CooperVision employees, family members and friends recently took part in the International Coastal Cleanup project. They removed car tires, cigarette butts, straws, plastics, bottles, glass, and other debris for proper recycling or disposal during the project.


SAN RAMON, Calif.—The Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) has honored CooperVision for the fifth consecutive year with its Pre-Treatment Excellence Compliance Award, according to an announcement this week. The award was given to the company’s Juana Diaz contact lens production and packaging facility. The recognition is based on adherence to operating permit conditions, made possible by ongoing investment in the site’s sustainable infrastructure and employee training, according to the announcement. Juana Diaz, in Puerto Rico, manufactures a range of CooperVision brands shipped worldwide, including popular Biofinity silicone hydrogel contact lenses.

“We place a high value on collaborating with multiple agencies, our employees and other Puerto Rico-based manufacturers to respect and help protect the island’s natural resources,” plant manager, Puerto Rico manufacturing operations, Javier Pellicier said in the announcement. “This environmental stewardship includes extensive water conservation efforts. Since 2015, our Juana Diaz facility has reduced water consumption by 35 percent, significantly cutting volumes placed into the treatment system and lowering energy use.”

Pellicier also noted that as the result of an inventive spirit and dedicated team this CooperVision manufacturing center “has become a locally and globally admired model for sustainable operations.”

Improvements at the plant have included an overall decreased reliance on manufacturing-related water, additional production monitoring, and reuse of water used in some processes. For instance, the repurposing of manufacturing process water into cooling towers saves tens of millions of gallons annually, the announcement noted.

Showing their personal support for Puerto Rico’s environment, CooperVision employees, family members and friends recently took part in the International Coastal Cleanup project, helping clean the Paseo Costero de Pastillo (coastal boardwalk) in Juana Diaz. Organized locally by the Scuba Dogs Society in cooperation with the Ocean Conservancy, the initiative removed car tires, cigarette butts, straws, plastics, bottles, glass, and other debris for proper recycling or disposal.

The Puerto Rico efforts are among multiple CooperVision environmental initiatives focused on saving water, conserving energy; reducing, reusing and recycling resources; and empowering people within the company and the communities in which it operates.

CooperVision is a unit of CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses.