Community involvement a highlight for Eastman 2026 plans

Looking back at 2025 In an email statement to the Times News, Eastman's Kingsport site leader Brian Long said the Kingsport team demonstrated commitment to safety throughout 2025. "Despite the challenges faced during the year, the team stayed focused on maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all," Long said. "I'm incredibly proud of the team for achieving our best safety performance ever, which is a testament to the strong culture of care and operational discipline that defines our site." Eastman's safety performance is evaluated internally through its established safety management systems and leadership reviews. The company also uses external benchmarks to compare their performances to the performances of other companies in the chemical industry. Personal safety, like employee and contractor well-being, and safety in the manufacturing process, are both tracked using metrics that come from monitoring incidents, near-miss reporting and process safety events. "We recognize that our pursuit of continuous improvement of our safety processes and performance is an ongoing journey. By continuously learning from our experiences and those of others in our industry, we will continue to improve safety for everyone. Nothing is more important than ensuring safety remains at the heart of our operations for our employees, our families and the entire community." On Eastman's 2025 work and plans for 2026 The company plans to participate in the United Way Day of Caring in June in support of nonprofits across the region. In 2025, more than 400 Eastman employees volunteered. "As we look ahead to 2026, our focus in Kingsport remains on showing up for this community in meaningful and lasting ways," Long said. "Our employees have a long history of service here, and that commitment continues to guide how we invest our time, talent and resources locally." Long also said another priority for the company is developing its future workforce in Kingsport, adding that work-based learning has a "critical role" in that effort. Nineteen high school students work at the Kingsport site as of February. "These students are gaining hands-on experience in areas such as manufacturing support, supply chain, lab analysis, packaging and emergency services," Long said. "They're contributing meaningful work while learning professional expectations and seeing firsthand what modern manufacturing looks like." Eastman partners with nine schools throughout the region as part of its workforce development efforts. An additional school in Hawkins County was added into the program and the company hopes to fill 38 work-based learning positions for 2026-27 school year. For the 2026 National Engineers Week, which started Feb. 22, 100 Eastman employees visited 32 schools in the region. Employees connected with middle and high school students for classroom discussions and hands-on activities that related to science, technology engineering and math career fields. Another 26 employees volunteered at the Volunteer State Science Bowl on Feb. 21. In October 2025, 126 Eastman employees volunteered when 1,200 elementary students visited the Kingsport site for interactive science activities as part of National Chemistry Week. Long said the site plans to continue that kind of engagement again in 2026. "Whether it's volunteering with local nonprofit partners or inspiring the next generation through STEM education, our Kingsport employees are deeply committed to being good neighbors," said Long. "That focus will continue to guide our work throughout 2026 and beyond, and I'm proud of the role our team plays in helping strengthen this community." Methanolysis facility Long said in 2025 Eastman modified equipment to increase the reliability and overall capacity of its new methanolysis facility, which recycles plastics through melting them down and re-producing them in a new form. The output was more than two and a half times higher in 2025 compared to 2024. Earnings from the facility was about $60 million higher in 2025 compared to 2024. Long said Eastman is working with over 100 brands when it comes to its methanolysis plant and that the brands are growing. On its work handling waste locally, regionally or statewide Eastman said it is in partnership with Sullivan County Solid Waste on additional initiatives to bring recycling back to the region. The company also partners with Goodwill and Domtar for local recycling projects. "We're proud of the progress we're making and we know there is much to do in this space for our region." Since March 2024, Eastman said it's collected over 300,000 pounds of waste through its recycling partnership with Food City in Kingsport, which could run the methanolysis plant for 10 and a half hours. Eastman currently has a pilot program where it collects plastic waste from three Food City locations in Kingsport to recycle chemically through its methanolysis facility.