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Home > About us > CooperVision & Sustainability

As a global leader in contact lenses, we help improve the way people see each day.*1

Here at CooperVision, we’re taking steps in our manufacturing and distribution to operate more sustainably - using renewable energy at selected facilities, recovering manufacturing waste where feasible, sourcing more responsibly with lower carbon primary packaging materials for certain products (such as ISCC PLUS certified plastic), and offsetting a portion of our plastic footprint associated with our products and primary packaging through our partnership with Plastic Bank.†‡§♢1-3

We design—​and continuously ​redesign—​to ​reduce our carbon footprint.¶**††1

We thoughtfully design our products and packaging to make efficient use of resources while working to reduce our carbon footprint in relation to the emissions from sources we own or control and the emissions that we cause indirectly in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.**††‡‡1 From our products to our facilities and our processes in between, we are purposeful in the choices we make today toward a greater collective impact tomorrow.

We design selected products and packaging with recyclability in mind, engineering them to be compatible with relevant community recycling programs where facilities and local regulations allow, recognising that recycling outcomes depend on location.

We build facilities powered by renewable energy and develop processes to intentionally reduce our footprint.†**‡‡§§1 We design, and continuously redesign, our manufacturing process to produce less waste.‡‡♢♢4

We collaborate and innovate, embracing our ingenuity to care for our planet and each other.

At CooperVision, we’re passionate about our role as a global citizen, empowering our employees to champion sustainability—no matter how small the act, by making sustainability a part of everyday decisions, through a combination of recycling, composting, waste-to-energy, resale, and reuse.¶¶5 Together with eye care professionals and contact lens wearers, we can all take steps to embrace sustainable actions today to help protect our future.

But we’re about so much more than contact lenses. That’s why we partner with international organisations and communities to help us reduce our environmental footprint and make a positive difference.1 All of this is made possible by people with passion, innovative thinking and a drive for action. Together, we can take strides to improve the well-being of our planet.***1 And we invite you to join our journey toward a brighter tomorrow.

OUR MADE BETTERTM PROMISE
 

Our MADE BETTERTM Promise is about making smarter, more purposeful choices for our participating contact lens products.§3 It reflects the work we do each day, the progress we have made, and our ongoing dedication to a brighter future - for People + Planet.

Today, our MADE BETTERTM Promise is woven throughout the life of our participating contact lenses, from sourcing more responsibly with lower-carbon packaging materials, to intentionally manufacturing for greater efficiency and reduced waste, to offsetting a portion of our plastic footprint for the products we sell.§♢†††2,3,6

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We start by thoughtfully selecting packaging materials for our participating MADE BETTERTM products to reduce our impact from the very beginning.§3

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Our MADE BETTERTM products are made with less carbon compared with our non-participating products through efficient manufacturing processes that reduce waste and improving resource use.§‡‡‡§§§6,7

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To help address the possible impact of our MADE BETTERTM products, we offset a portion of our plastic footprint through our partnership with Plastic Bank.§♢3

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FEATURED STORIES

Here at CooperVision, we are proudly taking steps to operate more sustainably and strive to minimise our possible environmental impact.2

Through our Sustainability Innovator Series, we will share stories of people in a wide range of roles throughout our organisation who have contributed to our sustainability efforts, big and small.

PLASTIC MADE BETTER♢♢♢8,9

We are adopting Plastic MADE BETTER™ by starting to buy ISCC PLUS-certified plastic.♢♢♢¶¶¶2,8,9

In doing so, CooperVision is committed to achieving a higher standard for how plastics are made.

 
BIGGER THAN BOTTLES

Through our partnership with Plastic Bank, we offset a portion of our plastic footprint.2

To date, our partnership has supported the collection and recycling of hundreds of millions of plastic bottles from coastal areas where plastic pollution is prevalent and improved the livelihoods of thousands of collection members in hundreds of communities.♢ ****††††3,10

 
Explore more and see how we are taking steps towards a brighter tomorrow.

