Reducing and Managing Waste

Reducing waste and improving efficient use of materials across our footprint is a priority for CVS Caremark. We consistently review and re-examine existing processes to identify new ways we can reduce, reuse and recycle—the heart of our approach to minimizing our waste stream.

A Commitment to Reduce

We utilize a variety of measures to reduce waste and focus on opportunities to minimize impact at each stage in the lifecycle of CVS products – from creation and distribution to use and disposal. Evaluating and implementing ways to reduce unnecessary packaging and material inputs is a first step in this process.

We consistently ask our suppliers to eliminate excess overwrap, shrink wrap and inner packing materials before goods are shipped to our distribution centers. We also encourage them to use recycled cardboard. Our Logistics group delivers nearly all goods to our stores in reusable plastic totes, reducing the need for corrugated transit packaging. Additionally, products sold through CVS.com are shipped directly to our customers using minimal packing materials.

A Commitment to Reuse

CVS has been utilizing reusable plastic totes for more than 30 years. The totes are used to deliver products from distribution centers to our stores, thus replacing the need for corrugated boxes. Each tote, on average, is used 250 times. In 2007, we began exploring with our tote manufacturers a new initiative to create a next generation tote. We would like these totes to be:

• Made of recycled materials.
• Equipped with lids that use newly developed plastic pins instead of metal pins.
• Repurposed at the end of their life cycle, by shredding, pulverizing and then reusing the old material in new plastic totes.

CVS/pharmacy Reusable Shopping Bag

We want to encourage our customers to adopt behaviors that can help us – and them – conserve materials and resources. In 2008, we introduced a non-woven, CVS/pharmacy reusable shopping bag. The new bag, available for purchase at our retail stores, is made of polypropylene fibers that can be recycled or naturally decomposed. Each bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime.

For customers who prefer to take home their purchases in a plastic shopping bag, we offer plastic bag recycling at certain stores, and comply with all state and local recycling regulations.

CVS Caremark Greenbox

In 2008, CVS Caremark Specialty Pharmacy piloted a program to enable our patients who are prescribed specialty pharmaceuticals with cold-chain storage requirements the opportunity to pick-up their prescription at their local CVS/pharmacy. Very often, given the handling requirements of these medicines, patients awaiting the delivery of their medication had to make arrangements to be at home to accept the delivery, which could be inconvenient and disrupt their day-to-day routine. This alternate delivery system is enhanced due to an environmentally-friendly thermal management shipping system, called Greenbox. This delivery system is based on state-of-the-art technology, utilizing reusable and recyclable organic-based materials. The Greenbox can be used up to 100 times, enabling CVS Caremark to meet a customer need while also implementing environmentally friendly technology. The program will be expanded nationwide in 2009.

A Commitment to Recycle

Recycling is another method we use to reduce the amount of solid waste generated by our business operations. Our efforts in this area include:

• Recycling cardboard packaging and pallets at every distribution center.
• Using the multiple bailers installed in each distribution center to compress corrugate and prepare it for recycling.
• Maintaining a national account with Rand Whitney for recycling compressed corrugate.
• Placing recycling bins in workspaces and conference rooms to collect and recycle paper.
• Ensuring our cafeterias collect and recycle paper, cans and plastic bottles.
• Exploring opportunities to recycle stretch wrap film at multiple facilities operated by our Logistics group.