Baxter Advances Science Education, Haiti Relief Efforts and Environmental Initiatives in Fourth Quarter

Baxter International Inc.’s (NYSE: BAX) Science@Work education program recently hosted interactive science workshops by Baxter scientists to help Chicago-area high school students experience the science behind healthcare careers. The company also announced product donations to support relief efforts for the Haiti cholera outbreak, and was recognized by leading sustainability rankings including Newsweek magazine’s "Green Rankings” and the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes. Further information about Baxter’s sustainability activities can be found at http://sustainability.baxter.com/.

Through Baxter's Science@Work corporate education initiative, Chicago Public Schools students perform a laboratory exercise to learn about DNA. (Photo: Business Wire)

Science@Work Initiative Explores Careers in Healthcare

On December 2, Baxter hosted 75 students from several Chicago-area public high schools at the Illinois Science + Technology Park for Science@Work Day, a hands-on science workshop and career panel as part of Baxter’s Science@Work program – a multi-year partnership launched in 2008 with the Chicago Public Schools to support teacher training and student development in healthcare and biotechnology. The day featured interactive laboratory demonstrations and exercises to help students understand the varying factors considered when engineering a medical device.

"Many of the major issues of the day – such as climate change, a lack of quality healthcare and the need for alternative energy sources – depend on the ability of this generation to apply science and technology to find solutions,” said Norbert Riedel, Ph.D., Baxter’s chief scientific officer. "At Baxter, we feel a responsibility to provide budding young scientists with the knowledge and skills to help ensure that innovation has a rich future in this country.”

In October, Baxter also hosted a career day at Muchin College Preparatory High School in Chicago. Twenty-one Baxter professionals spent the day educating Muchin’s 550 freshmen and sophomores – many of whom will be the first in their families to graduate high school and attend college – about the countless career opportunities available in the healthcare field. Speakers from functions across the company, including engineering, environment, health and safety, human resources, marketing, quality, and research and development led interactive sessions with groups of students, providing information on the academic and technical requirements of careers in healthcare and sharing personal stories about their own career journeys.

Product Donations Support Relief Efforts Following Haiti Cholera Outbreak

Baxter’s long-standing relationships with global humanitarian aid organizations AmeriCares and Direct Relief International (DRI) have helped to facilitate timely, targeted support to help address the recent cholera outbreak in central Haiti. Collaboration with these organizations has yielded shipments of hundreds of thousands of intravenous solutions (IV), including lactated ringers and dextrose, and sets used to administer the solutions to help meet the hydration needs of people affected by waterborne bacteria. Baxter works in close collaboration with these donor partners to develop a yearly product donation plan to help ensure Baxter’s critical healthcare products are available where and when needed. Baxter will continue to work with these donor partners to assess the ongoing relief needs in Haiti.

"Because of the nature of treatment for cholera, Baxter is uniquely positioned to respond to this crisis with life-saving medical products such as IV solutions,” said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., Baxter’s chairman and chief executive officer. "Supporting the relief efforts in Haiti is a natural extension of our commitment to making a positive impact on the health of our local and global communities.”

Baxter’s previous philanthropic giving in response to the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti included grants from Baxter and The Baxter International Foundation to support immediate, acute-care and longer-term needs of the region with a focus on health-related efforts, as well as shipments of more than 330,000 units of critical IV solutions, antibiotics and other vital drugs through AmeriCares and DRI.

Baxter’s Efforts Recognized in Environmental Sustainability Rankings

Baxter ranked first in the healthcare category of Newsweek magazine’s second annual "Green Rankings” list of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in America as measured by revenue, market capitalization and number of employees. Baxter placed 15^th in the overall list. The rankings assess each company’s environmental footprint, policies and strategies to manage that footprint, and reputation among environmental experts. The quality of each company’s environmental reporting, policies, programs and initiatives are measured, including 700 metrics such as emission of key greenhouse gases, water use and solid-waste disposal. Among other criteria, Baxter’s ranking resulted from strong management of environmental issues and commitment to environmental stewardship.

Baxter also led the healthcare products subsector of the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CII), created in collaboration with Bloomberg, for performance in climate-related innovation and carbon management in the United States. Baxter ranked 21^st among the Maplecroft CII Leaders, composed of the 100 top performers in the total benchmark of 339 companies that engage in public climate-related programs, resulting from high scores in the areas of reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions; management of climate change through policies, disclosure, targets, verifications and supply chain processes; and mitigation of carbon emissions through policy responsiveness, partnerships and efficiency.

In another acknowledgement of the company’s efforts to decrease its carbon emissions, two facilities in the United Kingdom achieved certification for improving carbon efficiency. Baxter’s Thetford and Liverpool manufacturing facilities earned the "Carbon Trust Standard” from the Carbon Trust, an independent company that works with businesses to cut carbon emissions. The facilities were recognized for their structured approach and resulting success in reducing emissions and commitment to further reductions.

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 Corporate Knights as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and by Corporate Responsibility magazine as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Baxter was also ranked first in the healthcare category of Newsweek's second annual Green Rankings in 2010. 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, and the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association. Baxter endorses the Ceres principles and is an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative. See Baxter’s sustainability report for more information.

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.

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