Abbott Sets Aggressive Goal to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott today pledged to reduce its total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2 percent on an absolute basis from 2006 to 2011. A member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Climate Leaders program since 2006, Abbott has announced this goal as part of its ongoing commitment to reduce its environmental footprint by exploring responsible, progressive ways to measure, manage and reduce its energy consumption.

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"Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions demonstrates our corporate-wide commitment to improving the environment and increasing the efficiency of our operations," said Michael Warmuth, vice president, Global Engineering Services.

Climate Leaders is an EPA industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. Partner companies, like Abbott, commit to reducing their impact on the global environment by completing a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions based on a quality management system, setting aggressive reduction goals, and annually reporting their progress to EPA. Through program participation, companies create a credible record of their accomplishments and receive EPA recognition as corporate environmental leaders.

"Abbott is demonstrating corporate climate change leadership by setting a long-term greenhouse gas reduction goal and committing to reduce its carbon footprint, " said Robert J. Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

Earlier this year, Abbott was the first FORTUNE 500 company to commit to going "carbon neutral" with its U.S. fleet of vehicles by offering hybrid cars and other greener vehicles, and committing to purchase carbon credits to offset remaining vehicle emissions.

Abbott's ongoing commitment to sustainable business practices has led to the company being named for the past three years to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) in recognition of the company's leading economic, social and environmental performance.

To learn more about Abbott's sustainability initiatives and to read or download the company's 2006 global citizenship report, visit http://www.abbott.com/citizenship. In order to reduce its environmental impact, the company shortened the print report and expanded the information available on its Web site. The abbreviated print version can be downloaded from the Web site or requested by email at globalcitizenship@abbott.com.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs 65,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com/.