2020 Sustainability Report - Air Products
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2020 Sustainability Report
INTRODUCTION
Message from Seifi Ghasemi ������������������2
Our Purpose and Strategy ������������������������4
Commitments and Contributions���������5
Sustainable Development Goals ���������� 6
GROW
Economic Performance ���������������������������� 8
Customer Sustainability �������������������������10
Innovation����������������������������������������������������14
Ethics and Integrity������������������������������������16
Data Privacy and Cyber Security������������ 17
2 28
CONSERVE
Protecting the Environment������������������18
Energy and Climate Change�����������������20
Water Conservation��������������������������������� 24
Additional Environmental Concerns�� 26
CARE
Safety������������������������������������������������������������30 7
Talent and Diversity��������������������������������� 34
Community Support��������������������������������39
Partnerships ����������������������������������������������� 43
Supply Chain Sustainability������������������44
APPENDIX
18
Stakeholder Engagement ��������������������� 45 Forward-looking statements
Sustainability Priorities �������������������������� 45
This report contains “forward-looking statements” within the safe harbor
About Our Report��������������������������������������46 provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-
looking statements are based on management’s reasonable expectations and
2019 Key Performance Data������������������48 assumptions as of the date of this report and are not guarantees of future
Glossary and Acronyms�������������������������� 50 performance. Actual performance may differ materially from projections and
estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors,
GRI Content Index including, without limitation, the risk factors described in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 and
Please note: Photos depicting individuals
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2020. Except
not wearing the proper COVID-19 Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE), or in close as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
proximity to one another, were taken prior update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect
to the onset of COVID-19. Air Products
implemented strict protocols at all of its any change in the assumptions, beliefs or expectations or any change in events,
locations in line with evolving guidance conditions, or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements
around the world to combat COVID-19.
are based.
Grow • Conserve • Care
S U STA I N A B I L I T Y
Grow responsibly through sustainability-
driven opportunities that benefit our
customers and our world.
We help customers improve their sustainability performance
through higher productivity, better quality products, reduced
energy use, and lower emissions.
Conserve resources and reduce
environmental footprints through
cost-effective improvements.
We set aggressive environmental performance goals for
greenhouse gases, energy, water, and our fleet, and we
measure progress to continually improve our own operations.
Care for our employees, customers and
communities—protecting our license to
operate and grow.
We are building a culture of safety, simplicity, speed, and
self-confidence. Our goal is zero accidents and zero incidents.
We are committed to developing our people, supporting our
communities, engaging suppliers and upholding our integrity.
1
CHAIRMAN,
PRESIDENT AND
CEO MESSAGE
As we publish this report, our nation and our world are facing serious and unprecedented challenges. In the United States
and around the world, we must all stand together against racism and hate and stand up for the fundamental right of
every person to be treated with dignity and respect. Likewise, we must all join together to resolve the unparalleled global
COVID-19 crisis, upholding health and fulfilling our responsibility to run our facilities safely and deliver essential products
during this time.
While addressing these challenges, important sustainability issues remain. We must continue to protect people and the
environment while providing the products needed for healthy and fulfilling lives. Imperative to that effort is meeting the
world’s need for clean, sustainable energy. We see Air Products at the heart of that effort. In this Sustainability Report, we
share with you the actions we are taking to fulfill those needs and our higher purpose to improve sustainability in our
businesses, with our customers and for our employees, communities and the world.
Our sustainability efforts are rooted in our “Grow, Conserve and Care” strategy. We continually strive to improve the
sustainability of our businesses, support our customers’ sustainability objectives and strengthen our governance systems
as part of our “Grow” efforts. We reduce environmental impacts through resource efficiency and lower emissions
intensities in line with our “Conserve” initiatives. Our “Care” efforts center on enhancing the health and safety of our
people, developing employees, promoting diversity and inclusion and supporting our host communities. You can see
our progress, shown by achieving nearly all of our 2020 Sustainability Goals.
Our products are critical for scores of industries that need our gases to advance their own sustainability efforts and to make
products that serve their customers and consumers. As we look forward, we see significant opportunities for gasification,
carbon capture technologies and hydrogen for mobility and energy transition. These are opportunities to solve today’s and
“
tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges, and we are driven by an important ambition – to innovate alongside our
customers to help make these opportunities a reality.
We believe a thriving society and healthy planet are inextricably linked and
look forward to continuing to work with our employees, customers and other
stakeholders to collectively build a better future. Thank you for taking time to
learn more about Air Products’ sustainability efforts, plans and achievements,
We believe a thriving
and as always, we appreciate your interest in our company.
society and healthy
planet are
inextricably linked . . .
Seifi Ghasemi
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Products
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
2
SUSTAINABILITY
HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2019
GROW
100%
69 million 53% compliance
metric tons of CO2e avoided of revenues from with annual Code of Conduct
due to our products sustainable offerings certification
CONSERVE
> $100 million > 1 million 2.5 times
in cumulative energy and metric tons of CO2e avoided the ratio of CO2e avoided by our
water costs avoided through efficiency improvements customers to our emissions
CARE
27 million 21% $7.6 million
worker hours without an LTI female share of in donations to
during Jazan ASU project workforce communities
3
OUR PURPOSE AND STRATEGY
Industrial gases are essential to modern life. They are used to make materials that go into our homes and businesses, cars
and fuels, health care, food and more. And as the world’s population grows, so does demand for these products and the
gases that make them possible.
Our modern way of life also has impacts on our world that will be intensified by population growth, continued rising
middle class demands and increasing urbanization. Growth can strain our natural resources, such as water, and increase
environmental impacts including climate change. The challenge for all of us is to sustainably live within what the earth
provides while working to improve standards of living for everyone.
