Eastman

Eastman has published its 2023 Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Report, “Embracing the Power of Inclusion,” which highlights some of the progress the company has made on strengthening I&D, a core element of its culture and innovation strategy.

“Embracing the Power of Inclusion,” available on Eastman.com, includes perspectives from leaders throughout the company and stories of the many teams and people who are advancing I&D. Mark Costa, Eastman board chair and CEO, writes in an open letter how inclusion and diversity are critical to the company’s strategy to make a positive impact through material innovation.

“Technology and innovation are tools to bring about progress,” Costa said. “But those tools are only as good as the team behind them. The team must possess diversity of thought and openness to new ideas and all perspectives. And it must be a team of people who can fully be themselves at work, so they are inspired to come together and accomplish something bigger than themselves.”

The report also includes examples of success and elements of the I&D strategy: 

• Hundreds of Eastman leaders across 14 countries completed an inclusivity training program to help mitigate unconscious bias and foster a more inclusive culture.
• The six Eastman Resource Groups (ERGs) for historically underrepresented employee populations and their allies increased their global reach. ERGs expanded to all of the company’s global regions in 2022, and overall membership increased 37%.
• Eastman strengthened resources for women leaders through an immersive leadership development program. That development program has provided more than 200 women with tools and immersive experiences that help them recognize and optimize the values and unique perspectives they can bring to the company and their teams. 

Kaamilya Clinkscales-Major, global head of inclusion and diversity for Eastman, said the report is an important signpost of where the company is on its I&D journey and why Eastman is committed to the work it will take to continue making progress. 

“We believe I&D enables us to deliver on our organizational aspirations of improving the world for future generations,” Clinkscales-Major said.

Eastman

Eastman

Founded in 1920, Eastman is a global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of products found in items people use every day. With the purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way, Eastman works with customers to deliver innovative products and solutions while maintaining a commitment to safety and sustainability. The company’s innovation-driven growth model takes advantage of world-class technology platforms, deep customer engagement, and differentiated application development to grow its leading positions in attractive end markets such as transportation, building and construction, and consumables. As a globally inclusive and diverse company, Eastman employs approximately 14,000 people around the world and serves customers in more than 100 countries. The company had 2023 revenue of approximately $9.2 billion and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee, USA.

About Eastman in the circular economy: In 2019, Eastman became the first company to begin commercial-scale chemical recycling for a broad set of waste plastics that would otherwise be landfilled or, worse, wind up in the environment. Eastman's molecular recycling technologies can process waste plastics traditional mechanical recycling methods cannot—including polyesters, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene—derived from a variety of sources, including single-use plastics, textiles, and carpet. These technologies provide a true circular solution of endless recycling for materials, allowing them to be reused repeatedly.

To learn more about how we’re working to make a more circular economy visit eastman.eco.

More from Eastman