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Employee Interviews

To provide a broader perspective on sustainability, we spoke with several Millipore employees, who shared their thoughts. Click on the links below to see their comments.

Jean-Paul Mangeolle

President, Bioprocess Division

What does sustainability mean to you personally?

In a nutshell, as a famous French writer said, it means that you don’t get the planet from your parents, you borrow it from your kids. We have a responsibility to leave the earth as good as we find it. We have to be able to discover ways to keep doing what we’re doing, without using as many resources as we are, or we’ll run out.

Why does sustainability matter to Millipore?

If you look into the future – not 10 years ahead but a century – the companies that respect the environment will prevail. Environmental stewardship will become a competitive advantage: employees will want it and customers will want it. Resources prices will continue to increase, as there is finite supply.

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities the company faces in this area?

We sell plastic, tons of plastic that is not being reused or recycled. This creates a lot of waste, and that is our biggest challenge. Although we may always need plastic in our business, we can improve our recycling programs and minimize less critical uses such as packaging.

How does sustainability create business value?


Jean-Paul and his 2007 Toyota Prius in front of Millipore's Bioprocess Technology Center in Billerica, MA

In the long-term – and it’s already beginning today – sustainability will be critical in selecting suppliers. Customers will look as much into factors such as how much waste you create as they look into your price.

If you use more resources, your costs will increase. If you can maintain resource use, you’re costs may stay flat and you’ll be more competitive. Look at the example of the car industry in California. Low emission vehicles have a clear advantage because the state has implemented requirements that only those vehicles can match.

We’re starting to see customers coming to us and challenging us to find solutions to use less plastic. If we could provide customers a more complete package in this area, including product recycling, we would have a competitive advantage right now.

Why is this topic important to Millipore’s customers?

They have their own sustainability problems, and are starting to do what Millipore is starting to do. Customers increasingly need to act in this area and we need to be part of the solution.

What are Millipore’s other key sustainability issues?

In addition to plastics use and waste, energy consumption is another major issue, especially since we're a manufacturing organization. We need to minimize the energy we consume and also investigate alternative energy sources. We're already upgrading our company automotive fleet to shift to more energy efficient vehicles. This decreases our environmental impact while saving the company money.

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Several employees also shared their thoughts about sustainability, focusing on what sustainability means to them personally and why it matters to Millipore.

Jean-François Bechtold

EHS Technician (Molsheim, France)

Sustainability is about reducing our impacts, for example through recycling, to benefit future generations. By improving our environmental stewardship, we also improve customer perceptions and those of people living near our facilities. Millipore strives to develop products with leading environmental practice, and to set an example within the industry.

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Anthony Campana

EHS Engineer (Bedford, MA)

Sustainability is about establishing sound, integrated, fool-proof, automated processes to utilize natural resources as efficiently as possible. Anyone can be a “one-hit wonder”, but we want to establish systems that withstand the test of time and regulation, customer audits and questions from the community. Millipore has been around for a long time and we want this to continue.

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Breeda Comyns

EHS Manager (Cork, Ireland)

Sustainability to me means using the world’s natural resources in a way which will allow economies and businesses to develop while making sure that these resources are not being wasted or rapidly depleted. Harnessing and using natural resources should not pollute our environment or destroy ecological habitats, which could have serious impacts on future generations.

Sustainability is important to Millipore to ensure that our operations do not have a negative impact on the environment or on global resource depletion and so will ensure continuation of our business for future generations.

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Karen Cronholm

Field Marketing Manager (Bioprocess PMT US)

As a company, we should design products that have limited impact on the environment, both for customers and for ourselves during manufacturing. I worked at the Jaffrey site for two years, and experienced the high level of environmental commitment there, for example related to water, waste and noise. This is an important way for Millipore to be responsive to its communities and customers.

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Steve Dark

Environmental Resource Manager (Jaffrey, NH)

Sustainability is about recognizing that we have an obligation to minimize impacts on the environment while being a successful company. Millipore accepts as part of its whole business philosophy that this obligation is real, and we must identify and work aggressively to minimize environmental impacts. We need to continually incorporate into our business planning the means to recognize and act on opportunities to improve environmental performance while making great products.

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Keith Goggin

Applications Specialist (Bioscience Lab Water US)

Environmental sustainability is about minimizing or counterbalancing any harm we do to our environment, so we can sustain resources and live a high quality of life for years and years.

On an ethical level, Millipore has a Foundation which gives money to causes that benefit the greater society. This also benefits Millipore by improving its reputation. Likewise, Millipore needs to take responsibility for how our business practices impact the world's environment. More and more, our customers and communities expect Millipore to be a good environmental citizen. Already, when our customers consider buying Millipore products, they will request from us statements about our active environmentally beneficial programs.

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Michael Landadio, CIH, CSP

EHS Manager (US East)

Millipore draws upon resources to make products and meet customer needs. We must make sure we treat those resources in a way that ensures they are available for future generations and not depleted or spoiled. We can conduct business without negatively affecting future generations.

Sustainability is in part an ethical issue – it’s the right thing to do – and reflects Millipore’s values. It benefits the business as well. Although lots of companies talk the talk, Millipore walks the walk, and has been doing so for years. This can be a real advantage for us as a company.

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Natalia Olive

EHS Engineer (Corporate EHS)

Sustainability, in essence, is what it takes to exist on the planet in harmony with its resources so that those resources are as available 100 years from now as they are today. This matters to Millipore because people (such as employees and customers) matter to Millipore. Maintaining a sustainable business model helps the company stay competitive and meet its goal of becoming a leader in the industry.

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Michelle Stafford

Field Marketing Manager (Bioprocess PMT US)

Sustainability means having a positive impact on the environment, by producing less waste and protecting the resources we have. For as long as I’ve worked at Millipore, the company has always strived to have a positive influence on our customers and communities, not just through our products but also through our interactions.

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What does sustainability mean to you? We’d like to hear, click here to contact us.