Our story

Whether helping to prevent infection for millions of patients across the world, testing and sterilizing critical supplies for vaccine production, or verifying the legitimacy of a medical product’s testing, we continuously embrace our commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 – to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all people at all ages around the world.

Sotera Health’s unrelenting commitment to its mission, Safeguarding Global Health®

Sotera Health’s unrelenting commitment to its mission, Safeguarding Global Health®

Our 2023 Sotera Health Corporate Responsibility Report

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Report Archives

Environmental Responsibility

Dedicated to the environment

  • We are the only vertically integrated global provider of climate-friendly gamma sterilization products and services, through Nordion and Sterigenics.
  • At Sterigenics, tens of millions of dollars are being invested into emission control enhancements at ethylene oxide facilities to reduce emissions beyond already safe levels.
  • We are developing a process for tracking energy and water usage at our Nelson Labs, Sterigenics and Nordion facilities worldwide.
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Environmental Responsibility

  • We are undertaking EHS initiatives and tracking key EHS metrics across all Sotera Health business units and facilities, including both proactive leading metrics and lagging EHS performance metrics. Proactive metrics include safety improvement reporting and timely closure of EHS corrective actions. These initiatives and metrics are being implemented across Nelson Labs, Nordion and Sterigenics.
  • Nordion and Sterigenics facilities have robust EHS Management systems based on the requirements of ISO 14001 (environmental management) and/or ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety) standards.
  • Nelson Labs has a strong EHS program in place at its legacy laboratories. We are in the process of expanding this program to meet ISO requirements and harmonizing across all lab locations, including recent acquisitions.
  • We are consolidating the EHS management systems of the three separate business units into a corporate EHS program.
  • We are the only vertically integrated global provider of climate-friendly gamma sterilization products and services, through Nordion and Sterigenics. Gamma energy from Cobalt-60 (“Co-60”) sources, which are produced in established nuclear power plants, does not result in direct carbon emissions.
  • Nordion works with nuclear power plants to produce Co-60 for human health and well-being needs while these power plants also produce climate-friendly electricity.
  • Nordion is fostering further climate-friendly Co-60 supply through its efforts to expand and diversify Co-60 supply at established nuclear power plants.
  • Nordion has an innovative program for recycling Co-60 sealed sources, which reduces waste and allows Co-60 sources to be safely reused in sterilization service. Nordion is also developing metrics to track the amount of cobalt recycled each year through this program.
  • We are developing a consistent tracking process for energy and water usage from our Sotera Health facilities across the globe.
  • Sterigenics recycles over 90% of the ethylene glycol byproduct produced in its U.S. ethylene oxide (“EO”) facilities.
  • Sterigenics is investing tens of millions of dollars in emission control enhancements at EO facilities to further reduce emissions beyond already safe levels. In addition, Sterigenics has a history of enhancing work practices and emission controls with the aim of reducing EO emissions.
  • We have developed enhanced stakeholder communications to provide more information on EO and to dispel misunderstandings around EO risks. This information can we found on our website: https://investors.soterahealth.com/ethylene-oxide-eo-overview.
  • Sterigenics has completed third-party sustainability assessments for nearly 40% of its facilities.
  • Sterigenics’ 3R+ (Reduce, Reuse, Reclaim) Program aims to work with customers to reduce EO usage while continuing to provide life-saving infection-prevention resources.
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Social Responsibility & Stakeholder Engagement

Dedicated to upholding our values

  • We are committed to diversity and inclusion, with an overall strategy that focuses on attracting and retaining a diverse workforce and building an inclusive culture. We have implemented a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council led by our CEO, Unconscious Bias training for all new employees, and gender and ethnic diversity metric tracking across the organization.
  • We conduct an annual, all-employee engagement survey to assess and promote employee well-being.
  • We are proud to be a part of the communities where we operate and regularly participate in community events. We support charitable causes through our over 150 sponsorships and donations, including a donation of $100,000 to Global Giving Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.
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Social Responsibility & Stakeholder Engagement

