Eastman Kodak

In 1993, the Utilities Division at Kodak Park volunteered to implement a prevention-based environmental management strategy using the Council of Great Lakes Industries' TQEM matrix. By late 1995, the division reported significant improvements in environmental performance, including a reduction in high- and medium-severity incidents and a substantial decrease in the labor required to rectify audit findings. While direct cost savings were difficult to quantify initially, the shift toward proactive management was projected to reduce annual HS&E personnel costs by 25% by 1998 and 40% by 2000. The division's TQEM scores increased from baseline levels in the 100s to over 400 by 1995, a level considered sufficient to satisfy ISO 14000 requirements.

• The Utilities Division implemented the Total Quality Environmental Management (TQEM) matrix to shift from reactive to proactive environmental management, with the goal of reducing HS&E annual management personnel costs by 25% by 1998 and 40% by 2000.
• Implementation of the TQEM system was resource-intensive, requiring approximately 12% of available HS&E personnel time annually and an estimated total of 50,000 person-hours over a six-year period.
• The TQEM system led to a marked decrease in environmental incidents; by 1995, high- and medium-rated severity incidents in the Utilities Division reached an all-time low.
• The effectiveness of the TQEM system was evidenced by a 1996 audit where the Utilities Division was the only division with no repeat findings, and the labor required to rectify new findings dropped from approximately 50,000 hours in 1992 to 2,500 hours in 1996.
• By 1995, all six departments in the Utilities Division met or exceeded a TQEM score of 400 in each category, which is considered sufficient to meet ISO 14000 requirements.
• Kodak Park's environmental challenges include complex regulatory compliance with laws such as the Clean Air Act and RCRA, as well as high expenditures, with 40-50% of the site's environmental budget spent in the Utilities Division.

APA

Lave, L. B., Conway-Schempf, N., & Horvath, A. (1997). Eastman Kodak. World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-186-1_full_version_english.pdf

Chicago

Lave, Lester B., Noelette Conway-Schempf, and Arpad Horvath. Eastman Kodak. World Resources Institute, 1997. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-186-1_full_version_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lave |first1=Lester B. |last2=Conway-Schempf |first2=Noelette |last3=Horvath |first3=Arpad |title=Eastman Kodak |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=1997 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-186-1_full_version_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lave1997eastman, author = {Lave, Lester B. and Conway-Schempf, Noelette and Horvath, Arpad}, title = {{Eastman Kodak}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1997}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-186-1_full_version_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }