While corporate citizenship efforts have been a part of Amway operations for decades, this is only the second time the company has published its results in an annual report highlighting the company's impact in five areas: ethics, community, workplace, environment and product responsibility.
"How we behave as global citizens is an essential part of our story," said Amway Chairman Steve Van Andel and President Doug DeVos in a joint statement. "Whether it's creating innovative products to make someone's water more drinkable, mentoring an at-risk high school student, or simply turning the lights off to reduce our carbon footprint, we honor Amway's mission of helping people live better lives."
The report includes position statements and results in the following impact areas: ?Ethics: Amway staff around the world holds more than 50 leadership positions in Direct Selling Associations requiring a commitment to abide by a Code of Ethics.
?Community: Amway employees and distributors volunteered more than a million hours across the globe last year through the AMWAY ONE BY ONE CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN® program.
?Workplace: Amway is committed to being a global employer of choice. Last year, the company was recognized as one of West Michigan's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. And the Amway-owned organic farm in Brazil, where plants are grown for its NUTRILITE® vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements, earned an award for the best education and development programs in the state by the Servicio Social da Industria.
?Environment: Every year, Amway expands its programs to improve the world we live and work in. Last year, Amway recycled 84 percent of its waste, with the goal of reaching 95 percent by 2014. And through its carpooling program, employees reduced commuter miles by 6,000 ? a reduction of 2.5 million pounds of CO2 gas emissions.
?Product Responsibility: New software measuring the impact of a product's lifecycle led to 51% less plastic, 25% less manufacturing costs and 46% less energy use in the Amway's newly redesigned eSpring® Water Purifier.
The company's mission to help people build better lives includes its employees and distributors, and also the community around them.
"Our employees and distributors listen to what the community needs and, in collaboration with them, Amway finds ways to lend a hand," said Amway Vice President Dana Boals.
To view the new Amway Global Citizenship report, go to www.amway.com.
Amway One by One Campaign for Children
The AMWAY ONE BY ONE CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN® program rallies the resources of Amway distributors and employees around the world to make a difference in the lives of children in every market where the company conducts business. Since AMWAY ONE BY ONE® launched in 2003, it has provided hope and opportunity to 8 million children and donated more than $141 million to children's causes worldwide. The number of employee and distributor volunteer hours logged since 2003 now totals 2.3 million, nearly doubling from a cumulative total of 1.3 million hours reported in 2009.