Ingersoll Rand’s renewed commitment to tackling carbon emissions has been recognised with a much improved score on the Carbon Disclosure Project’s index.

Just one year ago in 2011, Ingersoll Rand scored 55 on the index, which assesses companies on their climate change measures, management of water risk, and emission of greenhouse gases.

For 2012, it achieved an impressive 21-point improvement, with its overall score of 76 points comparing well with industry peers.

Helping it to achieve this improvement were an 18% drop in greenhouse gas emissions in 2011, a 27% reduction in non-hazardous and 36% reduction in hazardous landfill waste, and a 14% drop in overall energy consumption.

Ingersoll Rand is also working to improve the energy efficiency of buildings by providing them with the machinery they need for environmentally friendly heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, among other industry areas.

At the recent Democratic National Convention in the US, chairman and chief executive officer Mike Lamach told delegates: “Making our current and future building infrastructure more intelligent and efficient provides the most immediate and tangible return on investment for business and government.”

He added that this not only allows businesses to tackle rising energy costs, but also to invest the money saved into other areas such as expansion, innovation and the creation of new jobs.