Social Responsibility

We believe we have an important role to play in creating and sustaining the vitality of the communities where our people live and work. Education, human services, community development, the environment, and the arts are quality-of-life issues that can build up a community or tear it down. That’s why we’ve chosen to focus our community support programs in four main areas.

Pre-college and Higher Education—We support programs that prepare children to succeed in school and make positive choices in their lives. In higher education, we develop opportunities for under-represented minority students in specific disciplines and match employee donations to accredited colleges and universities.

Safety, the Environment, and Community and Economic Development—We work closely with fire companies, ambulance services, emergency management groups and environmental and conservation organizations to promote safety and environmental protection. We also support organizations that create jobs and foster community development and housing, with a focus on economically disadvantaged children and families.

Health and Human Services—Our primary support is in matching employee contributions to American and Canadian United Ways. We also work to improve health education, focusing on preventive health measures for children and families. We support social welfare programs that build character, improve physical well-being and encourage young people to make healthy choices.

Arts and Culture—We support museums, public television and radio stations, arts and cultural centers, art funds and councils, historical societies, art exhibits and festivals, performing and visual arts, and science centers and outreach programs that enable the underserved to benefit from arts and cultural activities.

2007 CONTRIBUTIONS: Air Products contributed approximately $5 million in cash and product donations to community organizations, schools and municipalities in approximately 15 countries. Around the globe, our employees volunteered approximately 240,000 hours, saving local, nonprofit agencies and organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars. Air Products donated more than 330 desktop PCs and laptops valued at nearly $74,000 to schools and other community agencies throughout the U.S. and Europe. We set another record level of support for the United Way, with U.S. employees, retirees and the company donating $2.2 million. We were one of 101 global companies named as National Corporate Leaders.

Janice Zogelmann, plant manager for Air Products’ facilities in Wilmington and Carson, California, sits with Michelle Castaneda (foreground), Harbor Interfaith Service’s client, and Catherine O’Neill (right), the Americorps VISTA volunteer who is coordinating the tech program at Harbor’s transitional housing complex. Air Products recently donated 15 computers to Harbor Interfaith Services, a nonprofit organization serving the Harbor Area and South Bay communities of Los Angeles, California.

Helping Houston Ship Channel Children in Need

Left to right: Richard Gruen, director of Development, Boys and Girls Harbor; Paul Vallone, Global Operations (GO) HyCO director, Air Products; Dave Hefele, GO Houston area manager, Air Products; Bill Bachman, Industry coordinator, Boys and Girls Harbor; Dave Daniels, Corporate Relations manager, Houston Habitat for Humanity.

Boys and Girls Harbor, Inc. of LaPorte, Texas is a nonprofit whose mission is to provide healthy, comprehensive care for abused, abandoned and neglected children ages five through 18. The organization came to us with an ambitious new project in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build a new multifamily home. We provided much-needed funds to support this project as well as a commitment from our employees to lend a labor “helping hand” to actually build the house. Later in the year, the Air Products Cookin’ Team loaned their culinary expertise for Boys and Girls Harbor children, guests and staff in honor of the organization’s 60-year anniversary.

AAA Baseball Sponsorship Benefits our Local Headquarters Community

We are a founding partner of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, a Triple A minor league baseball team of the Philadelphia Phillies. The new facility, Coca-Cola Park, opened in March in the Allentown area, near our corporate headquarters. The $50 million stadium represents a significant economic boost to the region and will add to revenue surges for area businesses, tourism and real estate values. We are also the sponsor of the nonprofit charity of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, which will support youth and recreation groups in our inner cities.

Prestigious National Award Goes to Air Products’ “Cancer Busters”

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has acknowledged our fundraising efforts, honoring Air Products’ Allentown, Pennsylvania Cancer Busters team with their national Chairman’s Citation Award in 2007. This was the first year that Air Products had national representation for the Society, with additional employee Light the Night teams participating in Orange County, California; Portland, Oregon; Baton Rouge/New Orleans, Louisiana; and the West Gulf Coast. Since 2001, Air Products’ Cancer Busters have raised more than $250,000 for the Society and cancer research.

The Cancer Busters’ unique annual event is known as Rock the Night, which augments the Light the Night walk and honors members of the Air Products family who have been impacted by blood cancers. The event features a silent auction, raffle, and entertainment provided by The Difference, Air Products’ award-winning corporate band, which itself has raised over $500,000 for various charities.

EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATION IN ENGLAND We are one of the UK’s largest employers of graduate chemical engineers and a large employer of mechanical and electrical engineers. As such, we have an interest in raising awareness of engineering and encouraging students to consider it as a career. Our social responsibility policy supports an active role in the educational process through close partnerships with schools and other educational institutions. We are involved in a number of educational collaboration activities, from primary school science demonstrations to sponsorship of university students.
Setpoint Surrey—We run experiments in primary schools related to their national curriculum and take part in judging their Problem Solving Competition. The Engineering Education Scheme—We carry out engineering projects in conjunction with local sixth-form students. Careers Fairs—We attend numerous school and sixth-form college careers fairs to recruit and promote engineering as a profession. Women into Science and Engineering (WISE)—We provide ambassadors and role models who participate in the WISE Programme.	Nuffield Bursary Scheme—We offer four-week placements to sixth-form students who want to study engineering at university. Engineering Your Future—Two of our graduate engineers have presented interactive sessions in this seminar run by IMechE, ICE, IET and SETPOINT. The Year in Industry—We offer one-year industrial placements to students who have finished their A levels and wish to study engineering at university and also to students who are currently studying engineering and want to take a “year out.” British Chemical Engineering Contractors’ Association (BCECA)—As part of the BCECA, we provide resources for Industry Days to give university students a taste for running a large industrial project. These days also serve to kick-start students’ design projects. Air Products’ Paul Denton (left) and Gareth Pemberton holding some of the aerodynamic space shuttles students designed and constructed at an Engineering of the Future event.

