Sep 27, 2022   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Westlake Releases 2021 ESG Report with GRI/SASB Data Appendix

Westlake Corporation (NYSE: WLK) today released its 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance Report and, concurrently, its Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Appendix, as the company enhances its data reporting systems and reinforces its commitment to transparency.

The ESG report includes Westlake’s fifth annual sustainability update and demonstrates how ESG practices are integrated throughout the corporation’s core business activities. The report highlights Westlake’s drive to improve sustainable practices across operations, products, and in management; maintain strong engagement in its communities; and deliver on customers’ expectations for sustainable innovate products.

This integrated approach ensures that the corporation’s guiding ESG principles are applied across the global organization and that best practices from within strategic business units are shared and adopted.

Over the past year, since the publication of its 2020 ESG report, Westlake completed four acquisitions with a combined transaction value of $3.8 billion that included additional sustainable products and expanded opportunities for more collaboration across the corporation on product research and development and best operational practices. The 2021 ESG Report provides updates on these enhancements in the Performance & Essential Materials and Housing & Infrastructure Products business segments.

“We recognize the importance of transparency with our stakeholders, including how we share our data, milestones and aspirations along our ESG journey,” said Albert Chao, president and chief executive officer of Westlake. “We also appreciate our stakeholders’ interest in what steps we are actively pursuing to implement additional environmental improvements within our operations and for our products. For instance, we are researching economically feasible technologies to reach zero-carbon emissions on or before 2050.”

In addition to this zero-carbon aspiration, in early 2022 the corporation established a 2030 target to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 equivalent emissions per ton of production by 20% from a 2016 baseline. The emissions-reduction strategy includes installing energy-efficiency improvements in plants, increasing power from less carbon-intensive electricity providers, adding more hydrogen as a fuel gas, and other continuous operational improvements.

Westlake is also building on its ESG data collecting and reporting processes. Today’s release of the 2021 ESG Report is concurrent with the release of its Appendix of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) data. Westlake has started the journey to expand its ESG data reporting using the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework in future annual reports.

Delivering Sustainable Enhancements to Products Portfolio

Westlake strives to develop and commercialize additional products with environmentally preferable attributes. Highlights of recent developments include:

  • Adding Lower-carbon PVC and Caustic Soda
    • Westlake Vinnolit, its German subsidiary, launched two lower-carbon products in 2021 – GreenVin™ PVC and GreenVin™ Caustic Soda – manufactured with renewable energy certificates (Guarantees of Origin). Carbon-dioxide savings associated with GreenVin™ PVC are about 25% compared to conventionally produced Vinnolit PVC.
  • Introducing PVCO – Molecular-Oriented PVC Pipe
    • In 2021, Westlake Pipe & Fittings announced the launch of molecular-oriented PVC pipe (PVCO), which has a lower-carbon footprint than other water piping materials. The PVC molecules are stretched and reorganized during manufacturing, resulting in increased strength and a lighter weight product that is ideal for use in replacing aging metal pipes.
  • Increasing Recycling of Scrap Materials for Finished Products
    • Westlake Dimex, one of the largest recyclers of plastic materials in the U.S., which Westlake acquired in 2021, significantly increased the volume of scrap materials across its businesses that is diverted from landfills to be converted for use in consumer goods, including in outdoor living products.
  • Advancing Epoxies for the Energy Transition
    • Westlake Epoxy is a global leader in epoxies critical for the manufacture of pioneering light weighting components for wind turbines, automobiles, aerospace, and more. Using Westlake Epoxy-supplied materials, Westlake customer Rassini achieved a 30% weight reduction in the leaf-spring suspension for the 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck, winning an award from the Society of Plastics Engineers Automotive Division.
  • One-pellet Flexible Packaging Solution
    • Westlake Polyethylene has continued to partner with customers to commercialize a “one-pellet solution” for flexible packaging applications. This solution will provide customers with a consistent and reliable material for use in the production of films, using 45% post-consumer polyethylene resin without degrading the physical properties of the material.

The 2021 ESG Report and 2021 Appendix can both be found in the Westlake website section on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). In addition, Westlake Chemical Partners LP today released its inaugural Environmental and Safety report that includes data from 2017 to 2021, which is published on www.wlkpartners.com.

About Westlake

Westlake is a global manufacturer and supplier of materials and innovative products that enhance life every day. Headquartered in Houston, with operations in Asia, Europe and North America, we provide the building blocks for vital solutions — from housing and construction, to packaging and healthcare, to automotive and consumer. For more information, visit the Company's web site at www.westlake.com