MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tennant Company (NYSE:TNC), a world leader in designing, manufacturing, and marketing of solutions that help create a cleaner, safer, healthier world, announces its commitment to set a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target in line with climate science as part of a global initiative led by CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the UN Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Tennant Company joins many of the world’s largest companies in this effort to set science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions in order to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 2° C, a level agreed on by the world’s leading climate scientists and governments. The hope is that corporations like Tennant will help to drive bolder corporate action and the innovation needed to transition to a new low-carbon, sustainable economy and help to protect our planet, according to CDP.

In addition, Tennant Company has joined more than 700 of America’s largest companies in signing The Climate Declaration, a call to action urging the public, policymakers and business leaders to seize the economic opportunity in tackling climate change. Launched in April of 2013, The Climate Declaration asserts that tackling climate change is America’s greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century.

By making a commitment to science-based GHG reductions, Tennant Company agrees it will set a science-based target by September of 2017 and that the target commitment will cover a span of at least five years. The target must cover companywide Scope 1 (emissions directly created by a company’s facilities or use of vehicles, for example), Scope 2 (emissions created from purchased utilities such as electricity, steam, heating and cooling) and all GHGs. Companies whose Scope 3 emissions are a significant portion of their overall emissions must also set an ambitious Scope 3 target, according to the initiative requirements. Scope 3 emissions are from third parties, along the upstream and downstream value chain of an organization. For example, Scope 3 could cover transportation providers in the upstream or use of sold products in the downstream. Scope 3 emissions are estimated as 95% of Tennant’s total value chain emissions. Therefore, an ambitious Scope 3 target will be included as part of the commitment.

According to Tennant Company President and CEO Chris Killingstad, “Tennant Company has long held a commitment to sustainability. By using agreed-upon methodologies to establish targets that can protect our climate, we will bolster our efforts to reduce GHG emissions and help advance the transition to a low-carbon economy. By signing The Climate Declaration, we proudly declare our commitment to join other leaders in taking important and meaningful steps to tackle climate change.”

In the next 12 months, Tennant Company will determine the specific methodology it will use to establish its GHG reduction target by September 2017.

Company Profile
Minneapolis-based Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC) is a world leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing solutions that empower customers to achieve quality cleaning performance, significantly reduce their environmental impact and help create a cleaner, safer, healthier world. Its products include equipment for maintaining surfaces in industrial, commercial and outdoor environments; chemical-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies; and coatings for protecting, repairing and upgrading surfaces. Tennant's global field service network is the most extensive in the industry. Tennant has manufacturing operations in Minneapolis, Minn.; Holland, Mich.; Louisville, Ky.; Uden, The Netherlands; the United Kingdom; São Paulo, Brazil; and Shanghai, China; and sells products directly in 15 countries and through distributors in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit www.tennantco.com.

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Source: Tennant Company