Children at Nikom 5 School in Rayong Province, Thailand enjoy their new books, indoors and outdoors.

Every Year, a New Library in Thailand Three years ago, employees at our Bangkok Industrial Gases (BIG) joint venture in Thailand decided to start a formal program to promote education and improve the learning opportunities at local schools. Every year since then, BIG has provided the funds to build and donate one new library to benefit schoolchildren. The latest library was for Nikom 5 School in Rayong Province, benefiting nearly 500 students in kindergarten through ninth grade.

Climbing to New Heights in Taipei

With offices spread over seven floors, our Taipei, Taiwan employees are quite used to climbing stairs. Most people prefer to walk up or down rather than wait for the elevator. So when asked to participate in a fundraising "climbathon" to climb Taipei 101, the world’s tallest skyscraper, they rose to the challenge.

The charitable event, organized by the Community Services Center, attracted nearly 800 climbers. Air Products athletes climbed the 400-meter-high staircase up to the 91st floor outdoor observatory, where a breathtaking view awaited them. They enjoyed the view while catching their breath.

Air Products sponsored its climbers, and the total proceeds from the event (more than $50,000) went to the Community Services Center and to Garden of Hope, an organization that helps women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Korean Social Service Club “Heemangkong” Brings Hope to Those in Need

Air Products Korea has established a social service club named Heemangkong. Meaning "bean with hope" in Korean, Heemangkong started with only eight members and has increased to 40 full-time participants and more than 100 supporters. The club’s mission is to actively volunteer in social welfare service settings and make the local community a better place to live and work, while enhancing relationships with community leaders and building morale and teamwork.

The club organizes regular charitable activities, such as visits to a local rehabilitation house for the mentally and physically challenged, where they have delivered basic necessities, watched movies and taken city tours with the residents.

Heemangkong is run by donations from third parties and funds from volunteer members who automatically deduct donations from their salaries each month.

Teaching London School Students about Hydrogen

As a member of the London Hydrogen Partnership, we have pledged our support for the London Schools Hydrogen Challenge, aimed at introducing 11- to 14-year-old London secondary schoolchildren to hydrogen technologies and their applications. The program kicked off in September 2007 at London’s Living Room, City Hall, with an official launch by the Deputy Mayor of London, Nicky Gavron. The Challenge runs through June 2008.

Under the program, the London Hydrogen Partnership has provided schools with a range of online teaching resources that support the National Curriculum and help teachers integrate the subject into their lessons. Air Products is donating the top prize for the winning school, which will be presented at the Grand Final later this year.

Air Products South Africa Donates Classrooms/Dining Hall to Three Local Schools

Air Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd Managing Director Mike Hellyar (right) transfers the keys to new classrooms and a dining hall at three schools in Madadeni Township.

Earlier this year, our South Africa Corporate Social Responsibility Committee officially donated classrooms and a dining hall at three schools in the Madadeni Township at Newcastle.

Founded in 2004, Izazi High School, which aims to offer subjects with special emphasis on science and commerce, received classrooms for all of its 170 students. More than 720 students from grades one through seven enrolled at Siphesihle Primary also received new classrooms from the Committee, replacing ones that did not have doors or windows. The South Africa Corporate Social Responsibility Committee also presented Nurturing Orphans of AIDS for Humanity (NOAH) with a dining hall and kitchen to support them in their mission of caring for orphans whose parents have passed on due to HIV/AIDS. NOAH in Madadeni is housed at Qedizaba Primary School, where it runs a feeding program for 375 children from the Madadeni district.

Employees Recycle on Earth Day

On Earth Day 2008, employees at our corporate headquarters in Allentown, Pennsylvania dropped off their personal obsolete electronic equipment—such as personal computers, PC monitors, keyboards, televisions and CPUs—for recycling. After broadening the effort to include our Easton, Hometown, and other local facilities, more than two tractor trailers of obsolete equipment were collected for recycling.

The Difference Air Products’ corporate band, The Difference, released its fourth CD, "Songs I always wanted to do with a band," in 2007. The band made its mark in 2001 when it was named the best corporate band in America during Fortune’s Battle of the Corporate Bands at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

Prestigious Return On Environment Leadership Award from GE In late 2007, General Electric (GE) honored our Calvert City, Kentucky cogeneration facility with a Return On Environment (ROE) Leadership Award—one of just 34 given globally—recognizing our contribution to environmental commitment and sustainability. The CoGen facility has been in operation since 2000 and uses modern gas turbine and heat recovery technologies to efficiently produce electricity and steam. Over the past year, the site has made a number of process improvements, resulting in significant water and wastewater savings: 106 million gallons/year and 12 million gallons/year, respectively.

Trio of Awards from the Singapore Chemical Industry Council

Air Products Singapore won three awards from the Singapore Chemical Industry Council (SCIC) in the SCIC Annual Responsible Care Awards 2007. The awards recognized performance in Community Awareness and Emergency Response, Distribution and Employee Health and Safety. SCIC is the official body representing the private sector of the chemicals industry in Singapore.