2027.
This is just one example of the many ways we are working to achieve carbon neutrality in manufacturing and key distribution sites by 2030 and net-zero emissions across our value chain by 2050. Visit our 2023 Performance Report to learn more.