With a company tagline of “Life Forward” that represents Curium’s commitment to securing a brighter future for its employees, partners and patients, the company values sustainability as a cornerstone in building an ethical and environmentally responsible business. Across all of Curium’s international locations, the world’s leading nuclear medicine company also believes in supporting the local communities in which they operate.
At the company’s North American headquarters in St. Louis, Curium was a proud participant in the 2020 St. Louis Green Business Challenge, with a focus on supply chain sustainability. During the 2020 Challenge, Curium earned the esteemed title of Challenge Champion for completing work with the Leader scorecard and committing to continued implementation of deeper sustainability strategies.
Among Curium’s impressive accomplishments to receive recognition in the Challenge was a project to reclaim and recycle spare parts throughout its facility to keep plastic, lead and other metals out of the landfills, while supporting thinking green in terms of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.” In doing so, the company reduced its overall stock and limited purchasing new items by reusing inventory, in addition to helping provide customers with a responsible way to dispose of shipping material.
Through a newly established company process to reclaim packaging materials and regulate waste, Curium used 26,754 reclaimed buckets last year during production and is predicted to use 27,832 reclaimed buckets this year, which is 91% reclaimed vs. new material. Furthermore, the company identified 25 parts from a machine in its facility no longer in use that could be repurposed in other machines. Upon completing a deeper inventory, an additional 123 spare parts were identified as recyclable, resulting in 3,026 lbs. of lead spare parts and 8,744 lbs. of copper spare parts that were sent off to Overland Lead to reuse and recycle.
Other noteworthy innovations include a company-wide transition to electronic purchase orders, which saves four hours of time each week organizing, filing and mailing off purchase orders and has helped to significantly reduce paper use. Rolling out this new system also grants the purchasing team the ability to work from home, which benefits the region’s air quality by keeping fewer cars on the roads and helping to reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gas emissions emitted from motor vehicles.
The Clean Air Partnership is pleased to recognize the efforts of businesses such as Curium that continue to take action for cleaner air by channeling their time and energy towards practicing sustainability. For additional information on how your company can get involved in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, subscribe to their weekly E-Newsletter or visit www.stlouisgreenchallenge.com. To learn more about the link between sustainability and air quality, explore our website, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at @gatewaycleanair.