Environment
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Amphenol is acting to reduce our operational energy use and minimize our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the application of lean production processes and capital investments in energy-saving equipment. Our efforts in these areas have allowed us to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions intensity over the five years that we have collected this data. Our 2022 goal is to reduce our revenue-normalized Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 10% versus our 2018 levels. We have also begun analyzing and reporting on some of our Scope 3 GHG emissions as we work toward increasing the impact of our decarbonization efforts.five years that we have collected this data. Our 2022 goal is to reduce our revenue-normalized Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 10% versus our 2018 levels. We have also begun analyzing and reporting on some of our Scope 3 GHG emissions as we work toward increasing the impact of our decarbonization efforts.
The use of renewable energy is an important part of our GHG emissions reduction strategy. Over the past few years, we have improved the monitoring of renewables in our energy consumption in order to better understand the opportunities we have to increase our sustainable energy use. The renewable electricity portion of our total energy purchased has increased over the past few years and we plan to further improve this percentage over time. Along with the continued monitoring of renewables in our purchased electricity, we also plan to increase our on-site production of energy fueled by renewables.
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Reducing our Carbon Footprint
To do more to fight the impact of climate change, our El-Cab team in Poland has taken a number of actions to reduce its environmental footprint. To limit greenhouse gas emissions, the facility has organized a bus transportation service which helps limit emissions from individual employee transportation. The bus service is largely subsidized, which offers employees a less expensive option for commuting. In addition, the team has installed two showers at the facility to encourage employees to cycle to work instead of driving, which helps support employee health and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Water Use
Amphenol strives to be a responsible water user in the communities in which we operate. We are committed to actively pursuing and investing in water optimization projects across our facilities and we work to educate our employees on water conservation practices. As a result of these efforts, we have been able to reduce our water withdrawal intensity throughout our facilities.
An important component of our efforts to better assess our global water risk is the tracking of our water supply, which is primarily derived from water distribution systems. We conduct a sectoral water screening annually and plan to continue exploring new opportunities to improve our water usage across our global operations. By the end of 2022, we have committed to setting-up specific targets for our 15 highest process water intensive facilities.
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Water Reuse in Action
Our team at Times Fiber in Brazil embarked on a wastewater project with the objectives of reducing the facility’s water consumption and reusing wastewater. The team first looked at reducing the amount of water the facility consumed. After limiting water use, the team implemented a four-step process that involved filtering, aerating, cleaning and treating the wastewater. Once treated, the water was available to be used to irrigate nearby land. The water has helped create green areas near the facility and minimized fire risk during the dry season.
In 2021, our Exa Thermometrics team in India installed a water recycling unit as part of its sensor manufacturing process. The new unit helped the facility to recycle and reclaim some of the water used during the manufacturing process. As a result of installing the new unit, the facility has been able to reduce water used in the process by more than 200 cubic meters of process water per month which equates to a reduction of approximately 90%. In addition, the facility has reduced its water costs and limited its impact on the local water supply.
Waste Disposal
Limiting our use of resources and minimizing our waste remain a core component of Amphenol’s operational management culture. Our operations employ a number of methods to limit our waste, with some examples including utilizing recycled packaging for connectors, regrinding thermoplastics as appropriate to supplement virgin material feedstocks, composting organic material from our employee cafeterias and reducing our paper usage. As a result of our efforts, we were able to reuse, recycle or recover approximately 65% of our total waste in 2021. We will continue to look for new ways to minimize our material use as we work to further reduce our waste production and deliver more sustainable products to our customers.
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Reducing our Waste
In addition to the actions we have taken to reduce the waste produced from our factories, our teams are also working to reduce the impact of our product packaging. At our facility in Changzhou, China, our teams have implemented a number of lean manufacturing practices that increase product recyclability and provide significant annual waste savings. These actions include increasing the number of product trays placed in each box and using smaller packaging boxes in order to reduce corner and flat foam fillers. As a result of these initiatives, our team has been able to not only limit the waste created by our packaging but has also been able to save money on material and labor costs.