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International Panel Sees
Improved U.S.
Environmental Performance
The United States has significantly improved its environmental
performance in the last eight years, even as its economy and
population have grown substantially, according to a report from the
Environmental Performance Review Program of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD).
The report documents that from 1996-2005, the United States reduced
pollution during a period when there was a 10 percent increase in
the size of the U.S. population and a 30 percent increase in the
nation’s gross domestic product.
OECD’s Environmental Performance Reviews program assists member
countries in improving their environmental management performance by
assessing progress, promoting a policy dialogue
among member countries, and stimulating greater accountability from
governments towards public opinion. This is the second review of the
United States, with the first review completed in 1996.
“Since the first review in 1996, the health of our shared
environment and the strength of our national economy have
experienced dramatic improvement,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L.
Johnson.
“By reaffirming our commitment to innovation, accountability and
sound science, we have created a solid footing to meet the
environmental challenges facing the U.S. in the 21st Century.”
The U.S. Ambassador to the OECD, Constance A. Morella, remarked,
“This review demonstrates the commitment the United States maintains
towards the quality of its environment and the leadership
role the U.S. plays within the OECD.”
The report commends the United States for being a pioneer in
market-based solutions, innovative policies and partnerships for an
improved environment. Noting this progress, the review commends the
United States for “decoupling” environmental pressures from economic
growth and details progress in a number of key areas:
• Emissions of major air pollutants declined;
• Drinking water standards have been strengthened;
• Overall quality of the water supplied by public systems improved;
• Extensive system of national conservation areas was further
expanded;
• Ecosystem management approaches have been introduced to improve
management of many sensitive areas; and
• Environmental justice considerations and cooperation with tribal
authorities concerning environmental conditions have increased
substantially since the 1990s.
The review also includes 51 specific recommendations for the United
States to continue its leadership in the field of environmental
protection, such as expansion of the role of market-based
instruments
and continued promotion of environmental education and awareness,
especially at state and local levels.
This U.S. review was based on a series of more than 700 interviews
conducted by OECD’s review team during a two-week visit to the
United States in the summer of 2004. The peer review team included
members from Australia, Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom,
together with OECD Secretariat staff.
CleanGredients’ Surfactants Module Ready for Review The U.S. EPA
Design for the Environment
Program (DfE) and GreenBlue Institute have announced that the
CleanGredients online beta version — developed as a one-stop shop
for green formulation — is available for evaluation at
the CleanGredients website. CleanGredients is a
searchable database of ingredients for use in formulating cleaning
products with improved human and environmental health profiles. The
database is divided into modules for different
ingredient classes, and the initial surfactants module is now ready
for review and comment.
CleanGredients includes data and information on the environmental
and health attributes of the chemical components of cleaning
formulas and is designed to:
1. Help formulators identify ingredients that may be useful for
environmentally preferable product design and formulation.
2. Provide opportunity for suppliers of cleaning ingredients to
showcase their ingredients with environmental and/or human health
and safety attributes.
According to Lauren Heine, Director of Applied Science at GreenBlue,
“The database aligns broad environmental and human health goals with
the cleaning product industry’s business objectives,
and will support formulators in formulating products with human and
environmental health benefits, whether to meet internal corporate
standards, regulatory requirements, voluntary product recognition
programs or green procurement criteria.”
“Communicating the characteristics of health and environmentally
preferable cleaning product ingredients to a wide audience—of
formulators, raw material suppliers, product users and interested
others—is a key project objective,” says David DiFiore, senior
project manager for DfE.
“It is ultimately our goal to contribute a valuable resource to
supply-side players in the marketplace and to collaborate with other
green initiatives in the ever-expanding greening movement.”
GreenBlue and DfE invite you to participate in the review of the
test version of CleanGredient by visiting
www.cleangredients.org.
“Your input and feedback are welcomed as we work to ensure that this
resource will serve formulators and suppliers in promoting and using
green chemistry in their product design and development,”
said DiFiore.
Funded through a collaborative agreement between the U.S. EPA Design
for the Environment (DfE) Program and GreenBlue Institute (GreenBlue),
Clean-Gredients is being developed as an online
database of institutional and industrial (I&I) cleaning ingredients
to simplify the process of green formulation.