As the world’s largest supplier of hydrogen, we provide vast quantities of hydrogen to petroleum refiners to lower
sulfur content and enable the production of cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel fuels, significantly reducing
vehicle emissions. Our oxy-fuel burners improve productivity for glass and metal manufacturers while reducing
energy consumption and emissions. We are also a leader in hydrogen fueling infrastructure and are helping to
build the hydrogen economy around the world for zero-emission vehicles. Furthermore, we remain a global leader
in liquefied natural gas equipment, air separation plants, and hydrocarbon recovery and purification equipment.
Air Products is Proud to Contribute Solutions to
these Challenges.
Sustainability is one of our core values and business drivers. We are focused on
serving energy, environmental and emerging markets, all of which are central
to the sustainability of the world. We have significant opportunities—today,
tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow—to help solve the world’s urgent
environmental issues through our industrial gases and large-scale gasification,
carbon capture, and hydrogen businesses.
Our products enable our customers to be more productive and efficient – to
make more with less while reducing their impact on the environment. In fact, in
2019 our products enabled our customers and downstream users to avoid the
equivalent of 69 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. This figure is
2.5 times our own direct and indirect CO2 emissions and shows the immense
benefits of our operations.
While our strategy provides opportunities for Air Products’ continued success
and growth, the Company’s economic performance may be affected by various
risks, many of which are beyond our control. These risks are routinely reviewed by
Company leaders and the Board of Directors, and auditable risks are included in
the Company’s Internal Audit program. Additional details about business risks are
provided in our 2019 Annual Report (Item 1A).
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
4
COMMITMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
In 2016, Air Products set sustainability goals across all aspects of our Grow-Conserve-Care sustainability framework. This
process was completed based on feedback from key stakeholders and the identification of our sustainability priorities. In
2019, we continued to make good progress against these goals, and as we reach the end of the 2020 framework, we are es-
tablishing a new set of sustainability targets. Please see the relevant Grow-Conserve-Care sections of this report for details
on our programs and progress.
GROW 2020 Goal Status 2019 Results
Economic Lead the Industrial Gas industry Adjusted EBITDA margina: 38.9%
Performance in profitability Adjusted Operating margina: 24.3%
✓ Return on Capital Employed
(“ROCE”)a: 13.1%
Customer Enable customers to avoid CO2 emissions while CO2e avoided: 69 MM MT
Sustainability contributing >50% of revenues from sustainable
offerings
✓ Revenues from sustainable
offerings: 53%
Ethics & Integrity Require 100% of employees to be trained and Training and certification: 100%
certified in our Code of Conduct ✓
Compliance Continuously improve compliance systems and Enhanced governance systems
performance ✓
CONSERVE 2020 Goal Status 2019 Results
Energy Savings Save energy by reducing use intensity by 2.5% for ASUs: 3.7% reduction
ASUs and 1.5% for HyCOs ✓ HyCOs: 0.9% reduction
GHG Reductions Reduce GHG emissions intensity by 2% 2.3% reduction
✓
Distribution Improve distribution efficiency and reduce CO2 18% improvement
Efficiency emissions intensity by 10% ✓
Water Conserve water and lower use intensity by 5% 26% reduction
Conservation ✓
CARE 2020 Goal Status 2019 Results
Safety Lead the industrial gas industry in safety Recordable rate: 0.45
✓ LTI rate: 0.09
Talent & Diversity Build the most diverse and inclusive workforce in Female share of
the industrial gas industry ✓ workforce: 21%
Community Enhance our ability to measure the positive $7.6 million in cash and
Support impacts of our employee and community
engagement
✓ product donations
Supplier Ensure 100% of new supplier agreements include Clauses added to
Sustainability Human Rights and Conflict Minerals clauses ✓ global terms and conditions
Amounts are non-GAAP financial measures. See “Sustainability 2020 Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for reconciliation
a
to the comparable GAAP measures.
✓ Goal met
✓ Goal on track
5
GROW CARE
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
GOALS
Established by the United Nations in
2015, the Sustainable Development How we contribute
Goals (SDGs) aim to create a world
• Productivity improvements
without poverty, inequality, unrest and
• Technology developments
environmental stress. Businesses can
• Job creation
play a critical role in providing solutions
• Human rights programs
to these sustainability concerns that
can also generate new opportunities. How we contribute
Related goals
Air Products is contributing to these • Products
that enable health
goals across nine areas aligned with • Most profitable industrial gases
• Safety improvements
our Grow-Conserve-Care sustainability company
• Zero tolerance for discrimination
framework. Our alignment with the • Customer avoided emissions
•R epresentation of women in our
SDGs is shown below and indicated in • Job creation
businesses
the relevant sections of this report. • Sales of Sustainable Offerings
Related goals
CONSERVE • L ead our industry in safety
performance
•B uild the most diverse and inclusive
workforce in our industry
How we contribute
• Clean energy production and energy
efficiencies
• Climate change mitigation
• Water quality improvements and use
efficiencies
• Effective waste management
Related goals
• Save energy
• Reduce GHG emissions
• Improve distribution efficiency
• Conserve water and lower use
intensity
6
GROW
Sustainable Offerings for Sustainable Growth
By striving to improve the sustainability of our own businesses, and supporting our customers’
sustainability objectives though innovation, we will continue to Grow and make new
opportunities a reality.