  • We have a robust Employee Training and Development Program, which offers thousands of courses that were completed by employees across the globe in 2021.
  • We have a comprehensive Performance Management System for all employees with nearly all employees completing self-evaluations and receiving performance appraisals from their managers.
  • We launched our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DE&I”) Council, chaired by our CEO, and rolled out DE&I programming, which includes Unconscious Bias training for all new employees and continued additional training for Managers and above.
  • We held Time of Understanding conversations with all global employees focused on how each team member could contribute to creating a more inclusive environment. Our 2022 Time of Understanding conversations will focus on being more open minded and culturally sensitive to create greater inclusion.
  • We implemented Gender and Ethnic diversity metric tracking across the entire Sotera Health organization and are focusing on improving diversity in management and senior leadership positions (Vice President and above).
  • We launched the Sotera Health Women’s Network, our first Global Employee Resource Group (“ERG”) to complement individual business unit ERGs.
  • We conducted a wage-gap gender and ethnicity (pay equity) analysis.
  • We conducted a broad employee engagement survey to assess and promote employee well-being.
  • We engaged with many of the communities in which we operate through participation in community events. We also supported charitable causes more broadly through over 150 sponsorships and donations, including a recent donation of $100,000 to the Global Giving Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.
  • Nordion has annual public outreach programs, positively impacting the local communities in which it operates. In 2021, for example, Nordion:
    • Offered community members an online Nordion Virtual Tour of its Ottawa, Ontario campus, and hosted a virtual community event for community members, sending out invitations to the local community, community leaders, community associations and indigenous groups.
    • Collaborated with a Canadian nuclear power plant operator on engagement with indigenous groups.
  • Our global supplier program allows us to periodically review and audit critical suppliers with the aim of promoting compliance with our Supplier Code of Business Ethics and Conduct and other applicable policies and procedures.
  • We have an active safety-first program across all of our facilities. In support of this safety culture, Sotera Health has a goal to implement one proactive safety improvement each year per employee.
  • We continue to work with governments, communities and industry partners to combat COVID, which includes validating established disinfection test methods against new COVID variants and launching the Nelson Labs Mark, a product testing verification program.
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Governance

Dedicated to strong leadership and oversight

  • We have many leading governance practices, including annual reviews of Board independence and annual Board and Board committee self-evaluations. All Board members (excluding the CEO) and committee members meet NASDAQ independence standards.
  • The annual assessment of each individual executive’s performance includes a review of individual performance against our values, which are fundamental to our ESG initiatives.
  • Our directors’ diverse backgrounds and range of ages bring valuable experience and relevant perspectives to Board discussions.
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Governance

  • We have active oversight of our ESG practices and policies by our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee (“Governance Committee”) and Board of Directors. Our Governance Committee chair has deep expertise in ESG, including corporate and government environmental expertise. In addition, ESG is a standing item on the Board’s annual agenda.
  • We have many leading governance practices, including:
    • Annual reviews of Board independence;
    • Annual Board and Board committee self-evaluations;
    • Regular Board sessions of non-employee directors without management present;
    • Majority vote for election of directors in uncontested elections; and
    • All Board members (excluding the CEO) and committee members meet Nasdaq independence standards.
  • Our management also engages in outreach to investors on a range of topics, including ESG matters, and our Board considers feedback from this investor engagement on ESG and other topics.
  • We have stock ownership guidelines applicable to our executives and directors, underscoring the alignment of management investment in the business with equity investors’ interests.
  • We have clearly defined compensation practices, including:
    • Compensation program based on best practices and good corporate governance policies and procedures, including an articulated pay for performance philosophy;
    • Independent compensation consultant provides advice and assistance to the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee regarding compensation best practices and market trends for executives and directors, including executive compensation risk considerations;
    • Prohibition on hedging and pledging Company stock applicable to executives and directors; and
    • No tax gross-ups (other than customary reimbursement of relocation expense).
  • Our management’s compensation is also tied to ESG-related performance.
  • The annual assessment of each individual executive’s performance includes a review of individual performance against our values, which are fundamental to our ESG initiatives.
  • We evaluate employees who participate in our annual incentive plan generally for performance relative to our values.
  • Our directors represent diverse backgrounds and experiences. Currently, our 10 serving directors self-identify as follows: two are women, one is Asian, one is African American, and one is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The broad range of ages (38 to 64) represented by our directors brings experience and relatable current perspectives to our Board discussions.
  • Our Audit Committee and Board oversee our enterprise risk management (“ERM”) program, through which we assess our significant risk exposures and the steps our management team takes to monitor and control these risks. Our ERM program includes the review of risks around supply chain, geopolitical, regulatory, EHS, cybersecurity, legal proceedings, human capital management, anti-corruption, and other areas.
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