“We believe challenging the status quo drives progress.” - Carolyn Woznicki
At ITW, we are committed to operating our business in a way that demonstrates our dedication to environmental responsibility and sustainability. Across all our divisions, we measure, manage and work to reduce the environmental footprint of our operations and products.
“We believe challenging the status quo drives progress,” said Carolyn Woznicki, ITW’s Vice President of Strategic Sourcing and EH&S. “As a global enterprise fueled by innovative problem-solvers, our sustainability strategy is operationalized by segment and division leaders through a clear framework that identifies the why, what and how of our initiatives. This structured approach empowers all businesses to make a tangible impact.”
By the end of 2022, ITW reduced our combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per U.S. dollar of operating revenue by 45% from the 2017 baseline, exceeding our goal of a 40% reduction ahead of our 2030 target date. Having met that goal, and in the spirit of continuous improvement, we set our collective sights on an even more ambitious target: to achieve a 50% absolute reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 2030, compared with a 2021 baseline.
“Moving from an intensity-based target to an absolute reduction goal aligns with our philosophy to set and strive for fact-based and appropriately paced goals,” said Carolyn Woznicki. “Setting an absolute reduction target for GHG emissions is a significant commitment and will require ITW to make certain investments to drive meaningful progress toward addressing climate change.”
ITW’s strategy to achieve this goal aligns with known technologies for GHG emissions reduction and includes the following priorities, as outlined in our recently published 2022 Sustainability Report:
In addition to striving to reduce emissions directly from our operations, we’re committing to understanding and exploring ways to reduce our Scope 3 emissions across the value chain. Through our unwavering commitment to Customer-Back Innovation, we go to great lengths to understand the root of our customers’ challenges so we can develop and test viable solutions. For example, with the growing EV market and the need to decrease vehicle emissions, we work directly with automotive manufacturers and OEMs to understand how our products can help them increase energy efficiency, reduce vehicle weight and enhance component durability and longevity.
“We’re bringing the businesses toward our collective 2030 goal by providing relevant opportunities for their unique situation,” said Mike Colwell, ITW’s Strategic Sourcing Director. “We listen to what they want to do and respond with potential solutions.”
ITW is proud to provide more than $4.7 billion of products that support overall eco-efficiency and, in turn, help our customers reduce the environmental impact of their own products. Clean-tech products represent approximately 30% of ITW’s overall revenue in 2022, an 8-percentage-point increase since 2017.
ITW colleagues, too, have become increasingly interested in what we’re doing to manage and lessen our environmental impact.
“More and more team members have expressed a desire to get involved,” said Sabrina Teelen, Strategic Sourcing Manager at ITW Deutschland GmbH. “Throughout Europe, we have dedicated groups at our sites to work on sustainability projects. Additionally, the progress of these projects and sharing good ideas are routinely discussed during our energy council meetings.”
At ITW, our products and supporting services are only the beginning of what we deliver to the world. And since we are a trusted business partner to brands across the world, we believe it is up to us to help shape the future through environmental sustainability efforts that aim to improve the quality of life for those around us.
