Ecolab
CEF Lead Executives
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EMILIO R TENUTAList Item 1
CEF LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer
For the past 11 years, Emilio has led Ecolab’s strategic sustainability journey and is actively involved in advancing global sustainability practices, with a significant focus on water stewardship and climate action. In recent years, he’s become a leader in ESG practices and reporting. Partnering with investor relations and Ecolab’s Chief Executive Officer, Tenuta has advanced Ecolab’s reputation as an ESG leading company. He is chair of the board of directors of the World Environment Center, a global n-profit, n-advocacy organization.
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KARI BJORHUSList Item 2
VP, Global Communications
Report to EVP of Global Marketing & Communications. Hired to build first-ever global communications function. Built team at corporate center and in international regions. Developed core platforms, strategies, policies and programs. Led communications during major integrations that doubled the size of the company. Collaborated with CEO on all communications and helped position him as a global thought leader on water stewardship and advance the company’s reputation for water expertise. Advanced employee engagement and alignment and helped ensure the success of major company initiatives through strategic communications. Previously served as VP of Enterprise Communications at the Coca-Cola Company and was a Group VP at Shandwick.
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MEREDITH ENGLUND
VP, Water Partnerships
Meredith Englund works with the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate and 11 of the world’s biggest companies to help address the global water crisis. Prior to this role, she launched the Techstars Farm to Fork Accelerator in partnership with Techstars and Cargill, bringing 10 food tech startups to the Twin Cities annually and providing them mentorship, funding and partnership opportunities. She also spent six years in the Marketing department of Ecolab's Institutional division, serving restaurants, hospitality, and facility care customers in a variety of North America and global roles. Meredith has a background in management consulting at McKinsey & Company in Chicago and advertising with J. Walter Thompson in New York City. She has served clients across a wide variety of industries and functions, including growth strategy, capability building, operations, organizational design, branding and marketing. She holds a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Duke University and an MBA from Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.
Sustainability Goals
Sustainability Goals
Highlights
2020 Goals
- Reduce water withdrawal by 25% (2015 baseline) (Saved 206 billion gallons of water, equal to the drinking water needs of 712 million as of 2021)
- Reduce GHG emissions by 10% (2015 baseline) (Avoided 3.5 million metric tons of GHG emissions as of 2021)
- Ecolab will partner with customers to:
- Conserve 300 billion gallons of water annually, equivalent to the annual drinking water needs of 1 billion people
- Help customers become carbon neutral by reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5 million metric tonnes, helping to prevent 7.3 million pollution-related illnesses
- Provide high-quality and safe food for 1.8 billion people, helping to prevent 11 million foodborne illnesses annually
- Clean 50 billion hands and provide safe medical care for 116 million people each year, helping to avoid 1.7 million infections annually
- Ecolab will advance sustainability in its own operations by:
- Achieving a positive water impact by restoring greater than 50% of water withdrawal; achieving Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard certification in high-risk watersheds; and meeting a positive water impact goal of 40% per unit of production across our enterprise.
- Halving carbon emissions and pursuing 100% renewable electricity, a target verified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
- Supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce by: Committing to the UN SDG 5 (Gender Equality for Women and Girls); Maintaining Ecolab’s pay equity in the U.S. and expanding globally; Increasing management level gender diversity to 35% with the ultimate goal of gender parity; Increasing management level ethnic/racial diversity to 25% as we seek to meet full representation of the U.S. workforce at all levels
- Training and educating 100% of our associates to work safely 100% of the time with the consistent overall goal of zero incidents.
2050 Goals
- Achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050
Latest Sustainability Report
2022 Corporate Responsibility Report
(June 2023)
Highlights
- Helped customers save 219 billion gallons of water, 3.6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, and 60 million pounds of waste in 2022;
- Has reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 24% from a 2018 baseline.
- Currently source 60% of total electricity usage from renewables.
- In 2022, announced its partnership with asset management firm Low Carbon on a virtual power purchasing agreement to source 100% of the electricity needs for Ecolab’s European sites from a Finnish wind farm starting in 2023.
- Reduced miles driven in the U.S. by 5.2 million in 2022 through several initiatives.
- Conducted a refreshed materiality assessment in 2022 to reaffirm and update topics that are of significance to Ecolab and identified and prioritized 17 topics.
- Achieved Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certifications at two Ecolab facilities, bringing total AWS-certified facility count to eight across Brazil, China, Mexico and the U.S.
- Through the Open Call to Accelerate Action on Water, joined other private sector companies in a commitment to make a collective positive impact in 100 basins supporting over 3 billion people by 2030.
