Environmental Performance

Ingersoll Rand continuously measures its environmental performance based on metrics from its operations worldwide. Those metrics are focused on the following areas:

Material and Water Use

We have established a simple-to-understand production target – increase output by 5 percent while using the same amount of input. Ingersoll Rand operations have a great deal of flexibility in deciding how to improve efficiency and productivity while reducing waste.

Energy Use

Energy conservation has become an increasingly important sustainability issue, from the impact of energy use on greenhouse gas emissions to the high costs of energy in today’s markets. Ingersoll Rand is working to reduce energy consumption at our operations. Energy efficiency is a top priority for our own facility operations, as well as in our product development strategy.

The energy-saving actions implemented around our global operations include: energy audits involving facility staff and Trane professionals, installing timers on the power switches for building ventilation systems, promoting equipment maintenance procedures that improve efficiency, requiring staff to switch off all electrical equipment not in use, and delivering additional employee training and information on energy-saving procedures. By reducing energy and associated greenhouse gases, Ingersoll Rand is becoming a greener, and more sustainable, company.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Ingersoll Rand has established 2008 as the baseline year for measuring our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Our global 2008 GHG emissions were 577,863 metric tons (1,274 billion pounds) of CO2 equivalents.

Besides reducing energy use and the carbon dioxide associated with it, Ingersoll Rand also carefully manages the refrigerants we use in our products, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are much more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide on a per-pound basis (although they are emitted in much, much smaller quantities). Within our own operations, we take steps to eliminate or minimize leakage and quickly repair any breaches. We also provide leak detection and repair services to our customers.

Waste and Recycling

Ingersoll Rand is committed to the managing our waste based on the following hierarchy:

• Reduce – the primary focus is to prevent the generation of waste by reducing the amount and toxicity of materials used in packaging, manufacturing, and handling of products, throughout their life cycle.
• Reuse – extending the life and reusing items saves energy and money.
• Recycle – recycling can save money and energy and reduce environmental impacts
• Disposal –Waste-to-energy, in which the heat from high temperature combustion of waste is used to help generate electricity, is generally more desirable than landfilling waste.

Product Stewardship and Supplier Management

We produce high quality, energy-efficient products and systems that minimize the use of natural resources.

Throughout a product’s life cycle, we consider the energy, environmental, and safety impacts of the product and its use. The stage gates used in the company’s product development processes have environmental, health, and safety considerations built into them.

Ingersoll Rand also provides services to customers to ensure that products are running efficiently and safely during their use.

At the end of the life cycle, many of our products are highly recyclable because of their metal content. In some cases, up to 90 percent of the product or more can be recycled at the end of its useful life.

Ingersoll Rand Global Supply Chain has developed practices for managing the impacts of our suppliers. This includes a formal assessment that addresses numerous areas, including safety and regulatory compliance. Global Supply Chain held a conference with suppliers to focus on reducing disposable packaging, optimizing cube allocation, and reducing fuel consumption during shipping. Lean events with suppliers focus on working waste out of the supply chain system. Increasingly, video conferencing is used to minimize travel to meetings, which reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.