The attributes, criteria and reporting formats that make up
CleanGredients are the result of recommendations by its Technical
Advisory Committee (TAC) with guidance from the CleanGredients
Steering Committee over the past year.
The Technical Advisory Committee is comprised of some 25 experts
from industry, government, NGOs and industry associations.
Tyco to Separate Into Three
Publicly Traded Companies
With many of its financial and legal issues resolved, Tyco
International Ltd., a manufacturer of fire protection and other
products, has approved a plan to separate the company’s current
portfolio of diverse businesses into three separate, publicly traded
companies.
Tyco said it will separate Tyco Healthcare, Tyco Electronics and
Tyco Fire & Security and Engineered Products & Services (TFS/TEPS)
through tax-free stock dividends to shareholders, who will own
100 percent of the stock. The changes are expected to be completed
in the first quarter next year. The anticipated costs are mainly for
tax and debt refinancing, the company said.
Each company will have its own independent Board of Directors and
corporate governance standards. Tyco expects to complete the
transactions during the first quarter of calendar 2007.
Tyco Chairman and CEO Ed Breen, said, “In the past several years,
Tyco has come a long way. Our balance sheet and cash flows are
strong and many legacy financial and legal issues have been
resolved.
We are fortunate to have a great mix of businesses with
market-leading positions. After a thorough review of strategic
options with our Board of Directors, we have determined that
separating into
three independent companies is the best approach to enable these
businesses to achieve their full potential. Healthcare, Electronics
and TFS/TEPS will be able to move faster and more aggressively — and
ultimately create more value for our shareholders — by pursuing
their own growth strategies as independent companies.”
TFS/TEPS will be led by Breen and CFO Chris Coughlin. TFS/TEPS is an
$18 billion provider of electronic security solutions for
residential, business, and governmental customers, fire protection
and sprinkler systems, and industrial valves and controls. With more
than 118,000 employees,
TFS/TEPS has a large, stable recurring revenue base and generates
strong cash flow. Dave Robinson will continue to serve as President
of Tyco Fire & Security.
Naren Gursahaney will succeed Tom Lynch as President of Engineered
Products & Services.
Breen added, “We believe this separation is a logical next step in
Tyco’s evolution, and we are absolutely convinced that this is the
right decision for the long-term success of our businesses,
employees and shareholders.”
With 2005 revenue of nearly $10 billion, Tyco Healthcare is one of
the foremost global providers of healthcare products and services.
The company is well-positioned to capitalize on the attractive
dynamics of the healthcare industry and to realize more robust
growth.
This business will continue to be led by current Tyco Healthcare
President Rich Meelia, who will become the company’s Chief Executive
Officer. Chief Operating Officer Kevin Gould and Chief Financial
Officer Chuck Dockendorff will also continue in their current
leadership positions
with the company.
Tyco Electronics is one of the world’s largest suppliers of
electronic components, including connectors, switches, relays,
circuit protection devices, touch screens, magnetics, resistors,
wire and cable, as well as fiber-optic and wireless components and
systems. A $12 billion stand-alone enterprise, Electronics has
88,000 employees worldwide.
The company’s CEO will be Tom Lynch — current President of Tyco’s
Engineered Products
& Services segment — who brings broad experience in the
communications and electronics industries. Dr. Juergen Gromer, who
has led Tyco Electronics since 1999, will continue as President,
and will also assume additional responsibilities as Vice Chairman.
Jacki Heisse will continue to serve as the company’s Chief Financial
Officer.
The company’s existing debt is expected to be allocated among the
three companies or refinanced. Any existing or potential liabilities
that cannot be associated with a particular entity will be allocated
appropriately to each of the businesses, and a sharing arrangement
among the three companies will be established.
The three entities together are initially expected to pay a dividend
that is equal in sum to the current Tyco dividend. Until the planned
transactions are completed, Tyco expects to pay its current
quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.
One-time transaction costs are expected to total approximately $1.0
billion — largely for tax and debt refinancing.
Under the proposed transaction structure, each of the companies is
expected to remain incorporated in Bermuda. Tyco expects first
quarter 2006 earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations
— excluding special items — to be about $0.38 per share compared to
its previous guidance of $0.40 to $0.42 per share. Organic growth
will be approximately 4 percent for the quarter, with 7 to 8 percent
organic growth in Electronics and Engineered Products & Services
partially offset by flat organic growth in Fire & Security and
Healthcare.
In Fire & Security, revenue and margins were adversely impacted by
weakness in the commercial security and Worldwide Fire Services
businesses, partially offset by improved performance
in residential security.
In Healthcare, strong growth in revenue and operating profit in
International was offset by revenue and profit shortfalls in the
Imaging and Respiratory businesses, primarily due to the impact of
product recalls and regulatory compliance issues, as well as
capacity limitations in the Pharmaceuticals business.
The issues in Imaging and Respiratory have been identified and are
in the process of being resolved. The company expects to have
additional pharmaceutical capacity coming on-line in the second
quarter.
With 2005 revenue of $40 billion, Tyco employs approximately 250,000
people worldwide.
Brady Completes Acquisition
of Personnel Concepts
Brady Corp., a provider of identification solutions and specialty
materials, has completed its acquisition of Personnel Concepts of
Pomona, CA, a direct marketer of labor-law-compliance
posters and related products.
The company also offers consultative expertise on required
communication of federal and state minimum wages, HIPAA privacy
regulations, and EEO compliance, among other regulatory
areas.
Founded in 1986, Personnel Concepts employs about 160 people and had
sales of about $29 million in 2005.
Founded in 1914, Brady is headquartered in Milwaukee and employs
about 5,000 people in operations in the United States, Europe,
Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Canada. Brady’s fiscal
2005 sales were approximately $816 million.
DuPont Blames Hurricanes for Lowered Earnings Guidance DuPont has
lowered its earnings guidance for fourth quarter 2005 to reflect
higher than anticipated disruptions in operations,
partly associated with impacts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and
lower than expected performance in three of the company’s
businesses.
On Oct. 26, 2005, the company provided fourth quarter earnings per
share guidance of $.20 to $.25. DuPont now estimates that earnings
in the fourth quarter will be reduced by approximately
$200 million in pretax operating income (PTOI) from the low end of
its previously communicated guidance, equally attributable to:
Operational disruptions from (1) the prolonged power, logistics and
product supply disruptions in the Gulf Coast region following
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita;
Temporary unplanned production interruptions at three of the
company’s plants in Brazil, the Netherlands and the United States;
and Reduction in PTOI from a combination of lower than expected
sales and higher than expected costs primarily in crop protection
chemicals, performance
coatings and surfaces.
In addition, preliminary data indicate that the company’s effective
tax rate for the year 2005 will be lower than the 26 percent rate
previously estimated. This will partially offset the adverse effects
of the above items, resulting in fourth quarter earnings of
approximately $.10 per share.
Wheelock, Inc. Awarded
ISO Certification
Wheelock, Inc., a provider of fire life safety, emergency
communications and facility management products, has been awarded
ISO 9001/:2000 certification for its facilities located in Long
Branch
and Oceanport, New Jersey, as well as its warehousing and
distribution operations conducted in Neptune, New Jersey.
The registration, which was awarded by QMI, a North American
Management Systems registrar, certifies that the company has
implemented and maintains a Quality Management System for the
design, manufacture and test of electronic assemblies and systems
used within the life safety, facility communication and security
industries.
In addition to focusing on quality organizational practices, the ISO
9001 registration also certifies that Wheelock follows a dedicated
process-oriented approach that places a strong emphasis on
customer satisfaction. This includes the:
• Reduction and elimination of system redundancies;
• Development of a system better-supported by management;
• Streamlining of document control processes;
• Improvement of product transportation efficiencies; and
• Implementation of the highest levels of globally-recognized
management system standards.
The ISO 9001:2000 process was in strict compliance with QMI
certification guidelines. Established in 1984, QMI is a worldwide
provider of management systems registration and has issued a wide
range of ISO and industry standards to more than 11,000
manufacturing and service locations throughout
North America and overseas. |
