Smiths Group Releases First ‘Sustainability at Smiths’ Report

Smiths Group plc, the global industrial technology company, has released its first standalone ‘Sustainability at Smiths’ report. The report explains how the Group translates its purpose into practical actions advancing performance along each dimension of environmental, social and governance (ESG) to protect and deliver value for all its stakeholders.

John Ostergren, Chief Sustainability Officer at Smiths Group, said: “Sustainability at Smiths improves our world in practical ways – leveraging Smiths strengths to deliver for our customers, communities and colleagues. Sustainability is embedded in the Group’s business strategy and priorities to deliver value to all stakeholders.”

Sustainability is engrained in Smiths Group’s business strategy in the following ways:

• Growth delivering sustainability performance that customers need and want;
• Execution delivering commitments to Net Zero and Science-Based Targets as a signatory to the UN Business Ambition for 1.5 Degrees C; and
• Delivering for People working to always improve safety, develop talents and promote diversity, equity and inclusion

Smiths is pursuing growth opportunities across each of its four divisions to develop and commercialise products that provide sustainability benefits to and through customers. Examples from across the portfolio include:

• John Crane technology for fluid and gas transfer, including solutions enabling the world’s largest green hydrogen production and carbon sequestration projects as well as dry gas seals, that substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas turbo compressors;
• Flex-Tek technologies that improve building efficiency and enable electrification of industrial processes as needed, for example to support decarbonisation of steel production;
• Smiths Interconnect’s modular connectors providing stable and reliable electrical connections in wind turbines; and
• Smiths Detection’s Computed Tomography (CT) cabin baggage scanner, used in airports around the world, has the lowest energy use compared to similar products on the market.

Progressing towards Net Zero targets

Smiths continues to make progress in reducing its environmental footprint. In FY2022 the Group committed to ambitious Net Zero targets that align Smiths with the UN’s global climate objectives. Smiths committed to set Science-Based Targets (SBTs) that will further define its path to deliver commitments to Net Zero emissions from operations (Scope 1 & 2) by 2040 and to Net Zero from its end-to-end value chains, including supply chain and products-in-use (Scope 3) by 2050.

In addition to SBTs for Scope 1-3 GHG emissions, Smiths also extended its commitments to reduce waste and water use, and to further increase its use of renewable electricity. These commitments build on a strong historical track record including more than 30% reductions in absolute water use and non-recyclable waste since FY2007 and more than 60% of Smiths total electricity already coming from renewable sources.

New leadership behaviours introduced

In 2022 Smiths Group introduced new leadership behaviours that act as a north star for all employees, to help make Smiths a great place to work and to be impactful on the world around us. The leadership behaviours are underpinned by Smiths Group’s values, and help drive the strategic priorities of growth, execution and developing the company’s people and culture. They are being embedded across the organisation over the coming year.

A focus on people

A key area of Smiths sustainability commitment is to its people. The Group is focused on growing and enhancing its safety culture and performance, developing and empowering Smiths talent for the future, and embedding an inclusive and diverse culture, with an immediate focus on increasing gender diversity. Smiths is also focused on contributing to the well-being of local communities through community activities and initiatives.

Vera Parker, Chief People Officer at Smiths Group, said: “We have a responsibility to create a safe, respectful, and inclusive work environment for everyone, every day. This will help our people thrive, our business succeed, and is our top priority.”

Smiths Group is also tying short- and long-term incentives for leadership to sustainability goals.

For more information on the ‘Sustainability at Smiths’ report please visit our website, Smiths.com.