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Sustainability Goals and Indicators
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Environmental Performance: ComplianceThe foundation of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s EHS program is to be in compliance with government regulations and worldwide corporate guidelines designed to help protect the environment, our workers, and the public. We continue to show improvement in compliance, although there were times when we failed to fully meet permit or regulatory requirements. Bristol-Myers Squibb cooperates with local, national, and international regulatory bodies to help develop environmental standards. In many countries, our facilities are recognized as being leaders in EHS performance, and government authorities look to our EHS experts for best practices in EHS management.Violations and FinesBristol-Myers Squibb tracks citations, administrative orders, and similar notifications worldwide as a result of government interactions and inspections. Whenever a facility violates a regulatory requirement, management determines the cause of the noncompliance, takes appropriate corrective measures, and, if necessary, develops an action plan to prevent its recurrence. There were about 160, 190, and 210 government-initiated interactions in 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively (including, but not limited to, site visits or inspections) at Bristol-Myers Squibb facilities relating to EHS. The global reporting information provided below reflects only penalties associated with government inspections and does not include, for example, self-reported permit exceedances or minor administrative errors. Also, fines associated with a violation are assigned to the year the fine was paid. Recent Citations HistoryThe number of regulatory citations issued to Bristol-Myers Squibb was 27, 43, and 21 in the years 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively. The total penalties paid by the company with the corresponding number of citations in parenthesis were less than $75,000 (8) in 2004; $25,000 (14) in 2005; and $20,000 (6) in 2006. For more information on environmental proceedings with a governmental authority that may involve potential monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more (the threshold prescribed by specific SEC rule), a civil action or an environmental claim that could result in significant liabilities, updates of ongoing matters, or the resolution of other matters, disclosed in recent public filings and a summary of remediation costs, see the Environmental Proceedings section of the Notes to Consolidated Statements in the Bristol-Myers Squibb 2006 Annual Report.
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Bristol-Myers Squibb, like most major industrial companies, is involved in a number of environmental cleanups associated with past activities, even though the activities were lawful and acceptable at the time they occurred. We invest resources to achieve cleanup in a manner that is environmentally and financially responsible. We utilize risk management techniques whenever possible to determine the most effective approaches to pursue at each cleanup site.