Being accountable for safety

With Eastman having over 14,000 employees around the globe, safety is always a top priority. We expect employees to assume personal accountability toward safety and to contribute daily toward the ultimate goal of no one getting hurt. Each person must be responsible and continuously demonstrate a safety mindset to care for and watch out for others. Eastman also provides employees and their families with numerous opportunities for maximizing overall personal health and wellness.

Strength in numbers

Eastman team members have a long history of donating personal time and talents to projects that help communities. Currently, more than 400 of our employees serve on philanthropic boards around the globe. In addition, team members donate tens of thousands of company-paid hours annually to help local service organizations achieve goals.

Eastman is the first U.S.-based chemical company to join Together for Sustainability, an international organization that supports supply chain transparency across the chemical industry. Comprised of procurement officers from leading chemical companies worldwide, the organization seeks to shape sustainable business models and establish open and constructive dialogues for improving working and environmental conditions in our industry’s supply chains.

Eastman strives to invest in its site communities and donated an 18-acre park to the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, to benefit local residents. Located in the Indian Orchard neighborhood, the park is open green space that has been utilized by plant employees and residents for more than 50 years. Eastman dedicated the park to Congressman Richard E. Neal, whose legacy of providing green space honors the families in this and surrounding communities who will enjoy the park for years to come.

Providing opportunities through apprenticeships

Maintaining a skilled workforce requires collaboration and commitment. In Kohtla-Järve, Estonia, Eastman has established a partnership with Eesti Töötukassa, a local employment agency, which allows community members to train and obtain on-the-job experience through apprenticeships at our company’s manufacturing facility. The collaboration has not only reduced unemployment in the Ida-Viru County of Estonia, but also allowed Eastman to identify potentially skilled team members living in this part of Eastern Europe.

Waste not, want not

Bringing improvements to Eastman’s recycling processes was the goal of one employee team when it voluntarily offered to dig through and assess 1,000 pounds of trash. The group’s piece by piece “trash audit” helped determine the amount of waste being produced and how many recyclable items were going to landfill. Key findings led to implementing single-stream recycling as well as improved processes for handling waste.