7
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
Why It’s Important
For a business to sustainably
operate, grow and contribute
to society it must be financially
sound. Well-paying jobs and
attractive benefits are needed
to recruit and retain talented
employees, as are investments What We’re Doing
in employee development and
Air Products is a global company with local businesses. Our Industrial Gases
programs that ensure safety,
business, representing 96% of our 2019 revenues, is organized and operated
human rights and ethical
regionally. This enables us to be close to our customers, improving service and
business practices. Likewise, the
reducing distribution costs and emissions.
health of communities where
operations are based can impact We have more than 17,000 dedicated employees across 750+ operating facilities
business success. in 50 countries. As a result, our operations provide substantial economic support
to our host communities around the globe.
Our Commitments and Contributions
We aspire to be the most profitable industrial gas company in the world. We
have achieved this goal with the highest adjusted EBITDA margin in our industry.
Having a strong financial position allows us to continue to commit a significant
amount of capital to grow Air Products into the future, creating value for our
shareholders and society. We also:
• Offer rewarding jobs with competitive pay and benefits
• .Promote the safety of our employees, customers and communities
•.Strive to uphold human rights in our operations, businesses, communities and
supply chains
• Invest in technologies, products and facilities
•.Contribute in several ways to the well-being of our host communities
The economic value we generated in fiscal year 2019:
• Sales: $8,918.9 million
• Cost of sales: $5,975.5 million
• Capital expendituresa: $2,128.6 million
• Selling and administrative: $750.0 million
• Income tax provision: $480.1 million
• Research and Development: $72.9 million
• Donations to communities: $7.6 million
Amounts are non-GAAP financial measures. See “Sustainability 2020 Reconciliation of Non-GAAP
a
Financial Measures” for reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measures.
8Our Businesses
• R
egional Industrial Gases businesses produce and sell
atmospheric and process gases, operating through three
regional segments (Americas, EMEA and Asia).
• G
lobal Industrial Gases includes our atmospheric sale of
equipment businesses.
• C
orporate and Other includes three global equipment businesses:
liquefied natural gas (LNG) equipment, liquid helium and liquid-
hydrogen transport and storage containers, and turboexpanders
and other precision rotating equipment.
Global Presence*
Europe/
U.S./Canada Middle East/Africa Asia (exc. China)
China
41% 25% 19%
11%
Latin America 4%
*Consolidated sales by region. Europe, Middle East and Africa includes India
9CUSTOMER SUSTAINABILITY
What We’re Doing
Why It’s Important
At Air Products, we are driven by an important ambition: to innovate alongside
Business interest in sustainabil- our customers and help them be more sustainable. We produce products that
ity is increasing as companies improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impact and address societal
recognize the need to address the needs such as health, safety and improving quality of life. These products and
risks and opportunities associated applications and their benefits are described in the next pages of this report.
with global challenges such as
population growth, water scarcity
We also:
and climate change. Progressive
• work closely with customers to develop products and applications that
companies are looking for ways to
improve productivity, conserve energy and reduce environmental impact;
continually improve productivity,
reduce resource consumption and • construct facilities on customer sites to enable products to be distributed
lower the environmental impacts efficiently through pipelines and to recycle steam and water for use at multiple
of operations while maintaining plants;
product quality and profitability.
• conduct life-cycle assessments of products and processes to determine
environmental impacts; and
53%
• dedicate efforts to continually improve our quality performance and customer-
satisfaction, which ranged from 83% to 96% across our regional businesses in
2019.
of revenues
derived from sustainable Our Commitments and Contributions
offerings, which exceeds
our revenue goal We are committed to enabling our customers to enhance their sustainability.
of 50%. We track our progress through avoided carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the
revenue contributions of our sustainable offerings, which are products that
improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and/or address a
societal need.
Our Products
• Atmospheric gases - oxygen,
nitrogen, argon, and rare gases
• Process gases - hydrogen, 69 Million
helium, carbon dioxide, carbon
monoxide, syngas, and
Metric Tons
specialty gases CO2e avoided by customers and
downstream users, equivalent to
• Equipment for the production the emissions from 15 million cars
or processing of gases, such – and 2.5 times our own direct and
as air separation units (ASU), indirect CO2 emissions.
non-cryogenic generators and
LNG heat exchangers
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
10Using Process Intelligence
to Improve Production
Secondary aluminum production is the process of
recycling aluminum scrap into new aluminum that can
be used again for a variety of products. While changes
in equipment design over time have improved the
efficiency of the overall process, the “pour readiness”
of the aluminum is still largely based on the relevant
operator’s best judgment. Unfortunately, this often
results in a significantly higher metal pour temperature
than is required causing yield loss, lower efficiency, and
unnecessary use of additional fuel and industrial gases.
The Air Products Process Intelligence (APPI) Process
Advisor system provides a unique way to predict when
the charge material is completely molten and at the required
tapping temperature. The model uses energy and material balances with historical and real-time
operational and process data to create a digital twin of the melting process. The APPI Process Advisor
system provides operators a prompt when the melt is completed, letting them know it is the
optimum time to turn off the burner and pour the molten charge. As new data continues to feed into
the model, machine learning technology improves its predictions over time.
“Air Products’ Process Intelligence system has helped us improve our aluminum recycling operation
by reducing production losses and energy consumption. This has resulted in a more efficient,
consistent and cost-effective process,” said Mike Dines, Director at Tandom Metallurgical Group Ltd.,
which uses the APPI Process Advisor.
Our Customers
over 170,000 customers in 30+ industries,
including:
• Refining • Glass
• Chemicals • Electronics
• Gasification • Healthcare
• Natural gas • Food and Beverage
liquefaction • Water Treatment
Additional information:
• Metals
Sustainable Offerings g
Our products from A to Z g
11Hydrogen
PRODUCTS THAT
Hydrogen is used to refine heavier,
BENEFIT OUR sour crudes, increase refinery yields
CUSTOMERS
and reduce emissions through cleaner
transportation fuels including ultra-
AROUND THE
low sulfur diesel fuel and hydrogen
powered electric fuel cell vehicles.
