Chart Industries, the newly enlarged US cryogenics manufacturer, has put out its first sustainability report following its game-changing acquisition of Howden for $4.4bn in March 2023.
The 2023 calendar-year report contains a host of metrics that are very different from previously, with the company having more than doubled in size by headcount and nearly quadrupled its number of operations sites. At the same time, there are signs of progress across some key performance indicators.
The report notes that the company now has 114 sites, up from 29, and 11,576 employees, up from 5,178. Its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are accordingly up, while its Scope 3 emissions – outside of the organisation but within the value chain – are not reported.
What the new-look company can report as a measure of progress is its emissions intensity – setting metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions against revenues – and here the 2023 figure is 20.09 versus 27.7 in 2022. That is a 27.5% decrease in energy intensity.
The percentage of its total consumed grid electricity it derives from renewables has also climbed to 9.5% from 1.5% in 2022.
In 2021, Chart set a target to reduce greenhouse gas intensity by 50% across company-owned operations by 2030 compared with a 2020 baseline and to achieve Net Zero by 2050. It noted in the 2023 report that it has achieved this target as an enlarged operation with rebaselined metrics, some seven years ahead of its original schedule.
As outlined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, industry best practice is to re-baseline emissions following a major acquisition. In this case, that means combining historical emissions data from Howden with legacy Chart performance across the reporting years of 2020 to 2024.
To rebaseline according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Chart has applied a methodology that involves collecting and aggregating data with a consistent approach across all business units, companies, and facilities. The process is guided by internationally recognised standards.
Chart has also submitted an application to join the UN Global Compact for 2024. This is a call to companies to align their strategies and operations with ten universal principles related to human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance societal goals and the implementation of 17 sustainable development goals.
CEO Jill Evanko said in the report, “We are committed to continuous improvement and growth in our ESG and sustainability journey, both for our customers and ourselves. Whether it’s by helping our customers achieve their Net Zero targets or helping to solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges, we are continuously working to enable a cleaner future.”
