IBM: 40 years of environmental leadership

IBM has had a long and unwavering commitment to sustainability. In 1965, founding family member Thomas J. Watson, Jr., then CEO, included the following commitment among IBM’s Basic Beliefs & Principles:

“We accept our responsibilities as a corporate citizen in community, national and world affairs; we serve our interests best when we serve the public interest.... We want to be at the forefront of those companies which are working to make our world a better place.”

As this excerpt from the Principle demonstrates, IBM recognized its responsibility to sustainability—both business and societal—more than two decades before the term was defined in the 1987 World Commission on Environment & Development Report, “Our Common Future.”

In 1971, Thomas J. Watson, Jr. formalized the company’s environmental programs and commitment with the issuance of its Corporate Policy on IBM’s Environmental Responsibilities. The policy called for IBM to address not only the waste that results from producing its products but also to consider the consequences of processes that are established during product development—what became, decades later, a regulatory focus known as “pollution prevention.”

Over these past four decades, hundreds of thousands of IBMers in diverse roles have been actively engaged in driving and implementing the company’s environmental programs and requirements. This brochure provides a sampling of the leadership, goals and performance these IBMers have enabled the company to achieve.

The initiatives described herein are actions IBM took voluntarily, ahead of regulatory requirements and/or beyond compliance. IBM has always recognized that accomplishments, not intentions, form the substance of leadership. Leadership also requires continued attention to remedial responsibilities. In spite of facing some significant financial challenges at times over the past 40 years, and regardless of how popular the topic of environmental protection has been over these years, IBM has shown there is never a time to stop or step back.

IBM is proud of the 40 years of environmental leadership highlighted in this document—and proud
of all the IBMers whose vision, expertise and unwavering dedication and commitment sustain that leader- ship every day.

Wayne S. Balta
Vice President, Corporate Environmental
Affairs & Product Safety