Honeywell 2013 Annual Report Download - page 25

the U.S. Government) R&D activities amounted to an additional $969, $835 and $867 million in 2013,
2012 and 2011, respectively.
Environment
We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign government requirements regulating the
discharge of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment. It
is our policy to comply with these requirements, and we believe that, as a general matter, our policies,
practices and procedures are properly designed to prevent unreasonable risk of environmental
damage, and of resulting financial liability, in connection with our business. Some risk of environmental
damage is, however, inherent in some of our operations and products, as it is with other companies
engaged in similar businesses.
We are and have been engaged in the handling, manufacture, use and disposal of many
substances classified as hazardous by one or more regulatory agencies. We believe that, as a general
matter, our policies, practices and procedures are properly designed to prevent unreasonable risk of
environmental damage and personal injury, and that our handling, manufacture, use and disposal of
these substances are in accord with environmental and safety laws and regulations. It is possible,
however, that future knowledge or other developments, such as improved capability to detect
substances in the environment or increasingly strict environmental laws and standards and
enforcement policies, could bring into question our current or past handling, manufacture, use or
disposal of these substances.
Among other environmental requirements, we are subject to the federal superfund and similar
state and foreign laws and regulations, under which we have been designated as a potentially
responsible party that may be liable for cleanup costs associated with current and former operating
sites and various hazardous waste sites, some of which are on the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s Superfund priority list. Although, under some court interpretations of these laws, there is a
possibility that a responsible party might have to bear more than its proportional share of the cleanup
costs if it is unable to obtain appropriate contribution from other responsible parties, to date we have
not had to bear significantly more than our proportional share in multi-party situations taken as a whole.
We do not believe that existing or pending climate change legislation, regulation, or international
treaties or accords are reasonably likely to have a material effect in the foreseeable future on the
Company’s business or markets that it serves, nor on its results of operations, capital expenditures or
financial position. We will continue to monitor emerging developments in this area.
Further information, including the current status of significant environmental matters and the
financial impact incurred for remediation of such environmental matters, if any, is included in “Item 7.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” in Note 22
Commitments and Contingencies of Notes to Financial Statements in “Item 8. Financial Statements
and Supplementary Data,” and in “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”
Employees
We have approximately 131,000 employees at December 31, 2013, of which approximately
51,000 were located in the United States.
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