As a direct result of increased employee satisfaction, participation, and a shared commitment to operate more sustainably, CooperVision's contact lens manufacturing facility in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico has been elevated to the prestigious LEED® Gold certification. The 540,000-square-foot site—which first earned LEED® Silver certification in 2020 for its environmentally conscious design and operation—produces the company’s MyDay® and Biofinity® brands. It is the second CooperVision manufacturing facility to achieve LEED® Gold certification, joining the company’s Costa Rica plant, which earned this recognition in 2022.
The LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system is a globally recognized symbol of excellence in green building. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it certifies that buildings, homes, or communities have been designed, constructed, maintained, and operated to improve both environmental and human health performance.
LEED® projects earn points by adhering to prerequisites and credits across nine measurements for building excellence, from integrative design to human health to material use. The CooperVision site excels in several LEED® evaluation categories, including energy and water conservation, transportation, and waste reduction. Improvements within human experience and indoor environmental quality performance is what brought the site from LEED® Silver to LEED® Gold certification.
“Operating more sustainably for the benefit of our employees, customers, business, and the planet is a core value of CooperVision,” said Javier E. Pellicer Rodriguez, Vice President, Americas Manufacturing Operations, CooperVision. “Our Puerto Rico site’s advancement to LEED® Gold certification is a major testament to the dedication of our team, whose participation made this certification possible.”
Other LEED®-certified CooperVision sites include the company’s manufacturing facilities in Alajuela, Costa Rica and Scottsville, N.Y., as well as its distribution centers in West Henrietta, N.Y. and Spain. A secondary packaging and distribution facility in the U.K. also holds a BREEAM® “Excellent” rating.
CooperVision’s LEED certifications and BREEAM rating (https://www.gbrionline.org/breeam-rating-system/) reflect only a portion of its environmental initiatives focused on saving water and conserving energy; reducing, reusing, and recycling resources; and empowering people within the company and the communities in which it operates. In 2021, CooperVision pioneered the world’s first plastic neutral contact lenses through a partnership with Plastic Bank®, through which the company purchases credits to fund the collection, processing, and reuse of general ocean-bound plastic waste that is equal to the weight of the plastic contained in the product.1† The initiative has had an environmental impact equivalent to 238.2 million plastic bottles recovered since its inception. CooperVision now offers a complete portfolio of net plastic neutral contact lenses in designated countries.1 The company is continuously working to minimize environmental impact and operate more sustainably around the globe as part of broader efforts across CooperCompanies to contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, visit coopervision.com/sustainability.
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† Net Plastic Neutrality, in the contact lens industry, out of the top 4 global contact lens manufacturers. Net plastic neutrality is established by purchasing credits from Plastic Bank. A credit represents the collection and conversion of one kilogram of plastic that may reach or be destined for waterways; collection locations are determined by Plastic Bank. CooperVision purchases credits equal to the weight of plastic in clariti® 1 day, MyDay®, MiSight® 1 day and Biofinity® orders in a specified time period. clariti® 1 day, MyDay®, MiSight® 1 day and Biofinity® plastic is determined by the weight of plastic in the blister, the lens, and the secondary package, including laminates, adhesives, and auxiliary inputs (e.g., ink).
1 CVI data on file 2022
