Somat Perfect Gel

Our innovations are used daily in millions of households, and therefore offer great potential to actively help to shape more sustainable lifestyles. For example, we work continuously to develop dishwasher detergents that deliver excellent cleaning performance at ever lower temperatures. One such product is Somat Perfect Gel, which our researchers developed in cooperation with raw material suppliers and which is particularly efficient in water- and energysaving dishwashing programs. The innovative gel formulation ensures that the detergent takes effect immediately and removes even stubborn stains in programs with temperatures as low as 40 degrees Celsius. Relative to comparable programs at 50 or 55 degrees Celsius, consumers can achieve energy savings of 20 percent on average, depending on the type of dishwasher.

This product, developed by the Laundry & Home Care business sector, shows in exemplary fashion how our employees always have the Henkel values in mind. Somat Perfect Gel helps to save resources and thus conserve the environment, and offers added value to our consumers.

www.somat.de

Shaping Futures – Sharing knowledge and developing skills

In November 2010, together with the charity SOS Children’s Villages, Schwarzkopf Professional launched the Shaping Futures initiative in India and Peru. The aim of this worldwide initiative is to teach the basic techniques of professional hairdressing to young people in SOS children’s villages. In the long term, this should enable these young people to earn their own living. Hairdressers from Schwarzkopf Professional and volunteer Schwarzkopf hairdressing customers train young people for four weeks in SOS children’s villages. Each participant is given a start-up case with hairdressing equipment, such as scissors, comb, hair clips and cape, and receives a certificate after successful completion of the course. Furthermore, Schwarzkopf then offers the participants a chance to gain some practical experience at hairdressing salons. In the first series of courses, 16 trainers introduced more than 60 young people to the craft of hairdressing.

This initiative by Schwarzkopf Professional shows in an exemplary manner how Henkel employees use their professional know-how, in collaboration with their customers, to offer a better future to young people in need of help. Our employees thus live Henkel’s values and contribute to the sustainable development of communities by promoting entrepreneurship through training.

http://www.schwarzkopf-professional.com/social-initiative/shaping-futures

Developing adhesive technologies together

We carry out worldwide research on products and technologies that combine top performance with economic advantages for our customers and consumers and responsibility toward people and the environment. Solar power, for example, is becoming more and more important in the rapidly growing renewable energies market. Here, we have been sharing our adhesives expertise with Novatec Biosol ever since its establishment in 2006, helping this company to develop concentrated solar thermal systems – mirrors that generate energy from sunlight. The challenge was to bond the slightly curved mirrors to their galvanized steel frames. An elastic Terostat MS adhesive combined with a hardener component proved to be an excellent high-tech solution. Terostat MS adhesives do not require hazard labeling and can withstand extreme sunlight. By the end of 2011, a 30-megawatt power plant will have been built in Southern Spain using Terostat MS adhesives. This Adhesive Technologies project is an excellent example of how Henkel employees collaborate with their customers to develop new technologies.

By living Henkel’s values, our employees thus contribute to sustainable development. In this project, they respond to the customer’s wishes and needs, help to achieve economic success, and offer sustainable solutions.

www.henkel.com/solar.htm