CEO Doug Baker of Ecolab has received the Dayton Award in Moral Capitalism from the Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism, partly for driving his company to be a better environmental citizen.

By Neal St. Anthony

November 29, 2019 at 4:37PM

Ecolab CEO Doug Baker (Cathy Roberts/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

CEO Doug Baker of Ecolab has received the Dayton Award from the Caux Round Table for Moral Capitalism.

"We chose Doug as the first recipient ... because of his leadership around water and his dedication to improving lives through the products and services of his company," said Stephen Young, global executive director of the Caux Round Table.

Ecolab is a leader in corporate sustainability as it and its customers use less energy, water and generate less pollution as they grow.

Baker reported in Ecolab's 2018 Sustainability Report that Ecolab, also a strong financial performer, is near its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent by 2020 and has struck a renewable-power deal that will help it surprass that goal significantly. Ecolab and customers conserved 188 billion gallons of water last year; enough to meet annual drinking needs of 650 million people.

"One of my main responsibilities as CEO [since 2006] is to make sure our company achieves our purpose: to make the world cleaner, safer, protecting people and vital resources," said Baker.

"Now is the time to step up our efforts and expand our positive impact," he wrote stakeholders earlier this year. "By the nature of our work, we help companies achieve their sustainability goals. In aggregate, this moves the world closer to the ambition of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 6: Ensuring access to clean water and santiation for all."

The Dayton Award recognizes corporate responsibility in the spirit of the Dayton Brothers. They expanded from one Dayton's department store after World War II to what is now Target Corp, as they also invested 5% of corporate pre-tax profits and personal millions in education, art and charity over decades.

Ecolab's sustainability accomplishments include keeping 71 million pounds of plastic out of landfills over the last five years by switching to recycled plastic instead of virgin resins. Last year, Ecolab also helped customers cut energy consumption that amounted to 24 billion pounds less of greenhouse gas emissions, as they also eliminated 54 million pounds of waste.

More at www.cauxroundtable.org and www.ecolab.com.