Environment

At Corning we strongly believe that a sustainable supply chain contributes to our overall global success. We work throughout our entire supply chain, from shipping partners and contract manufacturers, to our own manufacturing and office facilities worldwide to optimize our supply chain and continuously explore additional ways to ensure long-term sustainability. Our efforts span a wide range from ensuring sustainable procurement, to using eco-friendly products, to intelligent waste management and reducing our carbon footprint and more.

Corning rigorously works to ensure that the suppliers that we select share our Values and meet our expectations to adhere to the environmental standards contained in the Supplier Code of Conduct. To that end, throughout the procurement process, our suppliers are held accountable for the same practices that we practice each day around the world. We continually work with our logistics and materials suppliers to promote responsible procurement and transportation practices between our suppliers and Corning plants.

To further support a sustainable supply chain, Corning places a priority on actively engaging suppliers that provide eco-friendly products, selecting products that are clearly marked with a “green/eco-friendly” designation and leveraging internal channels to prominently promote these products to drive company-wide global usage.

The Corning Marketplace, Corning’s office supply clearinghouse, features preferred suppliers who have met eco-friendly guidelines for products within the supplier eco-system. These reusable and recyclable products are used around the world to enhance sustainability, while lowering overall costs throughout our value chain.

As a global corporation with manufacturing facilities around the world, we rely on a vast network of suppliers. We are committed to working with our global supply partners to drive changes that minimize waste to landfills and reduce our environmental impact as outlined in our Environmental Statement.

One example of our commitment to intelligent waste management: In the past, for each piece of glass Corning manufactured for a phone or tablet, a small piece of scrap glass from the process was being discarded. To address this waste, Corning employees worked with suppliers to identify a new and innovative way to market post-manufacturing scrap as raw materials for others to use. Fast forward to today and, instead of flooding landfills around the world with more than 70 million pounds of scrap glass annually, Corning reprocesses it into a cost-effective raw material for other high-tech applications. This innovation has created a new supply chain cycle between the suppliers and Corning’s business divisions. 

Corning believes in leading by example and we are committed reducing the carbon footprint of our locations across the globe. 

For example, Corning has implemented an office sustainability initiative called IT PrintSmart that reduces the number of printers per facility by as much as 90% per building. This program significantly lowers energy consumption and paper use on a global scale, while keeping thousands of ink cartridges, toners and printers out of landfills. IT PrintSmart is just one example that illustrates how analytics and smart thinking can drive significant sustainable improvement in Corning offices around the world. 

Additionally, we recognize that to truly and effectively manage our carbon footprint requires a holistic approach to sustainability that includes and extends well beyond our own company and into the supply chain. We work closely with our supply chain partners to identify opportunities to reduce our overall carbon footprint. For example, efficiently planning the transport of products and materials, including leveraging local sources where possible, to minimize the environmental impacts of shipping and transportation in our supply chain.