Abbott 2003 Global Citizenship Report - Abbott Laboratories

Energy
Consumption
For more than 30 years, Abbott has implemented energy management and conservation efforts
designed to reduce our energy consumption. Compared to our energy consumption in 1973,
our U.S. locations now use approximately 70 percent less energy per unit of output. Energy
conservation provisions have been integrated into our engineering and facility-design
standards. We have evaluated how emissions, capital costs and operating expenses are affected
by different energy sources and new technologies, such as solar and wind power. We have
found that traditional energy management technologies, and combined heat and power
projects provide more value than alternative energy sources. We will continue to evaluate the
viability of alternative energy sources in the future.
Whenever feasible, we use natural gas as our fuel of choice combined with cogeneration as
a more efficient way to provide energy. Some Abbott facilities in Italy, Germany, the United
Kingdom and the United States, including Puerto Rico, currently use cogeneration on site.
Electricity accounts for about one-third of our energy consumption and two-thirds of our energy
costs, and produces one-half of our carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. Controlling our electricity
consumption provides us with the best return both economically and environmentally.
In 2003, total energy usage increased 2 percent. When normalized to sales, however, energy
usage decreased by 8.5 percent. In part, this decrease was due to the energy conservation
measures in place throughout the company.
Thousand Giga-joules
16,000
12,000
8,000
4,000
0.0
Energy Consumption
15,449 15,727
14,063
2001 2002 2003
Mega-joules/$1,000 Sales
Energy Consumption
(Normalized to Sales)
900
862 872
798
600
300
0
2001 2002 2003
Process Air
Emissions
Process air emissions worldwide declined 2 percent from 2002 to 2003, and declined 11 percent
when normalized to sales.
Process Air Emissions
6.0
Process Air Emissions
(Normalized to Sales)
0.40
Million Pounds
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
5.8
4.8
4.7
Pounds/$1,000 Sales
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.36
0.27
0.24
0.0
2001
2002* 2003
0.0
2001
2002* 2003
* Data has been updated from the last report based on a records audit.
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