WORLD Many other industries such as
electronics, food, glass, chemicals, and
more also benefit from hydrogen’s
Air Products’ gases, equipment and unique properties to improve quality,
Gasification optimize performance and reduce
applications enable our customers and
their downstream users to improve costs. Air Products is the world’s largest
Gasification technologies convert
sustainability by increasing productivity, provider of hydrogen. We operate over
lower-value feedstocks into syngas
producing better quality products, 100 hydrogen plants, including some
that can be used to make higher-
reducing energy use and lowering with liquefaction capabilities, and
value products such as substitute
emissions. We enabled 69 million metric which have a combined 1,500 years of
natural gas, power, steam, hydrogen,
tonnes of CO2e to be avoided in 2019 operating experience. In many cases,
transportation fuels, fertilizers,
through several of the following we provide hydrogen from pipeline
chemicals, and more. Gasification of
products. systems around the globe, including
coal is the cleanest of all coal-based
the world’s largest hydrogen pipeline
electric power technologies and
network and system located in the U.S.
produces significantly lower levels of
Gulf Coast.
air emissions and solid waste than
traditional, combustion-based power
generating processes. Gasification
also enables countries to use available
resources and improve energy security
by converting feedstocks into cleaner
energy and value-added products.
Air Products has acquired gasification
technology and is developing a robust
technological foundation to serve the
Oxy-fuel
growing gasification industry.
Technology
Air Products’ oxy-fuel combustion Biogas Membrane Separators
technologies are used in energy-
intensive applications like cement, Biogas membrane separators are used to produce methane from farm waste,
metals and glass manufacturing to manure, or municipal waste. The proprietary hollow fiber membranes purify the
increase production, lower fuel use biomethane by removing unwanted elements from the biogas stream, so it can
and costs, reduce emissions and be used to generate heat and power.
optimize efficiency. Air Products has
been a leader in oxy-fuel technology
since it was first introduced over
50 years ago and continues to help
customers improve operations and
efficiency through new burner designs
and performance testing at our
world-class combustion laboratory
facilities.
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
12Halia®
Air Products’ Halia® solutions enable healthy aquatic ecosystems and effective
treatment of water and wastewater. We supply high-purity oxygen and Halia®
aeration systems for use in hatcheries and fish farms, lakes, ponds and other water
bodies to promote conditions that allow fish, turtles and other aquatic life to
thrive. Since the 1960s, Air Products has provided solutions to increase
and improve treatment of wastewater and drinking water for industrial
and municipal customers. These innovative, value-added technology solutions
improve water quality, reduce costs, lower emissions and increase the
environmental sustainability of water treatment processes.
Modified Atmosphere
Packaging (MAP) and
Freshline® Solutions
Gases for MAP and Freshline®
solutions provide high-purity gases
and equipment to extend the shelf life
of food, improve taste, reduce waste,
and help to keep production cost
down. The research and development
team at Air Products has been at the
forefront of food freezing for over 50 Helium Hydrogen for Mobility
years, pioneering cryogenic technology
and continuing to push the boundaries Helium and our high purity medical Hydrogen can be used in many
of efficiency and versatility while gases help sustain life. Magnetic different types of transportation,
ensuring safety and hygiene. resonance imaging (MRI) is enabled either in a fuel cell or an internal
by helium, which is used to keep MRI combustion engine, to eliminate
magnets cold and superconducting. or significantly reduce emissions.
LNG Process Technology Helium is also valued as a gas for Our SmartFuel® hydrogen fueling
lifting, breathing, leak detection, station technology provides complete
and Equipment
space exploration, semiconductor fueling infrastructure from supply to
The use of LNG continues to increase manufacturing, scientific applications, dispensing for fuel cell vehicles and
with strong energy demands in and shielding. It has unique properties is used in 1.5 million hydrogen fills
growing economies. Air Products’ LNG that optimize performance and per year. With more than 50 years of
technology and equipment enables productivity, reduce labor costs, and hydrogen experience, Air Products is
the efficient and economic production improve safety. As a leading producer at the forefront of hydrogen energy
and transport of this critical energy and supplier of helium, Air Products technology development. Cars,
resource, including from stranded has pioneered many of the helium trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts,
energy sources around the globe. More extraction, production, distribution, locomotives, planes, cell towers,
LNG is produced using Air Products’ and storage technologies still in use material handling equipment, and
mixed component refrigerant and – including cryogenic equipment for even submarines have been fueled
liquefaction processes than any most of the world’s helium recovery with our SmartFuel® technologies.
other processes, with over 100 LNG plants.
trains currently in operation. We
manufacture this efficient and reliable
equipment at our state-of-the-art
facility in Florida (U.S.). In the past
year, Air Products dedicated an LNG
Equipment Test Facility and announced
a manufacturing plant expansion at
the site.
13INNOVATION
What We’re doing
Why It’s important
Our research groups are aligned with our businesses and focus on improving our
Addressing sustainability processes and helping our customers. Research and Development (R&D)
challenges requires ingenuity, concentrates on new and improved processes and equipment for the production
innovation and partnership. For and delivery of industrial gases and new or improved applications for industrial
example, as population and gas products that help our customers improve sustainability. Air Products also
prosperity increase around the funds and cooperates in R&D programs conducted by major universities and
world, including in emerging other organizations.
markets, so will the demand for
R&D is conducted principally at our Technology Centers in the United States
energy. The higher demand must
(Trexlertown, Pennsylvania), the United Kingdom (Basingstoke, Hersham and
be met through cleaner energy
Carrington), Spain (Barcelona), China (Shanghai), India (Pune) and Saudi Arabia
solutions and improved energy
(Dhahran).
efficiency. The same is needed to
address the rising levels of CO2
Air Products is developing innovations in three key areas that are also
in the atmosphere and increased opportunities to enhance the sustainability of our customers:
demand for food, water and other
valuable resources. Gasification
Countries and large companies around the world continue to focus on
gasification to utilize abundant natural resources to make synthetic gas or
syngas. Gasification enables liquid fuels, high-end chemicals and power to be
produced from syngas by countries that have massive resources of coal and want
to reduce dependence on imported oil, as well as countries that have significant
natural gas reserves and want to create additional value from the fuel.
