Honeywell releases its first quarterly Environmental Sustainability Index

The first-ever cross-sector, cross-regional sustainability index shows that companies are satisfied with past results, but less optimistic about future short- and long-term goals

Nearly nine out of ten companies plan to increase their sustainability budgets in the next 12 months

The survey results show that recent efforts to address climate issues have focused on changing processes and behaviors across the enterprise, with less emphasis on technology integration

Honeywell recently released its Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI). The index is the first quarterly index of key trends in global action to mitigate climate change and other sustainable development initiatives. According to an August report by the Harvard Business Review, two-thirds of S&P 500 companies have set emissions reduction targets.

In its first quarterly survey, the Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Index tracks sentiment data on companies' priorities to combat climate change and their approach to environmental sustainability. More than 600 business leaders involved in sustainability from around the world participated in the survey. When it comes to the SDGs for the past 12 months in the four categories of energy transformation and efficiency, emission reduction, pollution prevention and recycling/recovery, 90% of respondents generally believe that they have achieved satisfactory results overall. However, forward-looking forecasts point to a lack of overall confidence, with only 67% of respondents optimistic about achieving their targets for the next 12 months. In addition, only 63% of respondents are optimistic about achieving their sustainability goals by 2030, the year by which many sustainability commitments have been met.

Honeywell is proud to serve customers around the world in a wide range of industries. In 2021, more than 60% of Honeywell's revenue came from businesses that help solve global environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges. About 60% of the company's innovation and R&D are based on improving the ESG performance of its customers. [1] This puts Honeywell in a unique position to help our customers and the world solve their toughest climate and environmental challenges and meet their commitments on time or ahead of schedule. This strength also makes us an expert authority on sustainability trends and progress across the market, which is shared globally through the Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Index.

Highlights of the survey also include:

About 97% of companies plan to supplement their budget for the current year in at least one sustainability category; Nearly three-quarters of businesses plan to supplement their budgets for the current year in all four categories; More than one-third of organizations expect to add more than 50 per cent of their budgets in at least one category.

Respondents noted priorities, progress and optimism in achieving targets in the four sustainability categories of Energy Transformation and Efficiency, Emissions Reduction, Pollution Prevention and Recycling/Recovery. Advancing the energy revolution and improving efficiency are the top goals for companies in all regions of the world, with 73% of respondents ranking them as their first or second priority. Circularity/recycling was the lowest priority, with only 28% of respondents placing it first or second.

For all four categories, 62% of respondents said they would achieve their sustainability goals for the next 12 months, primarily by modifying or reducing operational processes or business practices. In addition, only 16% of respondents said they would achieve their near-term goals primarily through technology-driven change, such as upgrading or replacing existing systems with newer, more efficient or more sustainable technologies.

With environmental sustainability gaining traction, we are excited about the opportunity to partner with a global leader like Honeywell to develop this data-driven index that will be a bellwether for tracking the sentiment, initiatives and intentions of companies around the world to reduce their carbon footprint."

Over the next decade, we expect sustainability to receive not only more policy support, but also greater investment from the world's leading companies, highlighting the importance of sustainable practices and becoming a mandatory requirement for consumers, investors and corporate boards around the world.

Energy change and efficiency are expected to be at the top of the agenda of ESG-related managers in companies. This tends to be an area with the highest return on investment, as the higher the operational efficiency, the lower the energy costs.

When it comes to progress, the market is divided into two main scenarios. Some companies need help to kickstart their sustainability journey, while others that previously relied on process adaptation now need deep expertise to solve tougher problems. Regardless of the maturity of the business, only a proactive technology-driven approach can truly seize sustainability opportunities and accelerate the process of change.

In April 2021, Honeywell pledged to achieve carbon neutrality across all operations and facilities by 2035. The company will continue its commitment to sustainability through a package of initiatives that include increased investment in energy efficiency projects, adoption of renewable energy, completion of asset improvement projects for business facilities and company vehicles, and the use of reliable carbon credits. Since 2004, the greenhouse gas intensity of the company's operations and facilities has been reduced by more than 90%. Honeywell has also committed to working with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to develop science-based targets that include other indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the value chain (i.e., Scope 3 emissions).

In China, Honeywell is also committed to the company's sustainability commitments and supports China's sustainability goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. For example, Honeywell's Suzhou plant under Safety & Productivity Solutions has been selected as a "Green Factory" demonstration enterprise on the list of green manufacturing demonstration enterprises announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China. At present, the company is promoting the "green factory" certification of several other factories in an orderly manner. Honeywell's core business aligns with the needs of the Chinese market, and the company works with local partners to drive sustainable development in a wide range of industries and help achieve a more low-carbon, efficient, safe and healthy sustainable future.

Honeywell releases its first quarterly Environmental Sustainability Index

Honeywell releases its first quarterly Environmental Sustainability Index

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