Air Products sets new sustainability goals: quadruples 2030 renewable energy target, updates carbon intensity baseline | Air Products

Air Products aims to quadruple the amount of renewable energy used to manufacture its products by 2030, compared to a 2023 baseline.

It was one of two new sustainable development goals set out in the gas giant’s 2024 Sustainability Report, which supports the ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Another new sustainability goal announced in the report by Air Products was to develop a water management plan by 2026 for high-priority facilities located in water-stressed areas, with implementation scheduled for 2030.

Air Products said it will report on progress on these new initiatives next year.

Both objectives are complementary to those previously identified by the company.

One of the highlights of the Sustainability Report was Air Products updating the base year for its “Three by 30” carbon intensity targets for Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, moving from 2015 to 2023.

This update increases the ambition of the goal while maintaining the current target date of 2030.

Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products Chairman, CEO and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The progress we have made in this effort is the result of tremendous efforts by our employees, collaboration with our customers and within our company to realize our higher purpose and create a cleaner future for our world.”

In addition to the aforementioned innovations, the report also reinstates Air Product’s previously announced goals, such as investing $15 billion in pioneering energy transition projects by 2027.

Air Products also noted in its report that nearly 70% of its total research and development (R&D) spending in 2023 would be dedicated to supporting the energy transition and sustainability.

Over the past three years, the company has also filed around 100 new patent applications related to sustainability and/or energy transition.

Ghasemi adds: “We have worked with our customers across dozens of industries while developing our pioneering clean hydrogen projects on a global scale to help decarbonize industry and heavy transportation.”

These global projects include NEOM’s 600 tonnes per day green hydrogen production facility, a clean energy company in Louisiana, Net Zero hydrogen energy in Edmonton, Canada, and several other renewable hydrogen production facilities in Europe.

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Air Products was assigned an “A” rating by MSCI for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in July 2024.

The company received the rating based on improvements in its carbon management strategy, including its goal of achieving net zero emissions from operations by 2050.

Read more: Air Products Receives an “A” Rating for ESG Leadership