Global Citizenship

Letter from Greg Lucier

Every day, hundreds of thousands of scientists across the globe use Life Technologies products and services to advance science in fields as diverse as personalized medicine, 21st century forensics, and biofuels.

With our workforce of more than 9,000 people in over 100 countries, we use the power of innovation to improve the human condition one discovery at a time. While we are proud of the responsibility we shoulder in moving science forward, we know that to be a truly great company, we also must be a responsible global citizen. We must be dedicated to unyielding ethics, sustainable business practices, and giving back to our communities. I would like to highlight a few of our recent accomplishments:

• Since 2004, we have reduced our energy consumption by 32 percent and CO2 emissions by 36 percent per unit of sale.
• We have enhanced our "design-for-environment" program, which re-engineers our product development processes, reducing packaging waste, energy usage, toxic materials, and our carbon footprint at every phase of development, from product ideation to end-of-life disposal.
• 100 percent of our employees have taken ethics training and are well versed in our Protocol, the company's guide to ensuring that our business is conducted in accordance with legal and ethical guidelines.
• We established the Life Technologies Foundation, providing grants that aim to demystify and celebrate the world of life science. We also donate millions of dollars in products and provide funding for global disaster relief.
• Each year, all employees are given paid leave to participate in local volunteer projects. In May 2009, nearly 3,200 employees contributed more than 13,000 hours of volunteer time in over 100 projects worldwide.

Our citizenship efforts helped Invitrogen (prior to the merger with Applied Biosystems) be named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. After the merger, Life Technologies also was named to the FTSE4Good Index Series.

In short, we value a culture that is deeply dedicated to the future of science, respects our environment, and is committed to doing the right thing. Global citizenship is not a destination, but a journey, one that Life Technologies will undertake for years to come.