- In 2022, launched Climate Intelligence with Siemens to help customers accelerate their progress toward sustainability and productivity goals.
- In 2022, grew management-level gender diversity to 26.5% and ethnic/racial diversity to 19.5%.
- Received sustainability recognition in Corporate Knights’ Global 100 World’s Most Sustainable Corporations and Barrons’ Top 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.
- Received recognition in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies; Newsweek’s America’s Most Responsible Companies; and
Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies.
Recent News
2024
Announced it has sourced enough clean electricity to power 100% of its European operations. This comes after the completion of a 30 MW windfarm project by Low Carbon, which through a virtual power purchase agreement, will supply 100GWh of electricity annually. This brings Ecolab’s global renewable electricity sourcing to 80%. (March 2024)
Selected Ford’s commercial division Ford Pro to accelerate the electrification of its sales and service fleet, targeting complete North American fleet electrification by 2030. Electrification will begin with the purchase of more than 1,000 Ford electric vehicles in California by 2025. (Feb 2024)
2023
Ecolab Watermark Study (Ecolab) — Examines the state of water stewardship through water’s importance, usage, connection to climate and responsibility among key consumer populations around the world. Results include:
- Access to clean and safe water is seen as a leading environmental concern for consumers across the globe, including 92% of respondents in Latin America, 85% in China, 81% in the U.S, and 72% in Europe.
- While consumers hold governments and businesses most responsible for water conservation, only 42-46% believed they actually cared, in Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the U.S.
- Most consumers believe that industry has no clear plan to address water scarcity, including 82% in China, 78% in Latin America, 66% in Europe, and 65% in the U.S.
- Consumers are willing to stop purchasing products that require a significant amount of water to produce, as well as pay more for goods that are made using sustainable business practices, particularly in China (85%) and Latin America (81%).
GREATER MSP PARTNERSHIP — Through the Greater MSP Partnership, CEF members Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, and Ecolab, along with Xcel Energy, have established the first large-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) hub in the U.S. (in Minnesota). It will have a multi-phased approach, bringing SAF into Minnesota (as early as 2025), engaging SAF producers, and expanding its coalition. (Sept 2023)
CORPORATE KNIGHTS — Released its 2023 Global 100 List, ranking the world’s most sustainable companies along 25 indicators, out of 6,000 public companies with revenues of over $1 billion. The top list has outperformed the MSCI All Country World Index on an annual basis for seven of the past 11 years. The top spot went to Schnitzer Steel Industries, a steel recycler that increased energy productivity by 74%, water productivity by 69%, and carbon productivity by 55% in 2021. CEF Members in the Global 100 include: Schneider Electric (#7), Alphabet (#26), Ecolab (#30), Unilever (#38), HP (#39), Cisco (#48), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (#67), and Apple (#73). (Jan 2023)
2022
NEWSWEEK / STATISTA — Released its “America’s Most Responsible Companies 2023” list, which ranks 500 of the U.S. largest public companies based on their ESG performance. The top 50 include CEF members: HP (#1), Qualcomm (#13), Microsoft (#17), Cisco (#19), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (#34), Walt Disney (#39), Mastercard (#40), and Ecolab (#46). (Dec 2022)
ACTION DECLARATION ON CLIMATE POLICY ENGAGEMENT — More than 50 global companies, with almost $900 billion in annual revenues, committed to ensuring that their climate policy engagement, and that of their industry associations, helps address climate change, rather than stall it. The declaration also includes the monitoring and disclosing of climate policy alignment for signatory companies and their major industry and trade associations. CEF member signatories include: Ecolab, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Schneider Electric, Trane Technologies, and Unilever. (Nov 2022)
Climate Intelligence — Ecolab and Siemens launched this new tool that lets utilities and industrial businesses virtually model different scenarios across their water and energy systems to identify opportunities to conserve water and power while also lowering their greenhouse gas emissions. Combining modeling with plant data, the tool has reduced average plant CO2 emissions by tens of thousands of metric tons per year, while reducing energy costs, without additional capital expenditure. (Oct 2022)
CEOs from more than 220 US companies, including CEF members Bloomberg, Ecolab, Kaiser Permanente, and Unilever US—sent a letter to The U.S. Senate urging that they “pass bold gun safety legislation as soon as possible,” though it did so without endorsing any specific policies. Reinforcing the epidemic of gun violence in the U.S.as a worsening human health crisis, the letter makes the connection to business in several ways: First, it notes that among those affected are their customers, employees, families, and host communities. Second, it calls out the economic cost of the violence, citing an estimate that US employers lose $1.4 million every day in lost productivity and revenue, and “costs associated with victims of gun violence.” Finally, it conveys that communities with elevated levels of gun violence are less likely to attract investment, create jobs, and generate economic growth. (June 2022)
First Movers Coalition — The flagship public-private partnership announced a major expansion to more than 50 corporate members—including CEF members Alphabet, Microsoft, Ecolab, Ford, and Schneider Electric—worth about $8.5 trillion and a total of nine governments comprising over 40% of the global economy. The coalition, which aims to create market demand for early-stage technology that cuts emissions from hard-to-abate industry sectors, also launched new sector initiatives in aluminum and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). In the Aluminum sector, Ball Corporation, Ford, Novelis, Trafigura, and Volvo Group committed to have near-zero emissions from 10% of their primary aluminum purchases by 2030. New CDR sector 2030 commitments include (May 2022):
- Alphabet, Microsoft, and Salesforce collectively committed $500 million to CDR.
