Steering our sustainability commitments
When it put sustainability at the heart of the Group’s strategy, Air Liquide also set up a robust governance structure to ensure that projects are executed in accordance with the strategy set and the commitments made. Under this governance, Air Liquide always considers the impact of investment decisions on the Group’s CO2 emissions.
Sustainability: a commitment that is steered at the highest level
The Board of Directors determines the orientations of Air Liquide’s activities and ensures their implementation, in line with its corporate interest, taking into account the social and environmental stakes of its activity. As part of its missions, the Environment and Society Committee examines the Group’s sustainability strategy and commitments as well as the Group’s annual consolidated sustainability information published by the Company, and monitors the Group’s sustainability actions and their deployment. It makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. The Committee meets, in principle, three times a year (see page 43).
14 Climate Champions steer local decarbonization plans on a day-to-day basis
A dedicated internal committee to support the Group’s Climate Strategy
The “E-Enrisk” Committee manages the Group’s main challenges in terms of energy and CO2 emissions. Each month, it brings together representatives from the Large Industries World Business Line and the Group’s Finance and Sustainable Development Functions, supervised by a member of the Executive Committee. The Committee reviews energy sourcing strategies in the main entities and ensures that commitments are aligned with the Group’s Climate strategy, especially CO2 emissions reduction goals.
CO2 integrated in the investment decision-making process
Carbon trajectory monitoring is fully integrated in the Group’s steering process. Every Air Liquide entity is assigned an annual CO2 budget that it is authorized to “spend” to grow its business. These figures are reviewed each quarter, taking into account not only annual emissions, but also emissions forecasts through to 2025 and 2035. Besides CO2, other parameters are also taken into account depending on the project in question, including physical and water-related risks, or the potential impact on biodiversity.
A network of Climate Champions and Sustainability Ambassadors
To implement its sustainability strategy, the Group relies on different relay points within the organization. Climate Champions act as the Sustainable Development Department’s contacts within the Group’s clusters (groups of countries). They steer the deployment of the CO2 trajectory within their scope by determining the operational measures needed to achieve the goals set for the clusters. Their tasks include deploying local decarbonization plans, monitoring indicators, and communicating on progress. Sustainability Ambassadors form a network of 500 volunteers who share best practices within the Group and raise their colleagues’ awareness of sustainability questions.