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​​Sustainability governance​

Managing A Better Circle

Using our materiality assessment to understand our stakeholders, we connect the most significant issues to emerging sustainability trends and drivers in the markets we serve. We translate these insights into action through a structured governance model that presents scenarios, options and recommendations to advance action on our most significant issues.

Inclusive stakeholder engagement informs and refines the way we govern material sustainability/ESG issues. We:

  • Collect data from a diverse set of external and internal stakeholders for materiality assessment
  • Identify key issues and opportunities and align them with reporting standards such as GRI, TCFD, SASB, CDP, UNGC and SDGs
  • Conduct internal interviews to prioritize issues and opportunities with substantiative impacts through our sustainability sub-councils
  • Confirm top issues and priorities with senior leadership, including the sustainability council, Eastman executive team and Eastman’s board of directors
  • Assess our strategy, goals, metrics, performance and transparency on each issue through our corporate sustainability team
Employees going over analytics during meeting

Board of directors

Eastman is committed to strong governance.

We remain committed to maintaining our strong corporate governance policies and practices while enhancing the transparency of our business. Integrated into our strategy are Eastman’s ESG and sustainability initiatives.

Learn more at investors.eastman.com

Guiding this integration, the environmental, safety and sustainability (ESS) committee of the Eastman board of directors reviews with management and, where appropriate, makes recommendations regarding the company’s policies and practices concerning health, safety, environmental, security, sustainability, philanthropy, public policy and political activities. This committee is chaired by Kim Ann Mink.

The board remains committed to maintaining a strong alignment
between company performance and our executive compensation program and has taken greater steps to align the outcomes of our I&D and sustainability/ESG efforts with executive compensation as another measure of accountability.

Sustainability council and executive oversight

Eastman’s sustainability council is composed of executive team members and senior leaders to drive alignment of our commitments across the enterprise and address emerging opportunities. Eastman’s CEO and board chair has executive responsibility for the company’s strategy and performance, including sustainability performance as it aligns to the corporate strategy. Sustainability goals are included in our CEO’s annual personal performance commitments, including environmental performance and safety.

Employees in an office going over collaboration strategy 

Sustainability sub‑⁠councils

Eastman’s three sustainability sub-councils and their working groups proactively identify emerging issues, assess risks and opportunities, and make recommendations. The membership of the sub-councils is strategically selected for organizational representation and subject-matter expertise to catalyze action on important issues. 

Two office employees smiling and discussing notes

Code of conduct

To be successful and fulfill our purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, we must maintain trust and confidence with all of our stakeholders. Eastman has a number of policies and initiatives in place that allow employees to cultivate a culture of integrity and ethical standards. The company has an office of global business conduct, which administers the Eastman Code of Business Conduct. The code raises awareness of legal and ethical issues that may arise and outlines the company’s expectations for compliance with the most current regulations and standards. Annual training on the Code of Business Conduct is required for 100% of employees. In conjunction with the Code of Business Conduct, Eastman provides a third-party code of conduct to our suppliers, which defines our expectations for conducting business with Eastman. We expect the same ethical behavior of our suppliers and hold them accountable via annual supplier surveys to drive the highest standards of sustainability, fair labor practices and safety along our value chain.