Sustainability Home

MADE BETTER

* Combination of 2022 market research based on global volume data and internal estimates.
† CooperVision's manufacturing facilities in Southampton UK, Costa Rica and Rochester, New York use renewable electricity from hydroelectric, wind, solar, biomass and geothermal sources.
‡ CooperVision's 2020 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report.
§ CooperVision’s MADE BETTERTM Promise programme has introduced lower-carbon inputs with traceable sourcing - including ISCC PLUS-certified, lower-carbon plastic and lower-carbon aluminum - into the primary packaging of the MyDay® range of products. It also refers to process improvements that have reduced waste, improved energy efficiency, and lowered greenhouse gas emissions during production of the MyDay® range of products. Methods and verification information are available at coopervision.co.nz/sustainability/methods.
♢ Through its partnership with Plastic Bank, CooperVision offsets a portion of its plastic footprint by funding the collection and recycling of plastic waste, equivalent in weight to the plastic used in participating soft contact lens products sold in participating countries, gathered within 30 miles of oceans or waterways in countries where Plastic Bank operates. Plastic weight is based on the total weight of plastic in the lens, blister and secondary packaging, including laminates, adhesives, and auxiliary inputs (e.g. ink). This does not include plastic used during the manufacturing process.
Refers to continuous manufacturing improvement processes undertaken by CooperVision to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions.
** Carbon footprint is limited to Scope 1 and 2 emissions, defined as: Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.
†† CooperVision's 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report.
‡‡ Refers to continuous manufacturing improvement processes undertaken by CooperVision to increase efficiency.
§§ CooperVision's 2021 and 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Reports.
♢♢ Waste associated with the manufacturing of contact lenses.
¶¶ Zero Waste Program Certification is obtained through SCS Global Services, an international leader in third-party certification, validation, and verification for environmental sustainability.
*** Refers to CooperVision's plastic neutrality initiative with Plastic Bank.
††† Plastic used in participating CooperVision soft contact lens products is determined by the weight of plastic in the blister, the lens and the secondary package, including laminates, adhesives and auxiliary inputs (e.g. ink). The determination does not include plastic used during the manufacturing process for both these products and their packaging.
‡‡‡ Results compare 2024 with a 2021 baseline. Full life cycle assessment has been conducted in accordance with ISO 14067 and verified through independent critical review from a cradle-to-grave basis, which covers all product stages from raw material extraction to end-of-life. Details on methodology and verification are available at coopervision.co.nz/sustainability/methods.
§§§ ‘Carbon reduction’ and/or ‘lower carbon’ refer to a reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). No carbon offsets are used.
♢♢♢ According to peer-reviewed papers, polypropylene (PP) made using renewably sourced inputs yields a lower carbon footprint. CooperVision's plastic supplier has found that manufacturing PP using fossil-based inputs produces 1.63 kg CO2e/kg PP whereas manufacturing PP using plant-based inputs produces -0.82 kg CO2e/kg PP.
¶¶¶ ISCC PLUS: International Sustainability and Carbon Certification PLUS
**** CooperVision, through its collaboration with Plastic Bank, has collected and recycled approximately 13.7M kg of plastic waste gathered within 30 miles of oceans or waterways in countries where Plastic Bank operates as of April 2026. Using Plastic Bank's metric of 1kg of plastic equaling 50 standard 202mm bottles, that will be the equivalent of approximately 688M plastic bottles.
†††† Eligible Plastic Bank collectors receive support through CooperVision's funding of Plastic Bank programs, which may include access to vision care, grocery vouchers, and other essentials.

References:
1. CVI data on file, 2023.
2. CVI data on file, 2024.
3. CVI data on file, 2023-2025.
4. CVI data on file, 2023. Manufacturing sites: Costa Rica, Hungary, New York State, Puerto Rico and Southampton, UK.
5. SCS Global Services Certificate Nos. SCS-ZW-0008, SCS-ZW-0011, SCS-ZW-0012, SCS-ZW-0014, SCS-ZW-0018, SCS-ZW-0019
6. CVI data on file, 2025.
7. CVI data on file, 2021-2025.
8. CVI data on file, 2023. Cradle-to-gate assessment of our supplier's biorenewable input.
9. Narayan, R. (2011). Carbon footprint of bioplastics using biocarbon content analysis and life-cycle assessment. MRS Bulletin, 36(09), 716–721. https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2011.210
10. CVI data on file as of 4/2026.

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