Baxter Highlights Progress Toward Sustainability Priorities in 10th Annual Sustainability Report

"We strive to be leaders in all of our sustainability-related activities, whether it's corporate giving, expanding access to healthcare, reducing our environmental impact or other areas," said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., Baxter's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are as committed to helping solve today's global sustainability challenges as we are to developing better products and therapies for patients."

Baxter's sustainability priorities, grouped into the three broad categories of Our People, Our Operations and Products, and Our World, reflect issues of key concern to Baxter and its stakeholders and areas where the company is uniquely positioned to have a positive impact. Corresponding long-term performance goals demonstrate the company's commitment, motivate continual improvement and help stakeholders assess performance. Among them are creating an inclusive workplace, strengthening math and science education, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation and water usage.

Examples of progress Baxter has made in each priority category include:

Our People

-- Issuing a new Code of Conduct to reinforce the company's commitment to the highest standards of business ethics and integrity and provide additional resources to help employees make responsible business decisions.

-- Establishing a 50/50 gender balance in management and executive positions in the Asia Pacific region, resulting in a Catalyst Award for commitment to developing and advancing female employees.

Our Operations and Products

-- Applying Lean manufacturing principles to conserve water and other resources, contributing to progress toward the company's water, energy and greenhouse gas reduction goals.

-- Incorporating green-building design principles at several facilities, including Baxter's new European headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and new research and development facility in La Plaine, Belgium.

Our World

-- Donating nearly $44 million to people in need around the world through product donations, cash contributions and grants from Baxter and The Baxter International Foundation.

-- Providing teacher training, equipment and student-learning opportunities in the field of biotechnology to the Chicago Public Schools through Baxter's Science at Work initiative.

Links to additional information about the examples listed above are available via the online news release at www.baxter.com. Additional examples and data can be found in the company's comprehensive 2008 Sustainability Report, which is aligned with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, available at http://sustainability.baxter.com. The report features in-depth reporting across key sustainability topics, including community support, employees, environment, health and safety, ethics and compliance, governance, and product responsibility.

A print version outlining Baxter's sustainability priorities, goals, and progress in each area is also available online or by contacting onebaxter@baxter.com.

About Baxter

Baxter's commitment to sustainability spans three decades. The company is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and has been recognized by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Baxter is a member of the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, the Business Environmental Leadership Council of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the Chicago Climate Exchange, the U.S. EPA's Climate Leaders and the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association. Baxter endorses the Ceres principles and is an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative.

Baxter International Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures and markets products that save and sustain the lives of people with hemophilia, immune disorders, infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. As a global, diversified healthcare company, Baxter applies a unique combination of expertise in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to create products that advance patient care worldwide.

SOURCE: Baxter International Inc.

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