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2030 Positive Impact
At Ecolab, we grow our business by growing our impact, powered by our high-performing team. Our ambition for creating 2030 Positive Impact reflects our dedication to working together to protect vital resources and do what’s right.
Our work to create 2030 Positive Impact reflects the change we aim to make for our company, communities, customers and the environment. Together, with our customers and supply partners, we are focused on creating lasting positive impact while simultaneously driving business growth.
In the World
We’re Helping Our Customers Grow Their Business and Their Impact
Water
Help customers save 300 billion gallons [1.1 billion m³] of water each year by 2030, equivalent to the annual drinking water needs of 1 billion people.
Climate
Help customers protect 2 billion people from foodborne illnesses and infections each year by 2030.
Food
Help customers avoid the generation of 6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually by 2030, preventing nearly 10 million pollution-related illnesses.
Value
Help customers realize $18 billion in cumulative value from the use of Ecolab solutions and services by 2030.
In Our Operations
Alongside our work with our customers, we grow our impact through our operations. We are making continued progress toward our 2030 Positive Impact ambition around water, climate, engagement and inclusion, and safety.
Achieving a Net Positive Water Impact
Progressing Toward Net Positive Water Impact
Global water scarcity continues to require urgent action across the world. As a critical resource to all, responsible stewardship and use of water ties our commitment to our shareholders and communities tightly together. It is a business and social imperative that we grow fast, grow our impact and grow our teams as we work together to address the global water crisis.
Our vision of a water-resilient future relies on tangible action. For Ecolab, that means continuing to drive water management with our customers, while also identifying opportunities to implement water stewardship projects in our own operations. By 2030, we plan to:
- Reduce water impact by 40% per unit production across our enterprise, from our 2018 base year
- Restore greater than 50% of our absolute water withdrawal volume at high-risk sites
- Achieve Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard certification for sites located within high-risk watersheds
We reduced overall water impact intensity by 29%, from our 2018 base year, by:
- Implementing Ecolab solutions such as 3D TRASAR™ and Water Flow Intelligence and utilizing digital tools like the Smart Water Navigator, to support smart water management practices
We restored water in our communities, reducing and replenishing 64% of our absolute water withdrawal at high-risk sites by:
- Working with partners within the local water basins in which we operate to understand shared water challenges and addressing them with nature-based solutions
- Completing water efficiency and reuse projects that reduce our dependency on community water supplies
We have achieved Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification at 13 of our facilities.
Tackling Carbon Emissions
Tackling Carbon Emissions
By decarbonizing our business and empowering customers to do the same, we are driving positive business performance while helping tackle the urgent challenge of climate change.
Ecolab has near-term science-based targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2018 base year. We have committed to achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050*. We are also working to reduce Ecolab’s Scope 3 emissions by 25% by 2030 from a 2022 base year across a portion of purchased goods and services, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, and downstream leased assets.
*Includes a 90% absolute reduction of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from 2018 base year and Scope 3 GHG emissions from 2022 base year.
To help meet our goals, we use a combination of tactics supported by science-based strategies. In 2024, we:
- Reduced absolute Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 33%, from our 2018 base year, by focusing on process improvement projects that reduced total energy consumption by almost 13.7 billion BTUs
- Sourced 71% of our total electricity from renewable sources
- Accelerated our vehicle fleet electrification projects, particularly in North America through a collaboration with Ford Pro™ and in Europe through having EVs as part of our standard car selector process
Supporting a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
Fostering a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce
Our culture of inclusion and belonging is focused on supporting and encouraging our associates to reach their full potential. We seek to foster a culture of belonging that reflects our longstanding value of collaborating to include diverse perspectives that challenge ourselves to reach our goals and do what’s right. Our 2030 Impact aspirations reflect this commitment, aiming to increase management-level gender diversity to 35% and ethnic/racial diversity to 25%, thereby underscoring our dedication to diversity and access to equal opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds.
We employ a combination of strategies to help us advance our ambitions, including:
- Creating more diverse candidate pools
- Fostering a culture of inclusivity and belonging through employee resource groups for employees of all backgrounds
- Investing in processes and systems that deliver transparency
As a result of these efforts, in 2023:
- 39% of all new management-level hires globally were women and 27% of all new management-level hires in the U.S. were people of color
- Nearly 40% of our global workforce has completed an Allyship in Action training course
- We grew management-level female representation to 28% and management-level people of color representation to 20% in the U.S.