CooperVision Achieves Zero Waste Certification at Six Global Manufacturing and Distribution Facilities

Monday, March 10 2025 | 16 h 16 min | News

CooperVision has earned Zero Waste Facility Program Certification for six of its global contact lens manufacturing and distribution sites^.*1 The certification, which demonstrates the degree to which operations prevent or divert waste from landfills, was attained by the company’s facilities in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico; Alajuela, Costa Rica; Delta Park and Mount Park in the U.K.; and Scottsville and West Henrietta, N.Y.^*1

Each site was evaluated and certified individually by SCS Global Services (SCS), an international leader in third-party environmental and sustainability certifications, under its latest Zero Waste standard. CooperVision facilities which have varying diversion percentages achieved certification through a combination of recycling, composting, waste-to-energy, resale, and reuse.^*1

“Getting the waste diverse certified at all six of these facilities is not only a celebration of our current efforts but serves as another significant benchmark of progress in our sustainability journey,” said Rolando Torres, Chief Operations Officer, CooperVision. “Our teams continuously explore opportunities to operate more sustainably across the entire business. We won’t stop here.”

The Zero Waste Facility Certification reflects the latest milestone in CooperVision’s environmental initiatives focused on conserving energy; reducing, reusing, and recycling resources; and empowering people within the company and the communities in which it operates.^*†1 CooperVision’s facilities in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Scottsville, and West Henrietta also hold prestigious LEED^® certifications, and Mount Park a BREEAM^® “Excellent” rating.^{‡ 2,3}

CooperVision pioneered the world’s first net plastic neutral contact lenses^§4 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.^◊5 The initiative has had an environmental impact equivalent to more than 466 million plastic bottles recovered since its inception in 2021. ^¶6 CooperVision now offers a complete portfolio of net plastic neutral contact lenses in designated countries

The company is continuously working to minimize environmental impact and support People + Planet around the globe as part of broader efforts across CooperCompanies to contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.^{** 2,5} For more information, visit coopervision.com/sustainability.

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* Zero Waste Program Certification is obtained through SCS Global Services, an international leader in third-party certification, validation, and verification for environmental sustainability.

† Zero Waste Program Certification for six global manufacturing and distribution sites — Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico; Alajuela, Costa Rica; Delta Park and Mount Park in the UK; and Scottsville & West Henrietta, NY.

‡ Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. BREAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology.

§ Range defined as all 1 day brands and segments: sphere, toric and multifocal.

◊ Plastic used in participating CooperVision soft contact lens products 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). The determination does not include plastic used during the manufacturing process for both these products and their packaging.

¶ CooperVision, through its collaboration with Plastic Bank, to have collected and converted approximately 9.3M kg of plastic destined for waterways as of February 2025. Using Plastic Bank’s metric of 1kg of plastic equaling 50 standard 202mm bottles, that will be the equivalent of approximately 466M plastic bottles not reaching our oceans.

** Refers to continuous manufacturing improvement processes undertaken by CooperVision to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions.