Our PeopleVideo
August 12, 2022
Our corporate citizenship strategy utilizes the company’s strongest resources in order to uplift and engage students from underrepresented communities, so they can eventually drive change for our planet.
At Trane Technologies, we understand that the choices we make today have a huge impact on our planet tomorrow. As we boldly challenge what’s possible for a sustainable world, our ultimate goal is to put more into society than we take out. One way we do that is through our corporate citizenship strategy, and actively sharing our innovation and expertise to deliver resources we know our communities need.
In 2021, we launched a new corporate citizenship strategy aimed at activating our unique expertise and resources in ways that position us to make the greatest impact possible: as a climate company, as a STEM leader, and as an organization deeply invested in sustainability. That was the genesis of our new citizenship strategy, Sustainable Futures.
Our Sustainable Futures strategy utilizes the company’s strongest resources in order to uplift and engage students from communities that are underrepresented in our industry, so they can eventually drive change for our planet.
According to the United Nations, education enables upward socioeconomic mobility, helps reduce inequality and is a key to escaping poverty. However, as of 2020 only 6 in 10 young people complete secondary school. And, as recently as 2015, more than 55% of children in school lacked the minimum required proficiency in reading and math.
We’re dedicated to supporting these amazing students because we know that their passion and creativity are critical in the fight for a healthy and equitable planet. Today, many children around the world lack basic resources to excel in school and in life. They are missing necessities like healthy food to fuel their bodies and clean air that promotes a healthy learning environment.
Through Sustainable Futures, we’re supporting students’ educational journey in three essential ways. First, we want to make sure their basic needs for good learning are met in their classrooms. We’re using our solutions and expertise as a global climate innovator to optimize indoor environmental quality, and improve students’ access to healthy foods.
We are also accelerating student success with early introduction to STEM and sustainability concepts that we believe will improve basic skills and foster a lifelong love of STEM. Later along the development continuum, we’re supporting entry into STEM and sustainability careers by providing hands-on experiences that improve perception, comfort and familiarity within those fields. By reaching students at multiple academic intersections, we hope to educate, inspire and engage them in this vital work now—so it can change their future and ours.
With Sustainable Futures, we’ve devised a Corporate Citizenship Strategy that’s focused on its mission and deep in its application, giving us the potential to really move the needle toward a more equitable workforce and a more sustainable planet.
As part of our 2030 Sustainability Commitments, we’re supporting our Sustainable Futures strategy with a pledge of 500,000 global employee volunteer hours and $100 million. To turn our commitment into action, we launched a Global Volunteer Time program that provides a paid workday for employees to volunteer in their community. We’re also holding ourselves accountable by incorporating these tenets into our leaders’ annual performance assessments.
Our $100 million investment supports talented and well-resourced nonprofits and their programs that align with the goals of our Sustainable Futures strategy. Among our growing network of partners are amazing organizations like Project Scientist, Feeding America, and the Science Museum of Minnesota, each possessing deep expertise, innovative teams and strong community ties that enable us to ensure underrepresented students have access to healthy learning environments, early exposure to sustainability concepts and support in accessing rewarding green and STEM careers. Our approach to these partnerships is way more than transactional. As a company, we’re rolling up our sleeves and bringing people, our ideas and our expertise to the table so students have the kind of rich experiences that equip them to see, plan and achieve fulfilling careers.
Dave: We have a unique culture where we're proud to give back to our communities. And if our communities aren't strong, we won't be strong. I know we talk a lot about the environmental, I know we talk a lot about decarbonization, I know we talk a lot about diversity, inclusion and those are all extremely important. But being able to give back to your community is also something that's very important. It's great for the community. It's great for our company because it makes everyone stronger.
Carrie: Through our sustainable future strategy, there's just such a great connection between what we're doing in our communities and what we're doing with our company Trane Technologies. And so, as we are working in our communities through our volunteerism, through engaging with community organizations, we're able to support underrepresented groups and have those underrepresented people gain greater access to education, careers in STEM fields. And that helps us as a business as well as helping our communities. So, it's really exciting how we can have that impact across a number of different realms.
Dave: Changing one person's life is that's fantastic. That doesn't make my day – that doesn't make my year. That makes my life to make sure that someone else can be, you know, have the success that they wouldn't have had before.
Communities are living breathing things, and every community has a fundamental set of needs that must be met in order for it to thrive. Trane Technologies realizes that a strong corporate citizenry is one of them. Ultimately, a strong, multi-faceted corporate citizenship strategy benefits everyone. It strengthens our communities. It deepens and enhances our brand. It connects our employees to our culture. And most importantly, it enables us to be part of the solution for a more sustainable planet.
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