Here we review the good progress being made towards achieving the Pentair social responsibility strategic targets and showcase how its European operations are playing their part.
Pentair has a long history of innovation that has made a positive impact on people and the planet. The decisions we make, the products we create, the solutions we offer, and the partnerships we form, are opportunities to make the world better. We believe that making life better for people and the planet, through smart, sustainable, water solutions, is essential. Indeed, the belief in ‘Making Better Essential’ now guides our social responsibility efforts and programme.
In 2021, Pentair announced a series of ambitious social responsibility strategic targets. Our 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report shows we have already achieved a lot in a short time and have much to be proud of. Those achievements are measured on a global scale and we should not forget that every small change contributes to that positive impact. We outline some of the progress made towards our targets while spotlighting instances where our European operations have played their part.
Carbon Footprint Reduction
Carbon footprint reduction is one of the major challenges we all face and perhaps the most discussed environmental topic. At Pentair we are targeting reducing our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030, from a 2019 baseline, and aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in each case relating to scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions1.
Around the globe we are constantly evaluating new opportunities and implementing projects to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions and these form part of a dynamic, site-specific, Low-Carbon Transition Plan. In 2022, Pentair’s total scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions decreased by 29% compared to the 2019 baseline.
We now have five sites that are using purchased renewable electricity, and we plan to assess the expansion of our purchase of renewables. We also have four sites that utilise solar power generated on-site. These include Winterswijk in the Netherlands, Pisa in Italy and, most recently, our Enschede site in the Netherlands – thanks to the installation of over 800 rooftop solar panels with an annual generation capacity of 360,000 kilowatt-hours. This installation is projected to reduce the site’s GHG emissions by 5% annually. And in August this year we opened our newest facility at Bourn, Cambridge, UK which has been specially built to Net Zero Carbon standards through its low carbon and energy efficient design, supported by onsite and offsite renewable electricity.2
Water reduction
As part of the belief that water is life’s most essential resource, Pentair set an ambitious water withdrawal reduction target of 30% by 2030 as a critical deliverable in our operations. In 2022 we reported a 0.7% decrease in water withdrawal in our operations compared to a 2019 baseline, which represents a 9.3% decrease compared to 2021.
One success story is a water reuse strategy for our manufacturing site at Reynosa in Mexico. Utilising Pentair technology to treat and recirculate water throughout the building, the system is projected to save up to four million gallons of water per year. The Reynosa site also installed a gas-powered generator that provides cleaner and more reliable energy, including more efficient chillers that are projected to reduce water use by four million gallons annually.
Additionally, at our sites in Ashland, Ohio and Suzhou, China, our local teams have been working on key water reduction initiatives that are expected to reduce their annual water consumptions by approximately 10 and eight million gallons respectively.
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