Carrier Global Corporation has reduced its customers’ carbon footprint by 68 million metric tons in 2020, which is equal to the energy use of more than 8 million U.S. homes in one year. Carrier also reported gains in diversity among its senior leadership, including 43% global executive diversity and 31% global women executives, up from 27% and 20% in 2015, respectively. Also, Carrier began tying its executives’ incentive compensation to progress against Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) goals, including progress against its diversity goals and strategic initiatives. These accomplishments and more are outlined in Carrier’s 2021 ESG Report, which details the company’s ESG performance in 2020 and progress toward its 2030 goals announced last year.
“The urgency of climate change requires us to be bold, to innovate and to disrupt – the future demands it. At Carrier, our focus on ESG is fundamental to our culture and our business, and we have an opportunity to make a profound impact on some of the most pressing environmental and social challenges of our time,” said Dave Gitlin, Chairman & CEO, Carrier. “Expanding on three decades of environmental targets, we’re making meaningful progress against our 2030 goals around the areas of people, planet and our communities. Our goals are intentionally ambitious, because challenging ourselves to think bigger and be better is what we do every day.”
Other highlights from the report include a commitment to setting company-wide science-based emissions reduction targets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, achieving carbon neutral operations and the implementation of a world-class supplier sustainability program to help reduce Carrier’s environmental footprint. Through our investments in energy efficiency projects, as of year-end 2020, we have reduced our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in absolute terms by over 78,000 metric tons compared with our 2015 baseline.
The company is also focused on achieving a diverse workforce that represents the communities in which we live and work, and launched a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy that included the launch of robust programs for the recruitment and development of Black talent. This year’s report includes the addition of a more comprehensive set of diversity demographic data.
“Transparency is a key driver of our ESG performance, which is why we’re committed to sharing where we are doing well – and where we need to focus more attention and resources,” said Jennifer Anderson, Chief Sustainability Officer, Carrier. “We’re proud of our progress, but also resolute in making advancements in our operations, people management, solutions and community engagement.”
Looking ahead, Carrier continues to positively impact the communities where it operates, enabling access to safe and healthy indoor environments, alleviating hunger and food waste, and encouraging employee volunteerism. Carrier is also committed to investing in STEM education programs that promote diversity and inclusion and sustainability through education, partnerships and climate resiliency programs.