Gasification also provides a solution for refineries all over the world that need to
find a use for high sulfur bottom-of-the-barrel liquids that can no longer be used
as fuel for ships and for petroleum coke, which also has diminishing outlets for
its use because of its high sulfur content. From an environmental perspective,
gasification allows for the easier removal of pollutants like sulfur and nitrous
oxides, and the transportation fuels produced from syngas have significantly less
sulfur dioxide emissions and provide local environmental and health benefits.
Gasification will also be a growing energy source across the globe, expected to
produce nearly 4 million megawatts of energy by 2026, more than doubling its
2017 output.a
Carbon Capture
Carbon capture is a high-impact opportunity to help tackle climate change and
will be essential to meet the Paris climate goals. We see significant opportunities
to capture CO2 from gasifiers and hydrogen plants for use in sequestration,
enhanced oil recovery and productive use of CO2. We can deploy these carbon
capture technologies in new plants or in retrofits of existing facilities.
Air Products | 2015 Sustainability Report
14Hydrogen and the Our Commitments and Contributions
Energy Transition
We are committed to improving our energy efficiency and reducing emissions
As the world’s largest hydrogen intensity while helping our customers do the same. We have advanced our three
producer, we are an important part of innovation platforms by:
bringinghydrogen to scale on the way
to a clean energy future. Hydrogen is • Acquiring leading technologies – Shell’s Coal Gasification Process (SCGP) and
almost entirely supplied from natural GE Energy’s gasification technology – that give us the ability to process low-
gas and coal today – this is because value feedstocks more efficiently and to reduce overall emissions.
the resources are plentiful and
• Working on our contribution to the Project Porthos, a major development in
producing hydrogen from low-carbon
Rotterdam, which is expected to capture and store 2-2.5 million metric tons of
energy is costly at the moment. Our
CO2 each year.b
team is working on reducing the
emissions created in the production • Taking a leadership position in the development of hydrogen supply and fueling
of hydrogen. We are also increasing infrastructure. Our technology has been used in over 10 million hydrogen fills
the volume of blue and green to date, and Air Products has been involved in over 250 hydrogen fueling
hydrogen we produce – and are projects in over 20 countries.
investing in new, clean hydrogen
solutions for our customers. • Successfully monitoring and maintaining industrial gas facilities in our fleet of
operating plants around the world using our proprietary ProcessMDTM
platform for predictive monitoring and fault diagnosis.
$73 Million The Key to Carbon Capture –
in R&D
spending in 2019. High Purity CO2
More than half of this
spending supported Around the world, companies are looking to capture, utilize or
products and processes store CO2. However, the CO2 produced is at low pressure and low
that improved energy concentrations, which makes capture difficult and expensive.
efficiency and/or At Air Products we can solve this problem by removing CO2
benefitted the from process gas.
environment.
Our CO2 Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA) technology
captures CO2 from hydrogen in a single step, producing
a high-purity CO2 stream ready for storage. Using this process,
gas is fed into vessels containing high-surface area
adsorbents that preferentially remove CO2 when under
pressure. When a vessel has been fully saturated with
CO2, the feed is switched to the next vessel and the pressure
is reduced before CO2 is removed by a vacuum pump. The
sequencing of the beds is designed to achieve a high purity
CO2 product. CO2 VSA systems can also be optimized based on
product flow, purity and pressure, energy cost and expected
operating life.
Air Products has successfully used this technology to
enable capture of nearly 1 million metric tons of CO2
per year since 2013.
a
https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/coal-gasification-market
b
https://www.rotterdamccus.nl/en/the-project/
15ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
What We’re Doing
Why It’s important Integrity—behaving ethically and being true to our word—is a core value at
Air Products and one we must never compromise. We do not tolerate ethics
A company’s success is built violations and have put strong policies and programs in place to prevent, detect,
on the trust of its employees, report and address these issues. This includes Air Products’ Code of Conduct and
customers and other Business Ethics (Code of Conduct). Every employee is required to comply with the
stakeholders. Unethical behavior, Code of Conduct, complete mandatory training and certify their understanding
such as bribery and corruption, of the Code of Conduct annually.
negatively impact stakeholder
perspectives and company Air Products encourages individuals to report, as allowed by local law,
performance. misconduct or ethics violations. Every allegation is reviewed, investigated and
closed. The Company has a disciplinary process to address allegations that have
been confirmed and pursues actions up to and including termination.
We also conduct risk assessments for the potential of corruption risks across the
organization through our compliance function and our internal audit processes,
which are applied globally. Significant risks that have been identified include
relationships and transactions with governmental authorities and the use of
third-party intermediaries, the approval and use of which are controlled through
an internal global process.
Our Commitments and Contributions
Our goals are twofold – require 100% of employees to be trained and certified
in our Code of Conduct, and continuously improve our compliance systems and
performance. To that end, the annual Code of Conduct training and certification
(ACOC) are combined into a comprehensive online program that each employee
is required to complete. All employees met this requirement in 2019.
