Air Products Joins More than 250 Companies in Commitment to Advance Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace

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Jul 25, 2017, 14:00 ET

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., July 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products' (NYSE: APD) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi announced today that the company has signed on to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, a growing coalition pledging to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

By signing on to this commitment, Air Products joins more than 270 companies pledging to take action to cultivate workplaces where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, employees feel encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where learnings can be shared across organizations via a unified hub -- CEOAction.com -- to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion represents more than 70 industries, all 50 U.S. states and millions of employees globally.

"To be truly successful in business and in life, I have always believed that you need to create an atmosphere of respect for every individual -- an environment where every person is free to contribute and achieve his or her full potential," Ghasemi said. "As we build our culture at Air Products, we want to be the most diverse and inclusive industrial gas company in the world. That means reflecting the customers and communities we serve, and fostering a workplace where everyone is valued for the results they deliver. We look forward to sharing our challenges, achievements and learnings through the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion and contributing to progress and change."

In recent years, Air Products' diversity and inclusion efforts have continued to expand, growing to include:

Air Products' Inclusion Network, a collaboration of seven of the company's Employee Resource Groups to create a supportive employee community that helps attract and retain talent, raise cultural awareness, develop colleagues, and contribute to the company's overall diversity and inclusion objectives. All employees are encouraged to participate.
Leadership Development Circles for Diverse Talent to increase exposure for employees with leadership potential and help them develop strategies and skills to enhance and accelerate professional development. The program leverages the experience of both participants and facilitators through discussion, coaching, and mentoring in a "learning circle" format.
Unconscious Bias Training, an interactive workshop designed to help employees recognize their own biases, build skills to mitigate bias, and foster an inclusive work environment. All employees are encouraged to attend this training.
LGBT Ally Workshops, a skill-building program to help employees feel more comfortable and confident in supporting LGBT colleagues. Participants learn to use inclusive language and practice speaking up and supporting co-workers.
Recognition Moments Program, a critical element of Air Products' Performance Development approach. This platform empowers employees to thank those who exemplify the company culture by going above and beyond in their daily work, as well as those who take action to foster a diverse and inclusive work environment. More than 3,200 employees have been recognized for inclusion since the program's launch in 2016.
Strategic STEM Diversity Partnerships to invest in increasing diversity of the engineering talent pipeline with organizations like Society of Women Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the National Action Council on Minorities in Engineering.

About CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion

CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion is the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Bringing together more than 250 CEOs of America's leading organizations, the commitment outlines actions that participating companies pledge to take to cultivate a workplace where diverse perspectives and experiences are welcomed and respected, employees feel comfortable and encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion, and where best known -- and unsuccessful -- actions can be shared across organizations. Learn more at CEO Action.com and connect with us on Facebook: CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion and Twitter: @CEOAction.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company's core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2016 sales of $7.5 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $30 billion. Approximately 16,000 employees are making Air Products the world's safest and best performing industrial gases company, providing sustainable offerings and excellent service to all customers. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2016.

SOURCE Air Products