Between 2006 and 2011, we reduced our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 23 percent, indexed to sales. That tops our Business Roundtable goal of lowering GHG emissions 18 percent by 2012 — a full year ahead of our schedule.

Protecting the environment; improving health and safety

Eaton is a global technology leader that employs approximately 73,000 people, and we operate more than 200 manufacturing facilities worldwide. We produce energy-efficient solutions that help our customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power, ranging from safe and innovative home circuit breakers to sophisticated hydraulic, fuel and conveyance systems that power the world’s largest aircraft. As a result, we operate an equally wide range of facilities across broad geographies and diverse cultures.

To unify these diverse operations behind common sustainability standards and practices, we created the MESH (Management System of Environment, Security, Safety and Health) program in 2005. Two years later, we added MESH to the Eaton Business System — our integrated business operating system — with a goal of achieving world-class environment, health and safety (EHS) performance. During 2011, we continued to advance toward that goal:

• We decreased our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10.0 percent, indexed to sales, exceeding our 6 percent goal. Applying the same measure, we’ve reduced our GHG emissions by 23 percent since 2006, exceeding our Business Roundtable goal of lowering GHG emissions by 18 percent by 2012 — a year ahead of our schedule. We achieved an absolute reduction of 20 percent over the same time.
  
  
• We reduced our waste generation by 3.6 percent (compared to a 3 percent goal) and reduced water consumption by 9.9 percent (compared to a 3 percent goal). Both measures are indexed to sales.
  
  
• We improved our Total Recordable Case Rate by nearly 8 percent to 0.88 (compared to a 0.90 goal). We also improved our Days Away Case Rate (DACR) by approximately 21 percent to 0.35 (compared to a 0.30 goal). Regrettably, we had one fatal injury, at our Kearney, Nebraska, facility.
  
  

Premier Environmental Services Inc., an independent environmental services company, examined our data collection and management processes and verified these data are both materially correct and fairly represented.

We also received several prestigious honors during the year:

• For the third time in the past four years, the Carbon Disclosure Project named us to its Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index of S&P 500 companies that practice exemplary environmental reporting.
  
  
• We were named to Corporate Responsibility magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens” for the fourth straight year.
  
  
• Ethisphere Institute named Eaton one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” for the fifth straight year.
  
  
• We earned five recognitions for corporate citizenship and sustainability in China, including the “Excellent Corporate Citizen in China” award from the China Corporate Citizenship Committee for the third consecutive year.
  
  
• Carta Capital magazine named us one of “The Most Admired Companies in Brazil”— the third year in a row we’ve earned that distinction.
  
  

Among outstanding individual achievements by Eaton facilities during 2011: Our plant in Queretaro, Mexico, earned an Environmental Leadership Initiative for Competitiveness award from the country’s environmental ministry; our plant in Hutchinson, Kansas, received the state’s Pollution Prevention (P2) Award for significantly reducing its carbon emissions, water consumption and waste generation; and our plant in Tczew, Poland, won top honors in the “Safe Work Employer” competition organized by the Polish National Labor Inspectorate.

In addition, Eaton employees across the globe participated in World Environment Day, organizing a wide range of activities to conserve energy, reduce waste and increase environmental awareness in their local communities.