Month: May 2023

Originally published on Avantor Sustainability

By Michael Stubblefield, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avantor

At Avantor, we play an important role in creating a better world through the work we do in helping our customers solve complex scientific challenges. We recognize the importance of operating sustainably and have embedded sound environmental, social and governance practices across our business.

Our Science for Goodness sustainability platform enables us to continually measure and report progress against four key pillars, which are aligned with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

These four areas of focus – People & Culture, Innovation & Environment, Community Engagement and Governance & Integrity – guide our sustainability efforts and provide the framework for creating long-term value for our associates, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities.

We are holding ourselves accountable, and in 2022 linked specific Environmental, Social and Governance Goals to executive compensation. Over the past year, we made important strides against our goals. For example, we are on pace to exceed our 2025 greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. As of the end of 2022, we reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 12% compared to our baseline reduction goal of 15% by 2025.

We also achieved our leadership diversity goals for 2022, with women now accounting for more than 36% of leadership positions at Avantor. Avantor’s commitment to diversity begins with our Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team, who firmly believe that diverse viewpoints strengthen decision-making. While we’ve made important strides, we’re not yet at parity and will continue to build upon this progress.

We are upholding our commitment to enhance sustainability at the highest level, and in April 2023, were pleased to become a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

By joining the UNGC, Avantor is embedding sustainability practices into our DNA, including responsibilities across human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.

While we are proud of the progress we have made thus far, we know that there is more to do and look forward to sharing ongoing updates as we continue the important work toward our 2025 sustainability goals.

Thank you.

To learn more, download the Avantor 2023 Science for Goodness Sustainability Report here.

The KeyBank Foundation has awarded a $25,000 capacity building grant to Niagara Area Habitat for Humanity. The grant will help to fund an Assistant Construction Manager for the organization, helping grow the organization’s capacity to provide safe and affordable housing to low-income families in Niagara County. Currently, Niagara Area Habitat for Humanity’s small staff consists of just two full-time administrative positions and one full-time construction position. KeyBank Foundation’s funding will help to build the organization’s construction capacity, allowing them to expand the number of homes built and also begin offering owner-occupied critical home repairs, which the organization hopes to begin offering in late 2023.

“We are proud to support Niagara Area Habitat for Humanity and help them build capacity to continue and expand their efforts to provide safe, affordable housing,” said Elizabeth Gurney, KeyBank’s Director of Corporate Philanthropy. “Their transformative work is making a difference and helping advance social, racial, and environmental equity in our community.”

Executive Director of Niagara Area Habitat for Humanity Gina Beam said, “We are incredibly grateful to the KeyBank Foundation for funding this position. It will help us build capacity so that Niagara Area Habitat can strengthen the foundation of its work in Niagara County thus helping more families attain affordable housing and stability.”

Niagara Area Habitat for Humanity has been part of Niagara County’s history for 30 years. From humble beginnings in 1993, it consisted of a small, but strong core group of dedicated volunteers. It hired its first full-time employee in 2018 and has grown to a full-time staff of three. During these 30 years, the organization has built 30 homes for local families – helping more than 66 children grow up in a safe and affordable home. Through affordable mortgages to Habitat Partner Families, almost $1 million in tax revenue has been returned back to the local community. The homes are located in Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda, each one creating more than $70,000 in positive impact to the respective cities while providing strength, stability, self-reliance and shelter for numerous families and the neighborhoods in which they live.