CooperVision hosted ECPs and guests at its manufacturing facility in Costa Rica this
week as part of an effort to  provide an
update on its sustainability program
and the clariti 1 day contact lens.
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica—CooperVision hosted an event for about 20 eyecare professionals and others at its recently opened contact lens manufacturing facility in Alajuela, Costa Rica, this week. The goals of the three-day program were to provide ECP opinion leaders with a behind-the-scenes look into how CooperVision combines state-of-the-art manufacturing with sustainability and also to allow the ECPs to observe how CooperVision’s clariti 1 day lenses are made and packaged in the facility. The Alajuela facility, which is located just a few miles from the San Jose airport, will produce about 380 million clariti 1 day lenses in the current fiscal year, according to the site director Eligio Santiago, who noted that planned expansion of the facility could almost double production by fiscal year 2021.

The site visit and CooperVision executive presentations also highlighted several initiatives the company has underway as part of its stepped-up efforts toward sustainability. CooperVision’s clariti 1 day marketing director Inga Grote-Ebbs told the attendees that she viewed the week’s “clariti 1 day experience” as a way for CooperVision to better “tell its story around sustainability and around who we are" as a company.

Pamela Jackson, a senior director of digital marketing communications, added, “Our goal is around doing better every day as it relates to sustainability. We want to be really mindful and thoughtful about how we do that.” One step the company has taken recently to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability was the appointment of its first director for corporate responsibility, Matt Berner.

  
CooperVision’s Steve Diamanti presenting
on the development of the
clariti 1 day lenses.		CooperVision’s Inga Grote-Ebbs and
Jennifer Palombi.

CooperVision’s parent company, The Cooper Companies, earlier this month also announced its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global framework and action plan intended to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity and peace for all by 2030, as VMAIL reported.

The visit to the Alajuela facility included a plant tour that allowed the ECPs and other guests to observe the entire production process, from creation of the monomer material to the final inspection and shipping preparation. The trip was scheduled to conclude late Thursday with a final set of presentations and a roundtable discussion about sustainability and the role it may play in eyecare going forward.

New CooperVision facility in Costa Rica.