At Eastman, we understand our activities, products and services can have an impact on biodiversity. So we’re always engaged, looking for ways to partner with our communities, industry and organizations to put programs in place that ensure we protect, preserve and restore the natural habitats that surround us.
As part of Eastman’s risk assessment and evaluation process for new facilities, consideration is given to the potential impacts to the existence of local and regional sensitivities such as wetlands and wildlife habitat.
Examples of our sponsorships of local ecosystems include:
The Eastman Foundation's support of The Nature Conservancy: Funds from the Eastman Foundation help fund The Nature Conservancy’s acquisition of a preserve in Shady Valley, Tennessee, which supports at least 26 rare plants and animals.
Conservation Camp — Keep Kingsport Beautiful: Hosted on the Eastman campus, local fourth grade students participated in learning activities that increased awareness of environmental issues.
New green spaces: In 2022, Eastman planted over 200 trees to serve both as a visual screen for our nearby neighbors as well as a new habitat for increased biodiversity. The species of trees were selected specifically for their ability to host a range of butterfly and moth caterpillars. In addition, the corporate campus has begun two pollinator gardens in its landscape.
Holston River study: On a regular basis since the 1960s, Eastman has commissioned the world-renowned, Philadelphia-based Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University to study the rivers upstream and downstream of our major United States manufacturing sites to ensure that our operations are not negatively impacting the environment. Two of the most extensive of these river studies are focused on our sites in Kingsport, Tennessee, and Longview, Texas.
Nature Center in Longview, Texas: Our Texas Operations Nature Center is recognized as a Conservation Certification Gold site through the Wildlife Habitat Council for a long-standing environmental education program that provides site-based outdoor classrooms, a demonstration forest, stream, observation beehive and an amphitheater.
Gwent Wildlife Trust in Newport, South Wales: Our facility at Newport, South Wales, leases Gwent Wildlife Trust, 31 hectares of fields to manage as a nature reserve known as Great Traston Meadows. The trust is a charity dedicated to nurturing and restoring wildlife and is part of a network of wildlife trusts across the United Kingdom.
Torreya State Park: As part of the Eastman Naia™ commitment to good forest stewardship and in celebration of the International Day of Forests, Eastman, the Eastman Foundation and Georgia-Pacific Cellulose worked with The Longleaf Alliance to provide 60,000 longleaf pine seedlings to Torreya State Park in Northwest Florida. Torreya sustained significant damage from Hurricane Michael in 2018. The project is part of a larger effort to restore important longleaf habitats that provide homes to endangered, threatened and at-risk species as well as help protect Florida's water quality.
Brazilian Atlantic Forest restoration project: In 2022, Eastman began partnering with the environmental nongovernmental organization SOS Mata Atlântica and Bracell, a soluble cellulose producer, to donate 15,000 seedlings in support of a program designed to help restore the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This environmental initiative is supporting Future Forests, a program created to catalyze forest restoration in permanent protection areas such as riparian forests and legal reserves in the Atlantic Forest biome.