- Boston Consulting Group (BCG) pledged to remove 100,000 metric tons of carbon.
- AES, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and Swiss Re each committed to 50,000 metric tons of carbon removal, equivalent to a $25 million investment from each company.
- Members must demonstrate that the carbon can be stored for more than 1,000 years.
- Breakthrough Catalyst, Carbon Direct, Frontier, and South Pole joined the coalition as implementation partners for the CDR initiative.
Signed a virtual power purchase agreement with Low Carbon that will support the construction and operation of a new five-turbine wind farm in Finland. The facility will produce 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean energy annually and will increase Ecolab's global renewable energy sourcing to nearly 80%. (April 2022)
ETHISPHERE’S “WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES®” LIST — Ethisphere released its list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® in 2022, recognizing 136 companies that “demonstrated a commitment to ethical business practices.” Fourteen companies (including CEF member Apple) are first-time honorees, and six companies (including CEF members Ecolab, International Paper, and PepsiCo) have been recognized all 16 years since the awards’ inception. (March 2022)
Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow released a report ranking 55 of the largest US companies’ progress in aligning their GHG emission reductions with 1.5°C of warming. Only three companies—CEF members Ecolab, Microsoft, and PepsiCo—received an overall “A” grade, and two—CEF members Alphabet and Apple—received an overall “B” grade, with 84% of companies receiving an overall “D” or “F.” Zero companies received an “A” for GHG target setting. (March 2022)
2021
CDP “A LIST” — 272 out of nearly 12,000 companies scored by CDP made CDP’s 2021 “A List,” which includes a climate change A List (200 companies), a water security A List (118 companies), and a forests A List (24 companies). The lists recognize companies for their “environmental leadership,” all of which are reducing their value chain emissions and have verified Scope 1 and 2 emissions, SBTi-approved emission-reduction targets, evidence of targets that cover their Scope 3 emissions, “robust governance and oversight of climate issues,” and “rigorous risk management processes.” A record 14 companies received Triple A scores for their work across all three themes, including: Danone, Firmenich, Fuji Oil Holdings, CEF member HP, International Flavors & Fragrances, KAO Corporation, Klabin, Lenzing, L’Oréal, Metsä Board Corporation, Mondi, Philip Morris International, Syrmise, and CEF member Unilever. Additional CEF members on the A Lists include: Ecolab (water security), Ford (climate change, water security), General Motors (water security), HPE (water security), Microsoft (climate change, water security), PepsiCo (forests), Samsung (water security), Schneider Electric (climate change), Visa (climate change). (Dec 2021)
NEWSWEEK / STATISTA — Released its “America's Most Responsible Companies 2022” list, which ranks 500 public companies based on their ESG performance (up from 400 companies previously). The top 20 includes CEF members HP (#1), HPE (#7), Cisco (#13), and Ecolab (#18). (Dec 2021)
Sustainable Hospitality Alliance —
Is
developing a Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality as a cohesive framework for companies to drive regenerative impact across the sector, with support from the
World Travel & Tourism Council. The alliance, a group of hospitality companies comprising 30% of the sector, includes CEF members
Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, and
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
CEF member
Ecolab is an alliance partner. (Nov 2021)
MORE »
RE100
— The RE100 companies, which are committed to 100% renewable electricity, now have an electricity demand greater than that of the U.K. or Italy and are on track to save CO2 emissions equal to burning over 118 million tons of coal per year. RE100 members include
CEF Members:
3M, Apple, Bank of America, Bloomberg, Dell Technologies, Ecolab, Facebook, General Motors, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mastercard, McKinsey & Co., Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Siemens AG, TD Bank Group, Trane Technologies, Unilever,
and Visa.
