Updated April 22, 2008
Amgen staff share a passion for supplying vital medicines to patients. Many bring this same passion to their environmental commitment and through outstanding individual and team efforts make Amgen a more environmentally-friendly place to work and protect the local environment.
Amgen U.K. Staff Efforts Reduce Waste by 75 Percent
Would you be willing to give up your waste basket and carry paper, cardboard, cans and bottles to a central recycling location?
Staff at Amgen’s Uxbridge office in the United Kingdom (U.K.) have been working this way since the site opened, and last year they saved approximately 50,000 kilos of waste from going to landfills, 12 million liters of water and 670 trees.
“It’s an amazing recycling effort, the key to which is the commitment of our staff, combined with easy access to recycling facilities,” says Dan Waller, senior manager, and head of the U.K. Facilities Operations function. “We’re not the first company in the United Kingdom to do this, but in a very short space of time, we have raised our level of waste recycling to more than 75 percent – almost double the U.K. average.”
When Uxbridge opened in September 2006, MITIE was selected as the site’s facilities management company. MITIE set up the centralized recycling bins for paper, cardboard, bottles and cans and provided each staff member with a “tree-hugger,” a cardboard container that sits on the desk where staff can stow waste paper until they’re ready to take it to the recycling area.
At the beginning of 2008, Amgen’s Cambridge, U.K., site also brought in MITIE and adopted the same program, removing all individual waste bins and placing recycling stations near printers and in refreshment areas. This was a bit of a shift in behavior for Cambridge staff, but, Waller reports, they adjusted quickly and have been very supportive of the waste-reduction effort.
“We’ve brought our general non-recyclable waste down to a relatively small proportion of the total now,” says Waller, “and the next steps will be to look at ways to reduce the overall quantity of recycling that we need to do, particularly for items like paper.”
Staff Enjoy Alternative Commuting Options
In 2004, when Amgen Washington moved to a new campus in Seattle, Jan Law, senior associate, project management, Facilities Operations and Amgen Washington's Employee Transportation Administrator, realized too many staff were solo automobile commuters. As a result, Law worked to provide a range of transportation options and encouraged staff to pursue alternative transportation. Today, sixty-five percent of staff use some alternative form of transportation to get to work.
“Amgen Washington has made a commitment to helping staff find alternative methods of transportation," said Jan Law. "We have tried to incorporate as much employee input into the transportation program as possible, so that hopefully, everyone can find a commuting solution that suits their lifestyle."
The alternate transportation solutions include 25 Metro and Community Transit vanpools; a Guaranteed Ride Home program which assures that ridesharing staff will be provided with a ride home in case of emergency; an onsite car-sharing program; and a partnership with King County Metro to educate employees on carpooling and public transit options.
Commuter Challenge, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that seeks to improve regional mobility and protect and sustain the environment in the Puget Sound region, has recognized the successful program.
“Jan’s positive customer service attitude, her ability to come up with creative transportation solutions, and her work with external organizations has made Amgen Washington’s commute trip reduction program a true success,” said Sue Hansen, director, Facilities and Maintenance, Amgen Washington.Amgen Staff Member is Longtime Bike Commuter
Mike Husovich has been a bike commuter since the late '1980s’. Husovich commutes nearly 30 miles a day biking to and from his work at the Longmont campus in Colorado.
“The main reason I ride is because I'm protecting the environment, and I thoroughly, thoroughly, enjoy doing it. I think it helps my effectiveness as a leader at Amgen and at home,” said Husovich. “The endorphin flow I get from the morning bike commute along with the time on the bike being outside versus in a car stuck in traffic really helps me plan for the challenges of the day.”
Husovich, with the Company since 2002, appreciates that Amgen supports his commitment to the environment by providing bike lockers and shower facilities on site.
