Acting Responsibly for the Planet
As a leading global specialty chemicals and performance materials company, we place a high value on the efficient and safe use of natural resources to manufacture and distribute products that minimize impact to our environment.
Environmental issues significantly affect us all on a global scale, and it is the responsibility of governments and corporations alike to help find solutions to these challenges. As such, we operate our facilities responsibly while delivering innovative solutions that help address the sustainability challenges of our customers, our communities and our world.
We acknowledge that we have a responsibility not only to remain compliant with applicable environmental regulations in the locations where we operate, but also to lessen the impacts we have on the planet. We are proud of the improvements we have made in our environmental performance and the leadership we have demonstrated within our industry but realize this is an ongoing process. We must continue to work toward innovative, cost-effective solutions to reduce our environmental impacts while remaining competitive within our industries.
Of the 11 material topics serving as the foundation of our sustainability program, more than half are related to environmental performance. The management of these topics is guided by our Safety, Health and Environment (SH&E) Policy, and our performance is measured against specific goals to reduce waste and emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) by 2025. We also continuously monitor our environmental compliance performance against internal year-over-year improvement targets. To accelerate our performance, we routinely evaluate our environmental management practices to uncover broader opportunities that translate to environmental benefits, better use of our shared resources and reduced operating costs.
Guided by our net zero ambition and 2025 sustainability goals, we took actions throughout 2021 to make progress on the six material topics under our environmental pillar. We are proud that we have advanced on several of our goals, yet we recognize there is still more to do. As our sustainability initiatives become more embedded in our operations, we uncover interdependences between the actions needed to address emissions, energy, water and waste.
In 2021, we further expanded our analysis at the regional and site level to inform our future decision-making with a holistic view across all areas of sustainability. This integrated approach ensures that we use resources wisely, taking practical and cost-effective steps while focusing on high-impact high-reward opportunities to accelerate our actions.