Emissions

We understand the broad impacts associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants, including implications for climate, concerns regarding the impact on public health and threats to ecosystems.

Emission reductions, however, can also signal improving overall operational efficiency at our manufacturing facilities, and we see our focus on emission reductions as a potential competitive advantage. We monitor our process emissions closely and work to minimize our respective impacts in support of maintaining compliance with our regulatory obligations and reducing our global environmental footprint. We also look to partner with our customers and others who share our goal of reducing emissions impacts across the value chain by providing products that can help lower their own emissions and significantly lower the impact of their products throughout the product life cycle. 

In 2021, our absolute emissions of GHGs, SO₂ and NO_x increased over the previous year but stayed just below 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels. We made positive progress toward our emissions goals, achieving 91% toward our 2025 GHG intensity goal, 42% toward our SO₂ intensity goal, and 91% toward our NO_x intensity goal. 

We completed the implementation of emissions control technology at our carbon black manufacturing facility in Franklin, LA, USA to improve its air pollution control system. It is anticipated that with a full year run-rate, there will be a combined NO_x and SO₂ emissions reduction of more than 20 tons per day.