IntegrityLine is available 24/7 for reporting allegations
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
16Selected Topics from our Code of Conduct
• Conflicts of Interest •C
ompetition Law, and • Communications and •E
nvironment, Health,
• Fraud Fair Dealing and Privacy Safety, and Security
Anti-Boycott Laws • Political Contributions • Workplace Violence
• Bribery and Corruption
• Import/Export Laws and Lobbying •S
ubstance Abuse
•P
ayments to
Government Officials • Insider Information • Social Media and •S
ustainability and
•C
onfidential and Public Communication Corporate Social
•G
ifts, Travel, and
Entertainment Proprietary • Equal Employment Responsibility
Expense Information Opportunity and •A
udits and
• Company Assets Prevention of Investigations
•F
inancial Accounting Harassment
and Reporting •R
ecords Management • Anti-Retaliation
Accuracy
Data Privacy and Cyber Security
100% We believe it is our responsibility to safeguard, in accordance with applicable
laws, the personal information of our employees and all other individuals with
Employee whom we work, including customers, partners, suppliers and contractors. This
commitment is documented in our Global Data Privacy Policy. We have had no
Completion substantiated complaints regarding breaches of privacy, infringement of privacy
of code of conduct
rights or losses of customer data.
training and
certification. Cyber threats are one of the largest security threats that our world faces today,
not only in our business, but in our personal lives as well. Air Products’ cyber-
security efforts fall under the responsibility of the Chief Information Officer and
are led by our Information Technology Team. Our approach to cyber threats uses a
risk-based framework that includes five core functions:
• identifying potential risks to systems, assets, data and capabilities;
• protecting critical infrastructure services;
• detecting cyber events;
• responding to events by taking appropriate actions; and
• recovering and restoring capabilities that may have been impaired.
All employees are trained on information security and expected to follow
procedures, stay up to date on cyber threats, report suspicious activity and
maintain current and compliant computing systems.
Additional information:
Commitment to Ethical Business g
Code of Conduct g
IntegrityLine g
17CONSERVE
Protecting the Environment through Responsible
Consumption and Production
We have a shared responsibility to protect our air, water and land. This is reflected in our
fundamental ambition to help solve today’s and tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges.
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
18We are committed to improving Efficient Use of Resources
our own performance by operating
efficiently, incorporating environmental The principal raw materials for making atmospheric gases and hydrogen are air,
considerations into the design of energy as electricity or steam and natural gas. Air, which is considered by many to
our facilities and products, effectively be a renewable resource, represents more than 90% of the raw materials we use
managing environmental risks and on a weight basis. Similarly, 80% of the raw material used for our carbon dioxide
transparently communicating our business is from renewable sources.
environmental performance. While
our resource consumption and Industrial gas manufacturing is energy intensive. ASUs require electricity or
emissions may increase due to growing steam to compress air so it can be cryogenically distilled into oxygen, nitrogen
societal and customer demands for and argon. Likewise, the production of hydrogen consumes natural gas, and in
our products, our efficiency and some cases refinery off-gas, as a feedstock and/or fuel in the production process.
environmental improvements enable The products produced enable our customers to be more energy efficient, which
us to make our customers’ processes reduces their fuel consumption and emissions.
and products better without
proportionally expanding the Packaging is not a significant issue for Air Products because we supply most of
environmental footprint of our ASU our products in two-way bulk containers, semi-bulk containers or via pipelines.
and HyCO businesses. For small-scale supply in certain regions of the world, we use cylinders that are
long life, returnable, and reusable transportable pressure vessels with typical life
We also encourage suppliers to spans of 20+ years.
incorporate environmental
sustainability into their operations
and supply chains as described in our
Supplier Sustainability Expectations.
Additional supplier requirements are
provided in the Care section of this
report.
Environmental Management at Air Products
• Our Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Policy
• Goals for energy efficiency, CO2 reductions and water conservation
•O
ur global EHS Management System, applicable to all operations, which contains environmental
standards and procedures and which is aligned with ISO 14001
• Employee training requirements based on job function
• Risk assessment processes for products, processes and regulatory requirements
• Compliance audits conducted by our EHS Assurance Team
•R
eview of performance by our Board of Directors, Sustainability Leadership Council, Businesses and
Operations, and members of our Environmental Centers of Excellence
• Internal reporting of results on a monthly basis
•E
xternal reporting on environmental performance through our annual Sustainability Report, public
website, and responses to various stakeholders
19ENERGY AND CLIMATE
What We’re doing
Why It’s important
We believe a diverse mix of solutions is needed to meet clean energy needs while
Energy consumption and CO2 reducing greenhouse gases (GHG), as noted in our GHG strategy. For example, we
emissions are inextricably linked. supply vast quantities of hydrogen to petroleum refiners to lower sulfur content
The world needs clean, and produce cleaner-burning gasoline and diesel fuels. Likewise, our oxy-fuel
sustainable energy – energy burners improve productivity for glass and metal manufacturers while
that protects our environment reducing energy consumption and emissions. We have leading technologies
and moves us all toward a for gasification, carbon capture and hydrogen for mobility and the broader
better future. World CO2 energy transition.
emissions were expected to reach
36.8 billion metric tons in 2019 From an operational perspective, industrial gas manufacturing is energy
and are expected to grow for at intensive. Energy consumption is the most significant variable in the cost of our
least another decade.a production processes. We carefully track and manage energy purchases, and
our conservation programs are focused on continually improving energy
efficiency across our plants, particularly larger facilities. Efficiency improvements
a
ttps://news.stanford.edu/2019/12/03/global-
h
carbon-emission-increase/ are realized through higher plant utilization, increased production at new, larger
and more efficient facilities and hundreds of facility improvement projects.
Several of our facilities have been certified to the ISO 50001 Energy Standard.
