With our “Excellence in Site Services” program, we have launched a worldwide effort to boost the efficiency of the infrastructures at our sites. The aim is to achieve the best possible balance between quality, safety and costs. After conducting a pilot project at the Düsseldorf site in 2006, we started to roll out the program internationally in early 2007. In addition to other sites in Germany, 14 sites in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and the UK are now participating in the program. So far we have identified more than 450 individual measures in the areas of energy; maintenance; facility management; safety, health and environment; plant logistics; and catering. In 2008, more and more sites around the world are to join the program. Regular workshops and intensive communication ensure the rapid sharing of best practices, thus making knowledge and experience accessible on an international scale.

Throughout the world, we strive to recycle waste heat from production to our processes. At our cosmetics site in Wassertrüdingen, Germany, for example, we installed a new steam-driven heat exchanger in 2007. With the help of waste heat from the compressor, we now heat the test baths for hair and deodorant sprays. This enabled us to cut our energy consumption by about 6 percent in 2007 – equivalent to 250 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

At many of our sites, we use the captured process heat from production to heat buildings. One example is our site in Vienna, Austria, where part of the superheated steam from the detergent production lines is used to generate hot water to heat the raw materials warehouse. During the summer, this heat is fed into the public district heating network of the city of Vienna. As a result of this and other measures, carbon dioxide emissions went down by almost 700 metric tons in 2007.

At many Henkel sites, steam is used in production facilities and to heat buildings. This is also the case at our factory in Engels, Russia, where we mainly produce heavy-duty laundry detergents and industrial adhesives. The steam used to be supplied to the site by an external steam power plant. Considerable amounts of heat were lost as the steam was transported through long-distance pipelines, and the reliability of the supply was somewhat uncertain. As part of a comprehensive modernization project, the site was provided with its own steam generation plant. This has not only assured continuity of the energy supply to production, but has reduced annual energy consumption by up to 30 percent. The savings in carbon dioxide emissions amount to 2,100 metric tons.

The products made by our Châlons site include water-based adhesives. During the production process, mixing operations are carried out at different temperatures. On the one hand, we generate cold water with the help of a compressor to cool the mixing vessels. On the other hand, we need hot water to clean the mixers. This used to be heated to 50 degrees Celsius by a gas burner. An analysis showed that the waste heat from the refrigerating compressor would suffice to generate the necessary hot water. Utilizing the waste heat from the compressor cuts gas consumption in production by 5 percent and results in an annual reduction of 50 metric tons in carbon dioxide emissions. 

By renewing the steam and water generation systems, we have been able to reduce the associated carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent. In addition, savings of around 100,000 euros per year were achieved by modernizing the infrastructure and optimizing the building heating system.

By installing its own steam generation facility, Henkel was able to cut annual carbon dioxide emissions from its Krusevac site by 20 percent. This involved the installation of a steam boiler, a hot water boiler, and a feed-water conditioning system. A new network of steam, hot water and condensate recycling pipelines was also laid. The change in infrastructure and optimization of the building heating system will permit the site to save more than 200,000 euros a year.

The Perm site’s existing compressed air generator has been optimized. This has enabled the facility to cut its electricity consumption by about 25 percent, corresponding to some 2,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Thanks to the reduced consumption of compressed air and energy, together with lower maintenance costs, the site expects to cut its annual costs by more than 300,000 euros.

Our six Italian sites already achieved a cumulative energy reduction of 18 percent per metric ton of output between 2002 and 2006 by taking numerous individual steps. In 2007, the sites launched a systematic energy audit program with the aim of drawing up an energy balance for each site. Such energy audits were carried out in 2007 at Lomazzo, Caleppio and Casarile. Possible improvement measures for increasing energy efficiency include optimizing production lines, providing information and training programs for employees, and using energy from renewable sources. An Energy Manager will be appointed at each site to monitor implementation. In the future, energy consumption will be a binding criterion for approving new projects and investments.

At Henkel’s Tallaght site close to Dublin, 395 employees produce instant adhesives and high performance sealants, among other products. To identify potentials for energy savings, Henkel Ireland conducted a comprehensive energy audit. With the help of a monitoring system, we were able to identify the main energy consumers and the root causes of high consumption. We then initiated an energy management plan based on these results. Savings were achieved by various means, such as optimizing the hot water system and eliminating leaks in the compressed air system. Numerous training and communication projects raised employee awareness of energy saving. As a result, we cut total energy consumption by 12 percent despite an increase in the production volume. This translates into annual savings of about 97,000 euros. Other sites in Ireland will follow the example of Tallaght and are preparing for an energy audit in 2007.

