Zoetis Inc
For the period ended Dec 31, 2023. Filed Feb 13, 2024.
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FY2023 · Filed Feb 13, 2024
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Environmental, Health and Safety
We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern matters such as the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air or water; the generation, use, storage, handling, treatment, packaging, transportation, exposure to, and disposal of hazardous and biological materials, including recordkeeping, reporting and registration requirements; and the health and safety of our employees. Due to our operations, these laws and regulations also require us to obtain, and comply with, permits, registrations or other authorizations issued by governmental authorities. These authorities can modify or revoke our permits, registrations or other authorizations and can enforce compliance through fines and injunctions.
Certain environmental laws, such as the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA), impose joint and several liability, without regard to fault, for cleanup costs on persons who disposed of or released hazardous substances into the environment, including at third-party sites or offsite disposal locations, or those who currently own or operate (or formerly owned or operated) sites where such a release occurred. In addition to clean-up actions brought by federal, state, local and foreign governmental entities, private parties could raise personal injury or other claims against us due to the presence of, or exposure to, hazardous materials on, from or otherwise relating to such a property.
We have made, and intend to continue to make, necessary expenditures for compliance with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. We are also a party to proceedings in which the primary relief sought is the cost of past and/or future remediation, or remedial measures to mitigate or remediate pollution. In connection with such proceedings, and otherwise, we are investigating and cleaning up environmental contamination from past industrial activity at certain sites, or financing other parties' completion of such activities. As a result, we incurred capital and operational expenditures in 2023 for environmental compliance purposes and for the clean-up of certain past industrial activities as follows:
environmental-related capital expenditures - approximately $15 million; and
other environmental-related expenditures - approximately $19 million.
However, we may not have identified all of the potential environmental liabilities relating to our current and former properties, or those liabilities associated with off-site disposal locations. Such liability could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Furthermore, regulatory agencies are showing increasing concern over the impact of animal health products and livestock operations on the environment. This increased regulatory scrutiny may necessitate that additional time and resources be spent to address these concerns in both new and existing products.
In connection with past acquisitions and divestitures, we have undertaken certain indemnification obligations that require us, or may require us in the future, to conduct or finance environmental cleanups at sites that we no longer own or operate. We have also entered into indemnification agreements in which we are being indemnified for various environmental cleanups; however, such indemnities are limited in both time and scope and may be further limited in the presence of new information, or may not be available at all.
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While we cannot predict with certainty our future capital expenditures or operating costs for environmental compliance or remediation of contaminated sites, we currently have no reason to believe that they will have a material adverse effect on our operating results or financial condition.
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