Managing ESG
Key internal and external stakeholder groups inform our prioritization and approach to ESG topics. Our primary stakeholders include:
Customers
We serve a diverse global customer base, including industrial gas distributors, manufacturers across an array of industries, engineering firms, metal fabrication shops, wholesalers, retailers, educational institutions, and students. We engage customers through one-on-one discussions, joint development projects, our global network of forty (40) Application Resource Center locations, industry trade shows, surveys, seminars, and various media and social media channels.
Investment Community
We maintain active dialogue with our shareholders, analysts, and prospective investors through an investor relations program that includes regular financial filings, meetings (equity and ESG-focused), conferences, non-deal roadshows, an annual shareholder meeting, tradeshow tours, periodic surveys, and investor relations, and sustainability websites. Our General Counsel, VP Investor Relations, and VP Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability conduct annual briefings with our largest shareholders on ESG topics.
Suppliers
We engage with suppliers during the supplier development process and at conferences and associations. We work together to ensure ethical, safe, sustainable practices and compliance in our supply chain.
Employees
Our employees represent the foundation of our great Company and our future success. We engage employees through regular meetings, intranet platforms, employee engagement surveys, employee resource groups, health and safety communications and initiatives, training and development, employee wellness and assistance programs, and an ethics hotline.
Community
We are active members in the communities where we live and work. We participate in community meetings and local business associations; host plant visits; provide grants to nonprofit organizations; and donate resources and time through in-kind gifts, employee volunteerism, and nonprofit Board service.
Industry Associations & Officials
We actively engage with industry and trade associations, academic and research partners, and with government agencies to participate in initiatives to advance innovation and safety in our industry, contribute to evolving codes and standards, as well as benefit from in-depth reviews of emerging issues and opportunities, shifts in industry-specific trends, technologies, and regulations.
Materiality Assessment
In 2023, we conducted an impact materiality assessment to help inform our business strategy and operations, guide our disclosure, and help us identify stakeholder priorities to enhance our engagement.
The process allowed us to both validate known issues, identify new or emerging issues that may impact our company, and identify the potential impact our business and operations may have on the environment and society. The outcome of the assessment serves as the foundation of our ESG governance and disclosure strategy. It also allowed us to advance internal collaboration and leadership knowledge.
Our ESG Materials may contain information that is significant; however, any significance should not be read as necessarily rising to the level of the definition of materiality used for the purposes of our compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws, even where we use the word “material” or “materiality” in our ESG Materials (including where we use it in connection with our materiality assessment) or in other materials issued in connection with the matters discussed in our ESG Materials. We have used definitions of materiality in the course of creating our ESG Materials and the goals and metrics discussed therein that do not coincide with or rise to the level of the definition of materiality used for the purposes of our compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws. Moreover, given the uncertainties, estimates and assumptions inherent in the matters discussed in our ESG Materials, and the timelines involved, materiality is inherently difficult to assess far in advance. In addition, given the inherent uncertainty of the estimates, assumptions and timelines associated with the matters discussed in our ESG Materials, we may not be able to anticipate in advance whether or the degree to which we will or will not be able to meet our plans, targets or goals.
TOP-RATED TOPICS/ISSUES
| Material Topic (Strategy peak) |
Description |
|---|---|
| Climate Risks & Management (Operational Excellence) |
The physical and transition impacts, risks, and opportunities presented by climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy, as well as governance systems to manage climate-related risks and opportunities. |
| Transition to Renewables (Customer Focused) |
The transition from a predominantly fossil-based energy production system and consumption to renewable and alternative energy sources, including policies, goals, accounting instruments and technologies that facilitate that transition. |
| Customer Privacy/Data Security | The aspect of information technology that deals with the protection of private corporate information, critical information systems and networks from security breaches. |
| Employee Health/Safety (Operational Excellence) |
A company's safety performance and the mechanisms in place to maintain a safe and healthy workplace environment. It captures protocols, training, work arrangements and the physical and mental working conditions to which employees are exposed. |
| Ethical Corporate Behavior | The moral code of conduct and guiding principles to the strategic and operational management of a business. It captures the management of risks and opportunities associated with ethical considerations, lawful behavior, and compliance practice. |
| Waste & Haz. Materials Management (Operational Excellence) |
The gaseous, liquid and solid substances used or disposed of in business operations or present in products may threaten human health or the environment. Captures the generation, treatment, recovery, recycling and reduction of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. |
| GHG Emissions (Operational Excellence) |
Greenhouse gas emissions that an organization generates from activities under its control (Scope 1), from the energy it uses and purchases (Scope 2), and from business-related activities that are created from sources outside its ownership and control (Scope 3). It further captures disclosures on GHG emissions reductions and efficiencies, as well as smarter and eco-friendly transportation systems, infrastructure planning, and logistics management. |
| Energy Management (Operational Excellence) |
The company's management of its energy consumption, production, and recovery. |
| Workforce Management (Employee Development) |
The process of ensuring the workforce is functioning at its most productive levels and copes with organizational changes. It captures employee recruitment, retention and development practices. |
| Employee Diversity and Inclusion (Employee Development) |
The processes and mechanisms a company has to grow and maintain diversity in the workforce and ensure equal opportunities and treatment for all employees. |