| Dear Stakeholder:
The world economy finds itself in a most difficult place. The fallout from the
housing and financial collapse continues to play out. Consumers remain
wary, and business investment is constrained. In general, there is a crisis of
confidence. At the same time, environmental and energy concerns remain
at the forefront.
In these trying times, our commitment to delivering improved sustainability performance for our customers and our company has only strengthened.
Over the past seven decades of supplying gas and technology solutions, we’ve developed a deep understanding of our customers’ processes and needs. This enables us to continually bring our applications expertise to bear, not only in our traditional end markets, but through new applications in emerging markets. The solutions we provide—enabling everything from unique food freezing applications, to oxyfuel solutions for combustion, to cost-competitive photovoltaic energy, to gasification and carbon capture projects, to a potential future hydrogen economy—mean our customers can improve their energy efficiency, reduce their environmental footprint and produce products with improved quality and reliability. These benefits become even more critical in challenging economic times.
Beyond what we’re doing for customers, during 2008 we established new targets to further improve our own sustainability performance. Under the leadership of our corporate Sustainability Council, we set new intensity-based energy efficiency goals for our large air separation unit (ASU) and hydrogen, carbon monoxide and synthesis gas (HyCO) facilities. These global goals—designed to result in a 7% reduction in energy consumption at our ASUs per quantity of gas produced and a 7% reduction in fuel and feedstock consumption per quantity of hydrogen produced at our HyCO plants by 2015—are also the basis for a greenhouse gas reduction goal being developed under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Leaders program. Beyond energy, we are also reporting our water consumption and have committed to a 10% reduction by 2015.
AIR PRODUCTS' SUSTAINABILITY COUNCIL
Superior Financial Returns
Leveraging our global organizations
and systems
Providing economic benefits to our company and our customers by continuously improving energy and resource efficiency. |
Accelerating Growth
Delivering innovative solutions that give
our customers a competitive edge
Extend our current businesses and develop
new ones by deploying differentiated, clean
(sustainable) technology solutions.
|
External Focus
Hearing and embracing with urgency and passion the opportunities the changing world brings.
Transform the societal conversation around the world’s social and environmental challenges into responsive, differentiated and sustainable solutions. |
People
Taking our performance to the next level.
Attract and energize a diverse, healthy and inclusive workforce with the skills and capabilities of tomorrow through our sustainability values. |
Throughout this sixth Corporate Responsibility Report, you will see how our sustainability efforts reflect our four areas of focus as a company: delivering superior financial returns to shareholders, accelerating our customers’ growth and our own, embracing and responding to the changing world around us, and fostering a culture where our people—in more than 40 countries throughout the world—can thrive and help their communities do the same.
Sincerely,
John E. McGlade
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer |
