Air Liquide’s Sustainable Progress: Advancing Across All Extra-Financial Indicators in 2024
With the release of its Integrated Annual Report, Performing with Impact, Air Liquide highlights its achievements in 2024, reinforcing its commitment to sustainability through its strategic plan, ADVANCE. This year, the company has made significant strides not only in financial performance but also in extra-financial aspects, demonstrating progress across all key sustainability indicators.
A Comprehensive Sustainability Strategy: The Three Pillars
Air Liquide’s sustainable development strategy is built upon three fundamental pillars: For the Environment, For Health, and For All. Each pillar encompasses initiatives and progress made in line with the Group’s commitment to achieving long-term, sustainable growth while positively impacting society and the planet.
For the Environment: Driving Decarbonization and Sustainable Solutions
As a leader in industrial gases and clean energy solutions, Air Liquide has maintained its focus on combining financial growth with environmental responsibility. By reducing CO₂ emissions and offering innovative solutions for customers’ decarbonization efforts, the company continues to set industry benchmarks. Some of the most notable environmental achievements in 2024 include:
- Reduction in Scope 1 & 2 CO₂ Emissions: The Group has successfully reduced its Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO₂ emissions by 11% compared to 2020, keeping it ahead of schedule for its 2025 inflection target.
- Carbon Intensity Reduction: Since 2015, Air Liquide has achieved a remarkable 41% reduction in carbon intensity, already surpassing its 2025 target of 30%.
- Low-Carbon Energy Acceleration: The company has significantly increased its procurement of low-carbon electricity, with over 40% of its power sourced from renewable or nuclear energy in 2024. To further secure its long-term low-carbon energy needs, Air Liquide signed a record 2,500 GWh of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
- Publication of a Climate Transition Plan: As part of its long-term commitment, the company has introduced its first-ever climate transition plan, outlining its path to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and detailing the strategic measures needed to reach this ambitious goal.
Beyond internal efforts, Air Liquide continues to develop and expand its portfolio of decarbonization solutions, such as carbon capture technologies, low-carbon hydrogen, and air gas applications. These innovations enable industries worldwide to reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining operational efficiency.
For Health: Innovating and Expanding Access to Medical Solutions
Air Liquide plays a critical role in the healthcare sector by providing medical oxygen and home healthcare services to millions of patients globally. The company’s mission is to shape the future of healthcare, addressing the growing challenges posed by aging populations, lifestyle changes, and access to essential medical resources. Key highlights in 2024 include:
- Supporting Chronic Disease Management: Air Liquide is actively engaged in home healthcare solutions, improving the quality of life for over 2 million patients across 30 countries. Additionally, 57% of these patients now receive personalized care plans, ensuring tailored medical support.
- Expanding the Access Oxygen™ Initiative: Recognizing the critical need for medical oxygen in low- and middle-income countries, the company extended its Access Oxygen™ initiative to Mali, bringing the total number of people with improved access to medical oxygen to over 2.7 million across South Africa, Senegal, Kenya, and Mali since the program’s inception in 2017.
- Commitment to Medical Innovation: Air Liquide continues to invest in research and development, exploring new medical technologies and treatments to enhance patient care and improve efficiency in healthcare delivery systems.
With its strong emphasis on innovation and accessibility, Air Liquide is working towards a future where medical solutions are more efficient, widely available, and responsive to the evolving needs of patients worldwide.
For All: Strengthening Community Engagement and Employee Well-Being
Air Liquide understands that sustainable success is deeply connected to strong relationships with employees, customers, patients, shareholders, suppliers, and local communities. In 2024, the company further strengthened its commitment to social responsibility through key initiatives:
- Safety First: Achieving Record Low Accident Rates
Safety remains a top priority, and 2024 saw a 32% reduction in lost-time accident frequency rates compared to 2023, marking an all-time low. This achievement reflects the company’s continuous efforts to embed safety as a core value across its global operations. - Comprehensive Employee Benefits: Exceeding Targets
Air Liquide successfully implemented a universal care coverage program for its 66,500 employees worldwide—one year ahead of schedule. This initiative ensures all employees have access to essential benefits, including:- Life insurance coverage
- Comprehensive health insurance
- A minimum of 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, irrespective of local labor laws
- Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity has been a focal point for the company, with 2024 witnessing a significant increase in female representation among managers and professionals to 33%, well on track to meet the 2025 goal of 35%. By fostering a more inclusive work environment, Air Liquide is setting new industry standards for gender diversity. - Empowering Employees to Give Back
Air Liquide encourages its workforce to engage with their local communities. Through the “Citizen at Work” global volunteering program, 87% of employees now have access to initiatives that allow them to contribute to meaningful causes. The company remains committed to achieving 100% employee participation by 2025.
A Continued Commitment to Sustainability
Air Liquide’s 2024 performance underscores its dedication to advancing sustainable solutions across environmental, healthcare, and social domains. With continuous progress on its ADVANCE plan, the company is well-positioned to achieve its long-term goals, including carbon neutrality by 2050, improved healthcare access worldwide, and stronger employee and community engagement.
As industries and societies evolve, Air Liquide remains committed to innovation, responsibility, and impact, ensuring that its business growth aligns with the broader needs of the planet and its people. The milestones achieved in 2024 set a strong foundation for future sustainability efforts, reinforcing the company’s role as a leader in sustainable industrial solutions.
