QUARTERLY HONEYWELL ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY INDEX SHOWS COMPANIES REMAIN BULLISH ON SUSTAINABILITY ROADMAPS DESPITE POTENTIAL ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

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Jan 31, 2023, 09:02 ET

Organizations are increasingly taking a balanced approach to their environmental initiatives, embracing more and more technological solutions alongside process changes
The current economic and geopolitical environment is cited as top barrier to achieving organizations' environmental goals
The multi-industry and multi-regional index points to an increase in corporate confidence, quarter over quarter, in meeting near- and long-term environmental goals

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON), a global leader in energy and climate transition solutions, today released its 1Q 2023 Environmental Sustainability Index, a quarterly indicator of key trends pertaining to global efforts in climate change mitigation and other sustainability initiatives. The second release of the index provides a comparison of corporate sentiment and progress against environmental sustainability initiatives across sectors on a global basis.

The global study, which surveyed more than 750 business leaders involved in the sustainability process, revealed that nearly 98% of organizations have been at least somewhat or extremely successful in achieving at least one or more sustainability goals over the past 12 months. When it comes to meeting their goals by 2030, an anchor deadline year for numerous commitments, there is an increased level of optimism quarter over quarter across all sustainability categories including energy efficiency and evolution, emissions reduction, pollution prevention, and circularity/recycling.

"Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, organizations remain committed to the fight against climate change and their sustainability goals," said Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Honeywell. "While data shows an increased sense of optimism towards reaching goals, we know decision makers are still very perplexed on what their respective journeys and roadmaps look like towards their targets. With over 60% of our annual revenue stemming from solutions that contribute to ESG-oriented outcomes, and approximately 60% of our R&D spend being directed towards ESG-oriented innovation,^¹ we have deep experience and expertise to help organizations around the world reach their sustainability targets even in a tougher economic environment."

More key highlights from the study include:

Sustainability goals continue to be perceived as the top corporate priority, cited by 71% of organizations as of one of their top five priorities (highest percentage). North American organizations appear to trail most other regions in establishing long-term sustainability goals. Organizations in Asia Pacific prioritize sustainability goals more than any other region.
Most organizations are prioritizing energy efficiency and evolution across geographies, but other categories such as emissions reduction and circularity/recycling showed increased momentum. In fact, 50% of organizations plan to increase budgets related to emissions reduction by over 20% over the coming 12 months.
Companies are shifting from primarily process-driven methods for achieving goals to more balanced approaches that combine both technology- and process-driven initiatives. While most organizations focus on process change to achieve near-term goals, over 20% of organizations are using a balanced blend of process and technology with the other 15% leaning heavily on technology to achieve goals.
The current economic and geopolitical environment negatively impacts the ability of organizations to successfully achieve their sustainability goals. While pandemic-related concerns were cited as the top barrier to success in the previous report, economic concerns and their impact are now cited as the top anticipated barrier over the coming 12 months.

"The second release of Honeywell's Environmental Sustainability Index provided new data highlighting some interesting positive shifts in sentiment toward sustainability efforts across sectors," said Daniel Newman, principal analyst and founding partner of Futurum Research. "As the macroeconomic environment continues to put pressure on companies to be more efficient, the commitment to sustainability indicates both the importance of meeting sustainability goals and the potential economic value that purposeful investment in sustainability may deliver for companies that prioritize sustainability."

"I am encouraged to hear companies are increasingly using technology integrations to achieve their goals," said Evan van Hook, chief sustainability officer of Honeywell. "Regardless of where companies are on their sustainability journey, incorporating technology initiatives into their sustainability strategy will accelerate progress."

Honeywell itself committed in April 2021 to become carbon neutral in its operations and facilities by 2035 through a combination of further investment in energy savings projects, conversion to renewable energy sources, completion of capital improvement projects at its sites and in its fleet of vehicles, and utilization of credible carbon credits where needed. These initiatives represent a continuation of the company's sustainability efforts that began in 2004 and have already yielded a reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of more than 90%. Honeywell has also committed to setting a science-based target, including scope 3 emissions, with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

To download the full index and survey report, please visit: https://www.honeywell.com/us/en/company/sustainability/environmental-sustainability-index

Methodology
The Environmental Sustainability Index is based on a global double-blind survey of 753 business, technology, and sustainability professionals directly involved in the planning, strategic development, implementation, or oversight of environmental sustainability goals and initiatives. The first edition of the survey was conducted during Q2 and Q3 of 2022; The second edition was in Q4 of 2022. Additionally, survey panelists were required to be in a leadership role within their organization, with organizations required to have a minimum of 1,000 active employees. Additional demographic information is available at the end of this report.

About the Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Report
The goal of the Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Report is to inform the global community on the current sentiment around sustainability goals and progress that directly supports Environmental Sustainability & Governance) initiatives. The report consists of two separate components: the ES Sentiment Index, Sentiment Index, a global sampling of over 750 business leaders directly involved in their organization's ES initiatives, measuring their perception of how well their organization has performed in achieving its goals over the past year and expectations for the year ahead; and the ES Adoption Index, a quarterly estimate of trending change (increase/decrease) of global shipments of select ES-enabling technologies and solutions.

For detailed information on the supporting data, statistical models, and research methodology used in the creation of this report, please see the Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Report Methodology.

About Honeywell
Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) delivers industry-specific solutions that include aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings and industry; and performance materials globally. Our technologies help aircraft, buildings, manufacturing plants, supply chains, and workers become more connected to make our world smarter, safer, and more sustainable. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

Disclaimer:
The information presented in this document is intended solely for informational purposes and not as advice or recommendations for any particular action or investment. The information should not be relied upon, in whole or in part, as the basis for decision-making or investment purposes. The document and its contents are not guaranteed as to accuracy or completeness and are provided on an "as is" basis. Use of this information is at your own risk. Honeywell disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions, or inadequacies in such information. This document includes opinions that should not be construed as statements of fact. Any opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Any forecasts and forward[1]looking statements are directional indicators, are not predictions of future events, and do not in any way reflect expectations for (or actual) Honeywell operational or financial performance. Any forecasts and forward-looking statements represent our current judgment and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forecasts and forward-looking statements, which reflect our opinions only as of the date of publication of this document. Honeywell is not obligated to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forecasts and forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events.

¹ Methodology for identifying ESG-oriented solutions is available at investor.honeywell.com (see ESG/ESG Information/Identification of ESG-oriented Offerings).

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SOURCE Honeywell