2020 ANNUAL REPORT

Message from Benoît Potier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

We have made pioneering investments in the field of hydrogen, convinced from the beginning of its immense potential as a clean energy carrier.

Responsibility

Resilience, therefore, but also responsibility in terms of the challenges facing our world and society. We believe that the future is a shared asset which can only be shaped through responsible growth. Faced with the climate emergency and changes in society, which have been accelerated by the crisis, it is time for action, more than ever, and companies must play their full part. Two years after Air Liquide announced the most ambitious Climate objectives in its sector, we therefore wanted to take our sustainable development commitments even further.

In 2021, these commitments take on a new dimension, with the implementation of a more ambitious strategy and the definition of new objectives. In practical terms, for our Group, that means committing to a low-carbon society and adopting a proactive policy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. That also means contributing to the transformation of healthcare by developing new valuebased approaches to provide better support to our patients and better meet healthcare needs across the world.

We share this ambition with our employees, for whom we continuously strive to create a safer, more collaborative and more inclusive work environment capable of helping them fully achieve their potential. Finally, that means striving to be a benchmark corporate citizen, through our actions and our interactions with our stakeholders.