Our Commitments and Contributions
In 2019, we continued to make progress on our 2020 environmental
sustainability goals (2015 baseline year):
•.Save energy by reducing use intensity by 2.5% for ASUs and 1.5% for HyCOs
• Reduce GHG emissions intensity by 2%
• .Improve efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions related to distribution by 10%
• Conserve water and lower use intensity by 5%
As we reach the end of our 2020 sustainability goal framework, we are
establishing a new set of sustainability targets.
Climate Scenario Analysis
Scenario analysis is a tool that evaluates the potential effects of future
events on an organization, such as climate change. Air Products is
examining several climate scenarios, which are in line with the
recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Task Force
for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), to examine the potential implications of
climate-related risks and opportunities on our businesses.
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
20Carbon Productivity
Carbon productivity is a measure of how much value is generated from the consumption of energy. We
are working to improve our carbon productivity through several mechanisms, including: improving the
energy efficiency of our production processes and product distribution; increasing our use of renewable
energy; pursuing opportunities to further deploy our carbon capture technology and expertise; and
enabling our customers and their downstream users to avoid CO2 emissions. Below are carbon
productivity improvements for 2019 (compared to 2015 baseline).
3.7% 0.9% 2.3%
reduction in energy intensity improvement in energy efficiency decrease in GHG
realized by our ASUs for our HyCO units emissions intensitya
23% >$100 Million > 1 Million
of the electricity we purchased was in cumulative energy and metric tons of CO2e avoided
from renewable sources water costs avoided through efficiency
improvementsa
18% >80,000 2.5 Times
improvement in distribution metric tons of CO2 avoided the ratio of CO2e avoided by our
efficiency through distribution customers to our emissionsa
improvementsb
Includes Scope 1 and 2 emissions
a
Includes Scope 1 emissions
b
Our total energy consumption in 2019 was 52.5 TWh, representing a 5% increase
from 2018. The increase was a result of our growth that was driven by rising
societal and customer demands, particularly in Asia. At the same time, we
continued to reduce energy use intensity for our operations, using proportionally
less energy to make the products our customers need. Our ASUs surpassed their
energy efficiency goal for 2020, achieving a 3.7% improvement in energy efficiency
intensity, and our HyCO operations have improved by 0.9% since 2015.c These
successes were realized through higher plant utilization, increased production
at new, larger and more efficient facilities, and hundreds of facility improvement
projects involving changes to equipment and manufacturing processes.
Our direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) CO2 emissions are related to the energy
we consume. In 2019, our Scope 1 GHG emissions, which are primarily from our
HyCO operations were 16.6 million MT, representing a 1% increase from the prior
year. Our Scope 2 emissions, which are due in large part to the electricity and
steam we consume in our ASUs, were 10.6 million MT in 2019, which was a 4%
increase from 2018. On an intensity basis, our Scope 1 and 2 emissions improved Intensity goals are configured as the ratio
c
of reporting year (2019) value (i.e., energy,
by 2.3% due to energy efficiency improvements and we met our GHG emissions emissions, or water) to reporting year
intensity goal for 2020. Our Scope 3 emissions were 6.6 million MT. production divided by the value to production
ratio in our base year (2015). Using a ratio
allows the reported results to be
As in prior years, CO2 emissions data was externally verified by WSP, a dimensionless and protects confidential
production data.
management and consultancy service provider.
21Energy Consumption We have made several investments over the past several years to improve fleet
efficiency, reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. This included replacing
7.5
30% of our North American tractors, 65% of our fleet in the UK with fuel efficient
Euro 6 compliant tractors and replacing additional tractors in Belgium, France
16.1
and the Netherlands. Upgrades also included higher payloads on some vehicles
52.5
that increased tons of product shipped per distance driven and fuel efficiency.
TWh
We have met our distribution efficiency goal.
28.9
l Electricity l Fuels l Steam
Capturing CO2 in Texas
Scope 1 CO2 Emissions In Port Arthur, Texas, Air Products operates the largest CO2
1.3 0.2
purification and capture project for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
by an industrial gas company. Air Products designed, constructed
and operates the state-of-the-art system to capture CO2 from two
16.6
steam methane reformers located at the Valero Port Arthur
million
Refinery. The CO2 removal technology was retrofitted to the
MT
SMRs, which produce hydrogen to assist in the making of
cleaner burning transportation fuels by refinery customers on
15.1 Air Products’ Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline network.
l Americas l Asia l EMEA
CO2 captured from Air Products’ SMRs finds a second use by
enabling our partners in Port Arthur to realize greater yields in
Scope 2 CO2 Emissions their oil extraction process due to injection of CO2 into sedimen-
1.1 tary rock, which has the duel benefit of enhanced oil recovery
(EOR) and the sequestration of CO2 beneath the earth’s surface.
Since 2013, when it initiated onstream capture operations,
10.6 Air Products has captured nearly one million tons per year of CO2
2.9
million 6.6 at Port Arthur that has been put to beneficial use.
MT
Carbon capture is essential to meeting the Paris climate goals.
Significant opportunities are available to capture CO2 from
l Americas l Asia l EMEA
gasifiers and hydrogen plants, and we can deploy our carbon
capture technologies and other technologies developed by
Air Products in new plants or by
retrofitting existing ones.
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
22Building a Sustainable Future
In 2019, Air Products and Saudi Aramco announced a joint agreement to build the first hydrogen
fueling station in Saudi Arabia. The pilot program represented a first step in demonstrating oil-
based hydrogen-powered systems with the Kingdom and combined Air Products’ technological
know-how and experience in hydrogen with Saudi Aramco’s industrial experience, facilities and
R&D capabilities.
