Our operations necessitate the use and handling of hazardous materials and, as a result, subject us to various U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations, as well as non-U.S. laws, designed to protect the environment and to regulate the discharge of materials into the environment. These laws impose penalties, fines and other sanctions for non-compliance and liability for response costs, property damages and personal injury resulting from past and current spills, disposals or other releases of, or the exposure to, hazardous materials. Among other laws, we are subject to the U.S. federal "Superfund" law, under which we have been designated as a "potentially responsible party" and may be liable for clean-up costs associated with various waste sites, some of which are on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund priority list. We could incur substantial costs as a result of non-compliance with or liability for cleanup or other costs or damages under environmental laws, including the "Superfund" law.
Increased public awareness and concern regarding environmental risks, including global climate change, may result in more international, regional and/or federal requirements or industry standards to reduce or mitigate global warming and other environmental risks. These regulations or standards could mandate more restrictive requirements, such as stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions, than the voluntary commitments that we have made or require such changes on a more accelerated time frame. There continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation across jurisdictions, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty. Conversely, changes in governmental policy or leadership could lead to the rollback of existing climate regulations, potentially exposing the Company to stranded investments in compliance infrastructure or creating competitive disparities relative to companies that did not make such investments. If environmental laws or regulations or industry standards are either changed or adopted and impose significant operational restrictions and compliance requirements upon the Company or its products, or if anticipated regulations fail to materialize after we have made substantial compliance investments, our business, operations and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
Climate change could also present physical risks to our operations. Extreme weather events linked to climate change, including hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, high heat and water scarcity, among others, create physical risks to our operating locations and supply chains. Further, although we are working towards and intend to meet our goal of achieving near-total decarbonization (scope 1 and 2 emissions) within our operations by 2040, we may be required to expend significant resources to do so, which could increase our operational costs, and there can be no assurance that recently completed or future acquisitions will not make the achievement of this goal more difficult or costly. There can be no assurance of the extent to which any of our climate-related goals will be achieved, if at all, including on the timeline expected by customers or investors, or that any future investments we make in furtherance of achieving our goals will meet customer expectations and needs, investor expectations or market standards regarding sustainability, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Any failure, or perceived failure, by us to achieve our climate-related goals, further our initiatives, adhere to our public statements, comply with federal, state or international climate-related laws and regulations or meet evolving and varied customer and investor expectations and standards could result in legal and regulatory proceedings against us or could cause our customers to find other suppliers, each of which could adversely affect our reputation, the market price of our common shares, our results of operations, our financial condition or our cash flows.