Air Liquide reflects on its progress towards its commitments, while taking a step further with additional sustainability objectives, including new commitments on Scope 3 and biodiversity. With this renewed ambition, Air Liquide confirms its determination to link inseparably financial and extra financial performance as announced in its 2025 strategic plan ADVANCE.

Fabienne Lecorvaisier, Executive Vice President and member of the Executive Committee, notably in charge of Sustainable Development, said: “More than a stated ambition, for Air Liquide, sustainability is a commitment with concrete actions. It takes more than conviction. We have implemented robust processes and governance to drive our decarbonization efforts. Combined with the commitment of our employees, this is producing results. However, as we progress on this challenging journey, we continue to enhance our stewardship by adding a new set of commitments. Air Liquide is engaged on a clear path and advancing towards a sustainable future, linking inseparably financial and sustainability performance in its 2025 strategic plan ADVANCE.”

Based on a comprehensive approach, Air Liquide’s sustainable development strategy is based on three pillars : Advancing for the environment, for health and for all.

Advancing for the environment: To address key issues, in particular to fight climate change, Air Liquide is acting to minimize its CO2 emissions, while developing a wide range of low carbon solutions for its customers, including hydrogen, CO2 capture and access to renewable energy. The Group is also committing to water management and biodiversity preservation.

• Air Liquide reduced its carbon intensity by -25%, compared to 2015, and is on track to achieve its objective to reduce by -30% its carbon intensity by 2025.

• In line with the objective of reaching a -33% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 of its absolute CO2 emissions by 2035, with an inflection point in 2025, and on track with reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, the Group’s 2022 absolute CO2 emissions have remained stable for two years in a row while Air Liquide has continued to develop the business.

• Air Liquide increased its renewable energy sourcing volumes by +10% versus 2021, in particular to supply its biggest oxygen production site in the world, located in South Africa.

• New - to strenghten its engagement to the entire value chain and further address CO2 emissions downstream of its operations, Air Liquide has undertaken its first Scope 3 objective to have, within two years, 75% of its Top 50 customers committed to 2050 Carbon neutrality and bring it to 100% by 2035.

• New - the Group is taking a commitment to reinforce biodiversity assessment criteria into the investment process for all new projects by 2024 and to develop and implement an aggregated biodiversity indicator by 2025.

Advancing for health: As a major supplier of medical oxygen and home healthcare services, Air Liquide’s ambition is to contribute to shaping the future of healthcare. In mature economies, aging populations and evolution in lifestyles are leading to an increase in chronic diseases, while in low- and middle-income countries, access to care is the main challenge. 

• Air Liquide is playing a role in transforming healthcare and contributing to improve quality of life to the ~1.9 million patients served in 2022, with 49% of its patients on personalized care plans.

• In low- and middle-income countries, the Group facilitated access to medical oxygen to 1.8 million people.

Advancing for all: Addressing societal objectives, Air Liquide recognizes that long-term performance is based on the quality of its relationship with employees, customers, patients, shareholders, suppliers and local communities around the world.

• In 2022, Air Liquide increased the presence of women among its managers and professionals to 31.5%, compared to 26% in 2012. It is in line to reach its target of 35% by 2025.

• Reaching 42% of deployment, the Group is on track to bring a common basis of care coverage to 100% of its employees by 2025 worldwide. This includes death and disability benefits, health coverage and a minimum 14 weeks of paid maternity leave. The Group currently has 67,100 employees.

From employees to the Board members, the Air Liquide organization is embarked on a transformation journey. In order to implement its action plan and track progress, Air Liquide has ensured that the proper Governance and Processes are in place.

• Global objectives have been translated into local decarbonization plans, developed in close conjunction with the Group’s activities (business lines) and taking into account geographical and customer specificities.

• In order to bring more accuracy and robustness to reporting of metrics, new tools have been implemented. A very significant development in 2022 was the roll-out of a CO2 budget. Followed quarterly, it is embedded into the investment decision process to ensure that the Group remains on track on its trajectory. As a reminder, Air Liquide has committed to invest €16 billion between 2022-2025, of which around 50% will be directed towards Energy transition projects

• The Group has also deployed internal networks of experts and training programs, as well as included Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics in remuneration plans of managers.