Air Products Named a 2018 DiversityInc Noteworthy Company

Listing is Another Step Toward Company Goal to be Most Diverse in Industry

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May 02, 2018, 09:09 ET

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) has been named a 2018 DiversityInc Noteworthy Company, it was announced by DiversityInc at an event held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York last evening.

"Air Products has set its vision on being the most diverse industrial gas company in the world," said Jennifer Grant, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Air Products. "Our targeted actions range from external partnerships to support diversity in our recruiting to unconscious bias training to foster an inclusive workplace. We are pleased to be among DiversityInc's Noteworthy Companies, especially given the rigorous benchmarking that is associated with DiversityInc's annual awards."

The DiversityInc Top 50 and Noteworthy Company lists, issued yearly since 2001, recognize the nation's top companies for diversity and inclusion management. These companies excel in such areas as hiring, retaining and promoting women, minorities, people with disabilities, LGBT and veterans.

"Events of the past year have demonstrated that decisive ethical leadership is necessary to guide any organization to success," notes Luke Visconti, founder and CEO of DiversityInc. "Successful leaders hold themselves accountable to be culturally competent, a skill that requires constant learning. DiversityInc Top 50 Companies have a metrics-evidenced ability to treat people more fairly than other large companies. They also have a greater-than-average return for their shareholders."

DiversityInc's extensive annual survey yields an empirically driven ranking based on recruitment, talent development, senior leadership commitment and supplier diversity. This year's competition was improved by new survey questions, increased emphasis on fairness over chasing numbers and more sophisticated analysis from DiversityInc's data scientists. To view the entire Top 50 and Noteworthy company's list, visit https://www.diversityinc.com/top50.

Grant said that Air Products is focused on building diversity and inclusion into its culture. Recent activities include:

Embedding diversity into all talent management processes, from recruiting to succession planning;
Unconscious bias workshops for managers around the world;
A global Inclusion Network and seven Employee Resource Groups that promote enhanced awareness and understanding of inclusion at work for all colleagues;
Partnerships with diversity organizations such as Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Engineers and National Society of Black Engineers to support attracting and developing diverse talent;
An eight-month Leadership Development Program for Diverse Talent for high performing colleagues around the world; and
Scholarships for diverse students studying engineering and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) disciplines.

Additionally, Air Products has received other recognitions for its commitment to diversity and inclusion. In 2018 Air Products achieved a perfect score of 100 and was designated a "Best Place to Work" for LGBT Equality for the 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). Air Products was also selected to Corporate Responsibility Magazine's (CR Magazine) 100 Best Corporate Citizens List™ for the sixth consecutive year.

Additional details on Air Products diversity and inclusion efforts around the world can be found at: http://www.airproducts.com/Company/about-us/diversity-and-inclusion.aspx

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 2017 sales of $8.2 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of about $35 billion. Approximately 15,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from a diversity of backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

About DiversityInc The mission of DiversityInc is to bring education and clarity to the business benefits of diversity. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list began in 2001, when many corporations were beginning to understand the business value of diversity-management initiatives. The 2018 Top 50 Companies for Diversity results will be featured on ‪DiversityInc.com and in DiversityInc magazine. DiversityInc is a VA certified veteran-owned business and a USBLN certified business owned by a person with a disability. For more information, visit www.diversityinc.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn @DiversityInc.

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, 2017.

SOURCE Air Products