Said Husovich, referring to a bike event in California attended by Amgen CEO, Kevin Sharer and other executives, “I am very encouraged by our leaders’ commitment to fitness and active lifestyles. How many companies can say that their entire executive team rode 50 miles of the Pacific Coast Highway?
Substitutes for Mercury Thermometers Reduce Hazardous Waste
Farah Shamszadeh had an idea to reduce hazardous waste in Amgen Thousand Oaks. She knew that almost one quarter of HazMat incidents – events requiring clean up of hazardous material – involved broken laboratory thermometers that spilled mercury. But, she also knew of a substitute – spirit-filled thermometers that are filled with a liquid in place of mercury.
Shamszadeh and a group of dedicated volunteers developed an awareness program targeting Amgen scientists using mercury thermometers. The group estimated that approximately 1,000 pieces of equipment required the use of thermometers. To encourage the switch-over, they sponsored a three-day event where scientists could exchange mercury thermometers for new spirit-filled thermometers free of charge. The group used e-mail and a site-sponsored Earth Day event to raise awareness of the exchange program. The result? The group collected over 240 mercury thermometers.
“In hospitals they have been implementing programs to reduce mercury thermometer use for years,” continued Shamszadeh. “It’s natural that we, as a company that cares about health, should try to do the same. It’s not that hard to fix this problem.”
Amgen Staff Help Support Greenway
Bob DuBose, Amgen Washington, and Scott Patterson, Amgen Thousand Oaks, decided to turn a summer 2006 teambuilding event into a chance to enrich their staff and support the Washington environment. Nearly 40 of their staff members spent the day outdoors helping to prepare native plants for installment along the I-90 corridor as part of the Mountains to Sound Greenway project. The Mountains to Sound National Scenic Byway is a linked network of green spaces, recreational opportunities and historic towns in Washington State.
“It was fun to get out into nature and do something for the environment,” said Megan Duncan, administrative coordinator, Research and Development Informatics.
Earth Day Celebrations Around Amgen
Each year, Earth Day is celebrated in a variety of ways across Amgen sites.
More than 3,000 staff attended the Thousand Oaks Earth Day and Energy Conservation Fair 2007. The event, which featured 25 exhibitors, focused on ways Amgen operates in an environmentally responsible manner and on how staff can reduce their impact on the environment. It provided attendees with information on public transportation routes, recycling and energy conservation.
In Rhode Island, festivities included utility vendors, recycling information, a biodiesel-fueled vehicle, information on solar and wind energy, organic farming, food, giveaways, raffle prizes and a cake-cutting ceremony led by Kimball Hall, the site vice president.
In Colorado, staff attended a Zero Waste BBQ where they could discard everything from food scraps to utensils in special bins provided on site. Utensils made from potato starch and plates made from sugar cane were compostable. Some staff took a “Recycling Challenge” to raise awareness of all the items that vendors can take in the commingled recycling bins.
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Pictured: Amgen Fremont staff members (l-r) Chantay Bullins and Stacy Grubbs show off the reusable shopping totes distributed at Earth Day 2007. |
All Amgen Fremont staff received a free compact, fluorescent light bulb and learned how to save up to 25 percent more electricity. Staff also received reusable shopping totes and learned about Spare the Air days and alternate commute programs. Other vendors and educators talked about recycling at home and at work, and the importance of appropriate disposal of household hazardous waste in keeping creeks and other waterways healthy.
Improving environmental culture at Amgen in Puerto Rico was the theme for Earth Day activities in 2007. The event included two conferences on site — one explored global warming issues and the other focused on the Blue Flag program promoting sustainable beaches. Activities included featured skits, activities for kids, music, contests and exhibitors.
In Washington and Massachusetts, staff learned how they can be environmentally responsible both at work and at home. A local organic grower gave a demonstration in Washington.
San Francisco raised the Earth Day flag while vendors shared information on home recycling tips, electronic recycling, energy conservation programs, commuter ride sharing and recyclable office products. EHS staff were on hand to answer questions about campus recycling programs.