(July 2021)
MORE »
Arizona Water Conservation Collaborative
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Corporations and foundations—including
Intel Corp., Google, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Ecolab, and Target—committed a total of $38 million in funding to conserve nearly 49 billion gallons of water and avoid the first water shortage in Lake Mead. Led by the state of Arizona, Business for Water Stewardship, and the Environmental Defense Fund, this is the single largest multi-sector, collaborative drought-response effort in the state. (June 2021)
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ACI’s 1.5°C Climate Challenge — The American Cleaning Institute (ACI), representing the $60 billion U.S. cleaning product supply chain, released an
industry roadmap for achieving net-zero emissions and challenged companies to align corporate strategies and targets to a 1.5 °C global warming scenario.
An initial 15 ACI members have committed to its 1.5°C Climate Challenge, including
BASF, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow, Ecolab,
and Shell. (May 2021)
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Smart Water Navigator (EcoLab) — An enhanced version of the free online tool to help businesses understand the value of water in their operations and take action to achieve corporate water goals. Following an automated analysis of water use, the tool helps users set informed, context-based goals that consider water basin health in surrounding communities and environments. New features include: benchmarking across a portfolio of facilities; identifying water withdrawal targets and risks; and evaluating performance over time. (March 2021)
Ethisphere released its 2021 list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. CEF members recognized include (March 2021):
- 3M
- ADM
- Aptiv
- CBRE
- Dell Technologies
- Ecolab
- General Motors
- HanesBrands
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Honeywell
- HP
- International Paper
- Kaiser Permanente
- Kimberly-Clark
- Mastercard
- Microsoft
- PepsiCo
- VF Corporation
- Visa
- Waste Management
A new “Circulars Accelerator” program led by Accenture—in partnership with Anglo American, Ecolab, Schneider Electric, and WEF—will connect leading global organizations prioritizing circular innovation with disruptors seeking to scale circular solutions. The first cohort features 17 startups offering solutions that fit into one of three categories: innovating products and production, transforming consumption, and recovering value. To get involved, visit WEF’s digital platform, UpLink. (February 2021)
Over 60 companies committed to the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, an ESG reporting and disclosure framework developed by the WEF and its International Business Council that consists of 21 core and 34 expanded metrics. Companies pledging to implement this reporting framework include Bank of America, Dell Technologies, Dow, Ecolab, Fidelity International, HP, Mastercard, McKinsey & Co., Siemens, and Unilever. (January 2021)
2020
Emerald Technology Ventures announced the closing of its
$100 million water impact fund, which aims to “invest in early- to expansion-stage companies globally to drive critical innovation and its adoption in the water space.” The fund is
backed by cornerstone investor Temasek
and strategic investors SKion Water, Ecolab, and Microsoft. (September 2020)
MORE »
Ecolab unveiled its 2030 Impact Goals, which aim to “significantly increase the company’s positive impact within its own operations and through its work with customers.” Through its work for customers, by 2030, Ecolab aims to help industry conserve 300 billion gallons of water annually, become carbon neutral by reducing GHG emissions by 4.5 million metric tons, and more. Within its own operations, by 2030, Ecolab will focus on achieving a positive water impact, halving carbon emissions and pursuing renewable energy, advancing diversity and inclusion practices, and more. (July 2020)
Ecolab donated more than $1.7 million in financial contributions and in-kind product donations to support organizations and individuals in need. (April 2020)
A group of companies — including Dow, Ecolab, and Microsoft — have partnered with The CEO Water Mandate to launch the Water Resilience Coalition, a CEO-led initiative that aims to “preserve the world’s freshwater resources through collective action in water-stressed basins and ambitious, quantifiable commitments.” The companies participating in the initiative pledge to build a water resilient value chain and achieve net-positive water impact by 2050. (March 2020)
Included on Ethisphere 2020 list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies (March 2020)
Included on CDP “A List” for water security in 2019 (February 2020)
Released updated Water Risk Monetizer (Ecolab, Microsoft and Trucost) to reflect current water trends. The Water Risk Monetizer is a free, web-based tool that calculates a water risk premium for a particular facility based on what water would cost if it were valued based on supply and demand, taking into account water’s full value to communities and the environment. (Feb 2020)
2019
Ecolab will align its operations and supply chain to the U.N. Global Compact’s Business Ambition for 1.5⁰ Celsius. To achieve this, the company has set targets to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and to net-zero by 2050. (Dec 2019)
Ranked #8 on CR Magazine 2019 list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens, which ranks Russell 1000 companies based on environmental, social, and governance performance. (May 2019)