Columbus McKinnon Environmental Statement
Purpose and Scope:
Columbus McKinnon (“CMCO”) acknowledges our obligation to be environmentally responsible and promote sustainability in our operations for the benefit of the environment, our company and all of our stakeholders. We have set expectations, goals, and targets, supported by internal processes to minimize our environmental impact. It is our intent to integrate environmental sustainability throughout our business and operations, wherever possible, and to be transparent with our stakeholders about our progress in this area. This Environmental Statement is intended to compliment and expand upon CMCO’s Environmental Health and Safety Policy.
This Environmental Statement applies to all CMCO employees, including part-time and temporary workers, at all of our subsidiaries and affiliates. It details our enterprise-wide focus on environmental responsibility and our expectations related to reducing or eliminating adverse impacts on the environment through the establishment of clear corporate commitments.
Environmental Governance Structure:
CMCO’s Environmental strategy, which is part of our overall Sustainability strategy, is managed by the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. Environmental targets, goals and progress are monitored by our Board of Directors, specifically the Governance Committee. The Executive Leadership Team (“ELT”) sets the overall Environmental strategy through the ESG Executive Committee, which meets quarterly to discuss environment-related risks and opportunities, strategic objectives, and initiatives. The ELT members also sponsor specific initiatives and are part of corporate core teams, such as the Corporate Green Team. The Corporate Green Team sets the strategy and supports each local Green Team, located at each site. The local Green Teams execute the environmental strategy and reports data and feedback to the Corporate Green Team.
Environmental Risk Assessments:
CMCO’s climate and environmental risk is assessed annually as part of our overall enterprise risk management (“ERM”) process. Although physical climate risk and overall environmental risk are relatively small and are not considered material to our business, we continue a sustained focus on environmental stewardship. We measure and monitor our progress relating to greenhouse gas emissions, recycling and reuse efforts, energy consumption and landfill avoidance. CMCO follows the TCFD framework to assess and report our climate-related risk. We also consider risks and opportunities related to recycling of natural resources, waste to landfill and energy consumption, especially at our manufacturing and warehouse locations. CMCO complies with all applicable laws and will continue to monitor and adapt to the changing environmental and regulatory landscape.
CMCO Environmental Focus Areas:
It is our expectation that our employees continuously look for opportunities to maximize our positive impact on the environment. As part of our Environmental Management Strategy, we have identified the following key environmental areas to focus our resources and efforts:
GHG Emissions:
CMCO calculates and monitors our full emissions profile. Our primary focus is reducing our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions through internal initiatives. However, we also seek opportunities to minimize scope 3 emissions throughout our value chain where possible. CMCO provides updates on our progress reducing our GHG emissions and related initiatives in our annual Corporate Sustainability Report. While we maintain internal GHG emissions reduction targets, we do not publicly report them at this time. CMCO normalizes our emissions calculations by measuring in terms of intensity (metric tons per million revenue dollars) to allow us and our stakeholders to account for changes such as physical footprint expansion and consolidation, perform benchmarking activities and make emissions-related decisions.
Recycling & Waste:
CMCO has set aggressive recycling and waste reduction targets, which can be found in our annual Corporate Sustainability Report. Specifically, we challenge all of our sites to aim for 100% reuse and/or recycling of residual wood and cardboard from our operations. We also maintain high targets for reducing our percent of waste to landfills. Although water is not used in our operations in any significant amounts, we educate and encourage our employees to reduce water consumption where possible.
Energy Management:
CMCO aims to continuously reduce our overall energy consumption, and where practicable, evaluate renewable and sustainable energy solutions that are technically and economically viable. We have set a goal to transition our operations facilities and warehouses to LED lighting where practicable. We have also begun the transition of many of our forklifts to electric-powered to reduce our scope 1 emissions. Our sites are encouraged to actively seek out partnerships with electric and utility companies to maximize joint efforts and maintain minimal energy consumption.
Our Products:
Wherever possible, we seek to minimize the environmental impact of our products. This includes the energy and natural resources our products consume and working with our suppliers to comply with sourcing and composition requirements. Furthermore, we are proud that our products are often used to support cleanup and rebuilding efforts following weather and climate natural disasters.
Environmentally Sustainable Culture and Commitment:
CMCO promotes an environmentally sustainable culture, tightly aligned with our Purpose Statement:
Together, we created intelligent motion solutions to move the word forward and improve lives.
As such, we continue to educate our employees, primarily through local Green Team engagement events about the importance of environmental responsibility at home and at work. Many of our sites host educational events throughout the year, and CMCO sends environmental educational materials and other related information from time to time. Furthermore, CMCO recognizes one site, at our annual leadership conference, that has demonstrated exceptional progress and dedication to our sustainable principles as our “Best of the Best - Sustainable Site of the Year.”
To achieve our goals and maintain a strong sustainability culture, we expect every CMCO employee to commit to and abide by this Environmental Statement. Our employees are our greatest asset and have the power to move us forward, with actions both great and small, and create a more sustainable company.
To summarize, our commitments to environmental responsibility include:
- Publish an annual Corporate Sustainability Report to set our goals and demonstrate progress
- Measure and report our full emissions profile (Scope 1, 2 and 3) in our annual Corporate Sustainability Report
- Promote environmental awareness across our organization and reduce our environmental impact through recycling, waste avoidance, and energy management
- Reduce our carbon footprint through Scope 1 and 2 emissions through energy management, electrification, and other economically feasible methods
- Seek out opportunities and partnerships for Scope 3 emissions reduction where economically practicable
- Look for opportunities to innovate and develop products that use minimal natural resources and assist our customers to reduce their environmental impact
Ownership and Maintenance: This Environmental Statement is maintained by the Legal Department. Management is responsible for ensuring that the employees reporting to them are aware of the provisions in this Environmental Statement. Any questions regarding this Environmental Statement should be directed to our Corporate Social Responsibility team at corp.esg@cmco.com.