Air Liquide

Governance and strategy
The company reports consistently against all its sustainability targets.

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company assesses its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, within its own operations.

GHG emissions
The company’s scope 1 and 2 emissions target is aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Invasive species
The company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of IAS in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company demonstrates that its human rights risks and impacts identification process includes a focus on the health of local communities.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
No leading practices were identified for the company in this measurement area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. While the company has targets for addressing climate change, it does not have relevant targets for all key sustainability topics based on the SBTN Materiality Tool. Although the company reports that senior executive remuneration is tied to reducing the Group’s CO2 emissions, with defined baseline year and goals, there is no evidence that it covers social issues beyond health and safety. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Lobbying
The company discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates, but does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company also does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company does not disclose any assessment of its impacts on nature, including biodiversity, in its supply chain. The company does not disclose any assessment of its dependencies on nature within its own operations, or of its upstream business relationships.

Key areas and species
The company discloses the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity within its own operations, but does not disclose the locations of its suppliers that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity. The company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations, nor of its suppliers. The company does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
The company does not have a commitment to ensure zero conversion. The company does not disclose activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains, but does not have time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. The company does not disclose a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion, though it discloses some activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. The company is not committed to restoring ecosystems, nor does it disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
No evidence was found regarding the company’s efforts to work towards a circular economy or which organisms it exploits. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
The company demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations, but does not disclose a time-bound target to reduce water withdrawal across its own operations. The company does not report how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. The company does not report a decrease in water pollution. The company does not disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. Although it regularly reports on water pollution, it does not disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. The company does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
The company is not reducing the production of hazardous substances, and it does not commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. The company is not reducing the production of hazardous waste. The company is not reducing plastic use and waste in its own operations. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants, but does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
While the company has targets for scope 1 and 2 emissions and discloses its performance for its goals, its scope 1 and 2 emissions increased in 2021. The company does not show reductions for scope 3 emissions, nor does it disclose a time-bound target to reduce scope 3 emissions.

Invasive species
No evidence was found that the company identifies the activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its value chain.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company is not committed to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The company does not track its actual or potential negative impacts on the health of local communities. The company is not committed to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The company does not disclose its processes for identifying and recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples when activities in its own operations may impact their rights, nor does it describe how it obtains Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. The company does not require its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

The company describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations, as well as the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. The company describes its process(es) for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. The company also describes its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate salient human rights issues, and this includes a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. The company discloses categories of stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities; however, there is no evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. The company has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. There is no evidence that the company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage, nor is there evidence that the company describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. There is no evidence that the company describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. There is no evidence that the company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. There is no evidence that the company describes how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

While the company discloses a tax strategy in its universal registration document, this is not considered the same as the global tax strategy, which is approved by the highest governance body. There is no evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, The company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. There is no evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions.