Southwire 2021 Sustainability Report: Climate Change & Zero Carbon Transition
Southwire 2021 Sustainability Report
APPROACH
In 2021, as a result of our materiality assessment, we broadened our Climate Change & Zero Carbon Transition topic definition to include transitional risks and opportunities from climate change mitigation and adaptation. Due to its importance to Southwire stakeholders, we are also establishing robust governance structures to help ensure that we address the risks and opportunities linked to climate change and the low-carbon economy transition. Southwire’s EVP, General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer, as well as our President of Wire & Cable and Chief Operating Officer, are responsible for the oversight of our climate change strategy. Additionally, we report all climate risk management plans and opportunities to the Board Sustainability Committee.
ADDRESSING CLIMATE RISKS
To maintain our leadership status in the wire and cable manufacturing industry and help drive the clean energy transition, we must address both the risks and opportunities of climate change—now and in the coming decades. Identified risks to Southwire include impacts to our supply chain and operations. We also recognize that climate change raises the risk of more severe and frequent extreme weather events. Impacts associated with these events, such as floods and winter storms, are a concern for some of our manufacturing locations. Production downtime; materials damage and associated clean-up costs; impacts on product demand; and employee absences are among the associated risks of extreme weather. In response to identified risks, we created a flood emergency response plan (FERP) and winterization procedures. We also implemented administrative and infrastructure improvements that are helping us prepare for and mitigate potential future climate-related occurrences.
Southwire is working to integrate a climate change scenario analysis into our Enterprise Risk Management process. Integration will allow us to identify, prepare for and respond to possible climate-related risks across our business. We intend for the analysis to be in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The goal is to finalize this integration by 2024. Our risk management and sustainability teams are also collaborating to establish an internal employee-based working group with senior, executive and board oversight to help lead and manage the process. As we continue to monitor the effects of climate change, we will adapt our plans and strategies as needed.
ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Additional climate change opportunities include strengthening Southwire’s financial and environmental sustainability by expanding and leveraging our services and product offerings to help facilitate the global transition to a clean energy economy. To do this, we dedicate ourselves to assisting our customers in navigating their climate risks and sustainability objectives. We are also developing new solutions to help customers reduce their carbon impact and adjust to a changing climate. To diversify our own business and minimize potential climate impacts, we are exploring opportunities to grow our operations into adjacent markets. In addition, to create resilient solutions, we are broadening efforts beyond our core electrical cable and wire products manufacturing to become a leader in providing diversified electrical goods and services. For example, in 2021, we acquired Topaz Lighting and OBI Partners. These acquisitions allow Southwire to expand into the lighting and software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider space, with a focus on electric utilities.
As we continue to assess our risks and opportunities and expand our capabilities and offerings, we are wellpositioned to help drive the clean energy transition as an industry leader.
SOUTHWIRE CLIMATE AND LOW-CARBON TRANSITION SOLUTIONS
INDUSTRIAL: MASS TRANSIT AND EV
The transition to a low-carbon economy demands environmentally friendly transportation infrastructure with enhanced safety measures.
- Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) products reduce public health and safety risks by addressing the danger of smoke and toxic gas in mass transit tunnels. As a result, LSZH products are in demand for projects with limited ventilation and high numbers of people.
- Products including thermoplastic high-heat-resistant nylon (THHN), cable-in-conduit (CIC) and EV charging cables are in demand as electrified transportation infrastructure grows.
UTILITY: STRATEGIC UNDERGROUNDING AND GRID HARDENING
Widespread outages caused by natural disasters drive the need to improve grid resiliency, including converting systems to underground networks.
- CIC solutions improve jobsite safety and efficiency and help to shorten outage duration; accelerate repair efforts; extend system performance and life expectancy; and reduce cable replacement frequencies.
- Tree Wire, used in tree-crowded areas such as residential areas prone to significant weather events, prevents direct shorts and instantaneous flashovers in case of sudden contact with tree limbs, as well as reducing the space and hardware required for line installation.
INFRASTRUCTURE: COILPAK™ AND SIMPULL™ BARREL
As the world faces growing labor shortages and a need for more efficient wire installation methods, Southwire products maximize efficiency and worker safety during the installation process.
- SIMpull® CoilPAK™ payoff increases safety and improves efficiency by reducing physical handling, set up, and wire pulling.
- CoilPAK™ with SIMpull® THHN wire is a space-saving, efficiency-adding design utilizing a multi-wire solution that reduces pulling tensions.
- SIMpull™ Barrel increases use options through compatibility with various products including SIMpull NoLube Wire products and Metal Clad (MC) Cables, allowing longer lengths to be used. Products also increase productivity and safety by reducing material handling.
PERFORMANCE
Despite supply chain disruptions, such as shipping backlogs, delays caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and increasing inflation, Southwire successfully continued operations by leveraging relationships with our suppliers and adjusting quotas to acquire necessary materials. We continued to progress on our 2025 goal of generating $1 billion in revenue from products and solutions with sustainable attributes by earning approximately $550 million in incremental revenue in 2021. In addition, Southwire R&D continues to demonstrate our commitment to investing in the advancement of sustainable products which contribute to sustainable product revenue. In 2021, approximately 58% of R&D efforts were focused on products with sustainable attributes while 61% of R&D spend included products with sustainable features.
