Johnson & Johnson Vision’s three sustainability focuses

“Sustainability for us starts from the very, very big things – carbon footprint and renewable energy – all the way through to the stand that we have,” Jakob Sveen, general manager for the UK and Ireland at Johnson & Johnson Vision, told OT at 100% Optical (February 25–27).

Sustainability was a key focus for the contact lens manufacturer at the optical trade show earlier this year.

Sveen explained that Johnson & Johnson Vision has three areas of focus in sustainability: reducing its carbon footprint, reducing waste, and recycling.

“I’m really pleased to say on reducing our carbon footprint across our two big manufacturing sites for Johnson & Johnson Vision, we are on one hundred percent renewable energy,” he said. “All of Acuvue lenses are produced with one hundred percent renewable energy.”

“In areas like packaging, secondary packaging, distribution, and warehousing, we’ve saved more than 48,000 tonnes when it comes to CO2 emissions,” he added.

In the UK, Johnson & Johnson Vision is partnered with TerraCycle on a recycling scheme.

“It has evolved year by year, and effectively means that we’ve recycled more than 11 million lenses, foils, packaging and otherwise – and has resulted in more than one thousand recycling stations across the UK, in partnership with many of our customers and TerraCycle,” Sveen outlined.

With recycling stations in practices across the country, Sveen suggested this was “a real opportunity for patients to come into store, recycle, and have a partnered approach to reducing the impact of the industry.”

The company took the decision to go paperless for 100% Optical, with all materials available digitally.

A ‘digital tree’ on the Johnson & Johnson Vision exhibition stand reflected how much paper had been saved, as it grew over the three days of the event.

After the show, Sveen said, 95% of the stand was going to be re-used, and the company had committed to working with local partners to recycle the remaining 5%.