| | Dear Stakeholders,
For METTLER TOLEDO the term “sustainability” means many different things. It defines our approach to decision making, to how we manage our environmental impacts, and to how we manage our relationships with our customers, our employees, our suppliers, our shareholders, and the communities where we do business. Most importantly, we believe a sustainable business is one that is positioned for long-term growth. “Sustainability” touches all aspects of our business.
We are happy to present here our first sustainability report, a document that is intended to describe how we manage our business and continue our legacy of long-term stability, smart decision making, and awareness of our impact on the environment and on society. We have prepared this report using the framework of the Global Reporting Initiative in order to present our story in a structured manner, reflecting the state of the art in corporate sustainability. We will build on this first report in coming years, and will present even more comprehensive data as it becomes available.
In 2010, we began the GreenMT initiative, a program designed to improve upon our understanding of how our business impacts the environment. The centerpiece of the GreenMT program is the comprehensive measurement of our resource usage and emissions as a means of determining our global greenhouse gas footprint. This past year, we have collected data across the company, including fuel usage in our fleets and the electricity usage of all of the buildings we occupy, to understand the magnitude of our greenhouse gas footprint.
As a global company, we understand that our impacts extend beyond the walls of our facilities. Our emissions are not generated only by our fuel and electricity usage, the sources most typically associated with greenhouse gas emissions. We are also in the early stages at looking at our products and supply chains so that we can begin to address their impacts on our operations as well. With this data in hand, in the upcoming year we will establish goals and start to make reductions in these emissions. This plan may include new ways of managing our vehicle fleets, incorporating new design features into our products, improving the energy efficiency of our buildings and processes, and looking at how we source the electricity we use in our facilities. We will critically examine all options, and make informed decisions that are in the best interest of our company, the communities where we do business, and the planet as a whole.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the METTLER TOLEDO management team and our employees will work together closely on the GreenMT initiative. Our employees are the single most critical element to our company’s success. They deeply understand every aspect of our operations, and thus are well positioned to offer ideas for how we can become a better-run, more efficient company. We are relying on their experience and insights to collect information, interact with their peers and colleagues, and make GreenMT as successful as it can be.
We see GreenMT as a critical ingredient for our long-term success. It is based upon our culture of innovation and stability, and our focus on long-term value creation for our shareholders. With this undertaking, we are broadening our understanding of our business, and further clarifying what risks and opportunities are out there. We look forward to updating you on our progress.
Sincerely
Olivier A. Filliol
President and Chief Executive Officer
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