Together the companies have established a fleet of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. The
vehicles are being fueled with high-purity compressed hydrogen that is dispensed at the
hydrogen fueling station located at Air Products’ technology center in the Dhahran Techno
Valley Science Park. Air Products’ proprietary hydrogen fueling technology is incorporated into
the station.
The fleet of vehicles have a driving range
of 500 kilometers and emit only water.
Vehicle refueling is quick, averaging five
minutes as opposed to an hour for
traditional battery electric vehicles.
This project, together with Air Products’
fueling stations around the world,
demonstrate the potential of hydrogen
fuel cell electric vehicles to make a
significant contribution to a clean,
secure and affordable energy future.
Supporting the Energy Transition
The world faces a huge challenge in shifting toward clean, sustainable energy Our commitment to hydrogen will set
sources. Air Products supports its customers as they execute their energy the stage for the future of the fuel as a
strategies alongside economic growth and social development. We recognize sustainable option for mobility and
that carbon-based fuels will continue to be instrumental for the equitable the broader energy transition.
development of the global economy, and that substitution of coal-based energy Hydrogen has significant potential as
with less carbon-intensive energy may not be economically feasible in some a household and industrial fuel. Even
circumstances. As the world transitions to lower carbon energy sources, our with current natural gas infrastructure,
technologies and products enable our customers to reduce emissions from hydrogen can be blended at levels up
legacy energy sources while they pursue new sources of energy for their to 20% without major infrastructure or
operations and manufacturing processes. appliance modifications. Hydrogen can
be made from renewable resources and
Air Products is the world’s largest supplier of hydrogen, and we are scaling can simultaneously reduce a country’s
hydrogen production and fueling infrastructure to ensure its successful dependence on imported energy and
adaptation as a sustainable fuel. When used in a fuel cell, hydrogen is nearly significantly reduce GHGs.
two times more efficient than gasoline and diesel on a “well-to-wheel” basis
and produces no emissions. Today, in California, individual customers can buy
a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car and fill it at Air Products’ and other hydrogen
filling stations that feature our leading fueling technology. From Japan to Korea
to Europe – across the world we are working to build access to these cleaner
passenger vehicle opportunities. We see even greater opportunity for long-haul
transportation – buses, trucks, trains and ships.
23WATER CONSERVATION
Why It’s Important
Water conservation is critical to the health and sustainability of our
planet. Experts project a 40% shortfall between water demand and
fresh water supply by 2030, and by 2050 nearly three billion people will
live in water-stressed areas.
What We’re Doing
Air Products cannot operate its facilities without adequate water supplies.
Renewable Energy This reality drives us to be good stewards of water. We use water primarily for
cooling, to make hydrogen using the steam methane reforming (SMR) process
Air Products increased its use of and to provide steam and water to our customers. The steam is a co-product
renewable energy in 2019, continuing of our SMRs and has a significant energy efficiency advantage and related
our journey to identify green energy environmental benefit when compared to steam generated from boilers. Because
sources that can reduce our energy of these uses, our water consumption is tied closely to energy use; therefore,
costs and environmental footprint. improvements in energy efficiency can also conserve water. We also use water
In some countries we purchase for safety systems (i.e., fire suppression) and cleaning.
renewable electricity, including the
United Kingdom, while in France we We have significantly improved our water efficiency by identifying facilities
purchase guarantees of origin. We have that are consuming more water per unit production than similar facilities,
installed solar arrays at several of our conducting assessments at these facilities to identify conservation opportunities
production and office facilities, and making appropriate changes at the plants. Much of our water conservation
generating electricity for internal has been through improved cooling tower operations and converting to recycled
consumption. Overall, 23% of our gray water in our plants. We have also used air-cooling to reduce water
electricity purchases were from consumption.
renewable sources in 2019.
We continue to use recycled water, particularly in Southern California, to reduce
Facilities with solar arrays our consumption of freshwater. Collaboration with industrial neighbors and joint
• Keumiée, Belgium venture partners has enabled this recycling. Across all our plants, we estimate
that 9% of our water was from recycled sources in 2019.
• Araraquara, Brazil
• Tainan, Taiwan
• Kuan Yin, Taiwan
7%
• Halfweg, The Netherlands
• Allentown, Pennsylvania
Additional information:
CDP response g
Climate Change Policy Statement g
Reduction in Water
Third-party verification of CO2 data g Use Intensity
Air Products | 2020 Sustainability Report
24Our Commitments and Contributions
In 2016, Air Products established a goal to reduce water consumption by 5% on
an indexed basis by 2020 from a 2015 baseline. We achieved this goal in 2017 and
continued to improve water efficiency through subsequent years, reducing our
water intensity by 7% in 2019 for a total reduction of 26% since the baseline year.
Our consumption of water, on an absolute basis, decreased to 15.8 billion gallons
in 2019 due to increased water recycling. Additional data on water withdrawals,
consumption and discharges is provided in the GRI Content Index to this report.
Business Opportunities for Water Treatment
Customers rely on our technologies to improve water quality and treat Water Consumed*
wastewater. Our offerings include: pure oxygen aeration systems for wastewater 1.7
treatment and aquaculture; oxygen for ozone generation; carbon dioxide for pH 3.6
adjustment and drinking water remineralization; and ozone and advanced
oxidation systems for wastewater treatment. 15.8 billion
gallons
10.5
l Americas l Asia l EMEA
* Includes water discharged but not returned to source
Water Stress
We have identified
operations in water stressed
areas, particularly areas where
the baseline water stress is
high or extremely high accord-
ing to the World Resources
Institute Aqueduct Water
Risk Atlas. In 2019, 22% of our
facilities were located in water
stressed areas.
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