Boston Scientific – Alexandra Bothner – 2017

Goals 

Boston Scientific Corporation, a global medical device company, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Alexandra Bothner to measure progress in energy management at sites around the world. The company has achieved significant emissions reductions through energy efficiency in the past, and is looking ahead to incorporate renewable energy and carbon offset projects–including aggressive emissions reduction and renewable energy targets for its manufacturing and distribution sites– into its strategy. In 2017, Boston Scientific set the goal of achieving Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon neutrality at its manufacturing and distribution sites by 2030.  Bothner was tasked with developing a communications strategy to generate a positive impact on the public, as well as key internal and external stakeholders, around the announcement of these new goals.

Solutions

To analyze Boston Scientific’s existing energy and emissions disclosure process, Bothner submitted its 2017 CDP Climate Change Survey, provided final review comments on its annual corporate sustainability report and developed a tool to streamline the process of tracking annual key performance indicators related to energy and sustainability. To plan for its new energy and emissions reduction targets, she created an overview of renewable energy project and financing options, as well as a set of guidelines for renewable energy and REC procurement. Bothner also helped develop a strategy for announcing the company’s new carbon neutrality commitment, and created a high-level roadmap for achieving this goal. Finally, she conducted an annual energy management benchmarking survey, which she used to generate quantitative analyses, and provided a SWOT analysis and recommendations for each individual site within the network.

Potential Impact

The carbon neutrality communications strategy and roadmap will lead to successful internal and external awareness of Boston Scientific’s new target and reaffirm its commitment to reducing its environmental impact. As a result of this strategy, the company has committed to be a sponsor for Climate Week 2017. The tracking tool for key performance indicators allows for easier and more consistent reporting in future sustainability reports and CDP surveys. Results from the energy management survey help the global network of 16 manufacturing and distribution sites target its work in energy management, and aid in its budgeting and planning process for new energy projects.