Chemours Improves its 2030 Climate Goal by Switching from Relative to Absolute Goal
Sheryl Telford Appointed Chief Sustainability Officer and Will Lead Chemours Sustainability Effort
WILMINGTON, Del., April 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC), a global chemistry company with leading positions in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, Advanced Performance Materials and Chemical Solutions, today announced its ambitious goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Chemours is driving to achieve a 60% absolute reduction of operations-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, putting the company on the path to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The company also announces the appointment of Sheryl Telford as Chief Sustainability Officer to lead its end-to-end sustainability effort.
According to Chemours president and chief executive officer Mark Vergnano, “Businesses like Chemours have an opportunity to help build a more sustainable future. Our more ambitious greenhouse gas emission goal, along with our other Corporate Responsibility Commitments, reflect our strategy to grow our business responsibly and sustainably. It’s good for business and good for the planet.”
Chemours is using a holistic approach to address direct emissions from operations (Scope 1) and indirect emissions from electricity and other energy sources (Scope 2). To address Scope 1 emissions, the company will continue to enhance emissions control technologies at its manufacturing sites and drive energy efficiency improvements across its operations, reducing the volume of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. To address Scope 2 emissions, Chemours will increase the amount of electricity and other energy generated from renewable sources.
The company is also in the process of defining goals related to indirect emissions from its value chain (Scope 3) and will announce them at a later date. Achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions will require significant collaboration in both the public and private sectors to deliver technological innovation and government policies that enable and incent the transition to a greener economy.
Chemours has a variety of product offerings that aid the fight against climate change. They include OpteonTM low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants for mobile and stationary uses, TeflonTM fluoropolymers that are critical to emissions control, energy efficiency and the electrification of vehicles, and Ti-Pure™ titanium dioxide enables highly reflective surfaces to maximize use of electric or solar energy in applications such as photovoltaic backsheets and reflective films in electronics and maintaining surfaces cool for efficient and reduced energy consumption such as in roofing membranes and protective films. Another Chemours product, NafionTM ion exchange membrane, is at the center of the hydrogen economy. Nafion enables the scalable production of hydrogen via electrolysis and use of hydrogen as a fuel source in heavy duty transport, passenger vehicles, and material handling. Not only will Chemours be doing its part to reduce its operational impact but its products will be helping other companies and governments do the same.
Sheryl Telford Appointed Chief Sustainability Officer
Chemours today announces the appointment of Sheryl Telford to the newly created position of Chief Sustainability Officer. “Sheryl has been central to Chemours sustainability efforts and I am delighted to have her in the Chief Sustainability Officer role. She will lead our efforts to embed sustainability into every aspect of how we operate, making it an integral part of the Chemours culture,” Vergnano said.
A respected and trusted industry expert, Telford has more than three decades of experience in the environmental, safety and health fields in the government, utility and chemistry sectors. She joined Chemours upon its creation in 2015 as Director, EHS and Remediation before being named vice president, environment, health, safety and corporate responsibility in 2018.
In her new role, Telford will also play a central role in establishing strategic collaborations and partnerships with external experts, companies, industries and organizations to advance Chemours sustainability efforts and advocate for sustainable, science-based policy and regulation.
