The theme of Earth Day this year is: ?Invest in our Planet?, with the call for action from EarthDay.org:
?We need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It's going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens ? everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.?
For nearly a century, Diversey's mission has remained consistent: to protect and care for people and the planet through sustainable cleaning solutions. Diversey has had a long-standing commitment to sustainability that originated from a focus on solutions that lower customers? total cost to clean by preventing waste, conserving water, and reducing energy costs. With more than 85,000 customer sites worldwide, we help our customers with solutions that drive environmental efficiency as we invest in our planet.
Earth Day is an opportunity to evaluate strategies that drive sustainable innovations and also a time to reflect on what we?ve been able to accomplish. Diversey has been publishing sustainability reports on our progress with environmental stewardship since 2004. We have reduced our carbon footprint significantly, introduced numerous water-saving technologies, and implemented massive packaging reductions with our super concentrated products. Last year we launched our new sustainability strategy as our ownership model underwent a material change. Our "Protect. Care. Sustain" strategy will guide our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities and actions. ESG is core to how we create value and drive growth as a business. It is a common thread that weaves through all our sectors and value propositions.
The strategy is supported by both 2030 goals and near-term targets, which will further reduce our environmental footprint, address social inequality and deliver solutions to help our customers reach their own sustainability goals. Our new strategy builds upon Diversey's longstanding sustainability mission: We protect our planet and conserve natural resources. We care about our people, our partnerships, and our customers, and are committed to addressing critical social challenges and reducing risk in our operations. We work tirelessly to sustain the highest standards in responsible business practices and transparency.
Earth Day's ?Invest in our Planet? theme is embodied in our signature initiatives, one of which is Net positive; Net Positive means we are going to deliver environmental savings to our customers that are larger than our own environmental footprint. In other words, the energy, water, waste, and greenhouse gas reductions we deliver to our customers will more than offset the resources we consume in our operations. With Diversey's products and solutions, we can truly make the world a better place when we collaborate with our customers.
The threat climate change poses to our planet is one reason why Earth Day is a critical time to stress the importance of being accountable. Diversey has committed to net zero carbon by 2050. We recognize the need for continued focus on climate change and will be setting a science-based target in 2023 as a key milestone in our journey.
Diversey also has an aggressive packaging initiative. By 2030, our goal is for 100% of our packaging to contribute to the circular economy. Eliminating plastic pollution is a key part of the bold action called for on Earth Day. Diversey is committed to advancing a circular economy: one that closes the loop on waste keeps materials in use and regenerates natural resources. We continue to innovate to reduce our overall waste and help others do the same, with a focus on using materials and resources efficiently. This can be accomplished by increasing packaging efficiency (e.g., higher concentrations), light-weighting packaging, increasing recycled content or increasing recyclability. In 2020 Diversey found a way to combine all these levers into a single metric to measure success. The method is a modification of the Material Circularity Index introduced by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Granta Design.
Earth Day 2022 is the first year with our Protect. Care. Sustain. strategy for ESG. Our goals for environmental stewardship will drive action across our operations and help us minimize our impact as much as possible. These initiatives will also inform our innovations and promote the development of more sustainable solutions for our customers.
For more information on our sustainability strategy, please visit www.diversey.com/sustainability