To further increase the efficiency of the production processes for our personal care products, we have developed a program based on the total productive management approach. This program helps to identify losses which have a negative impact on productivity. On the basis of detailed potential analyses, the sites define quantified targets and measures to maximize effectiveness, productivity and quality while simultaneously minimizing waste, energy consumption, and maintenance costs. Successfully implemented measures are established as standard for all sites. The reduction in the amount of waste generated is an important indicator of the success of a measure, as waste, and therefore raw materials consumption, can only be minimized when processes run efficiently. In 2007, we introduced the program successfully at two German sites – Wassertrüdingen and Viersen-Dülken – and at Maribor in Slovenia. Given the highly promising results and the positive response of the employees, the program is to be launched at additional cosmetics production sites.

Beginning in January 2005, some 12,000 industrial installations in the European Union will participate in the world´s largest emissions allowances trading scheme. The objective is to achieve a reduction of 8 percent in carbon dioxide emissions in Europe (base level: 1990) by the year 2012. Only Henkel´s power plant in Düsseldorf-Holthausen is affected. Located at Henkel´s largest site, it provides the production plants of Henkel and its former chemical subsidiary Cognis with steam and electricity. To prepare itself for the new trading system, Henkel has taken part in a pilot project run by the Fraunhofer Institute. The power station is technically very well equipped. Its efficiency is almost 90 percent, thanks to the especially effective use of cogeneration. As early as 1990, the construction of a gas turbine brought about a reduction of approximately 25 percent in carbon dioxide emissions. With the help of further improvements in energy management and a tripling of the carbon dioxide neutral fuels from production residues, emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity and steam have been reduced by an additional 20 percent since 1990.

The newly erected Henkel headquarters for China and the Asia-Pacific region in Shanghai features very  highly energy-efficient. Glass curtain walls and heat recovery circuits for the heating and air conditioning system contribute to saving energy. The building thus consumes 60 percent less energy than comparable structures.

One of the most energy-intensive stages in the production of powder detergents is spray drying in towers. At the Karaikal site in India, we therefore optimized the laundry detergents production plant to use a very low proportion of spray dried raw materials in our detergents. The measures implemented have reduced gas consumption and the associated carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent per metric ton of product.

Henkel´s acquisition of a majority participation in the state-owned detergent industry in the year 2000 still ranks as the most important privatization project in Algeria. Henkel committed to invest considerable sums in plant modernization and employee training. As a result, numerous projects were initiated in the fields of energy and resource management, occupational safety, and environmental protection. For example, completely wastewater-free manufacturing processes were introduced at the two powder production sites. This meant that the previously necessary sewage treatment plants could be closed. Water consumption was thus cut by almost 300,000 cubic meters and operating costs were reduced by more than 200,000 euros per year. The successes radiate beyond the site itself and are having an impact on the Algerian economy. In 2003, together with the German Society for Technical Cooperation [Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)], Henkel launched a 15-month qualification project. The focus is on training the Company’s own employees and its Algerian suppliers in production and logistics management, and training the staff of environment agencies and universities in integrated safety, health and environmental management.
In March 2004, Henkel ENAD and the Algerian Ministry of Regional Planning and the Environment signed a contract to continue their joint environmental protection activities. In doing so, Henkel ENAD committed itself to ensuring that its sites in Chelghoum Laïd, Réghaïa and Aïn Témouchent will be certified to ISO 14001 by the end of 2006, to reduce dust emissions and wastewater loads, and to further improve working conditions in production, waste management and recycling. Henkel informs the Ministry every six months about the progress made, exchanges experience with the Ministry, and supports it in the field of environmental communications.

Throughout the world, we strive to recycle waste heat from production to our processes. At our site in Mixco, Guatemala, for example, we invested in a new heat recovery system for the detergent production line. By using the 100 degree Celsius waste heat from the spray drying tower for the production process, we have reduced energy consumption by about 15 percent, corresponding to 800 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

At many of our sites, we use the captured process heat from production to heat buildings. One example is our site in Montgomery, Illinois, USA. Since 2007, the office buildings at the site have been heated using waste heat from production. This saves up to 1,750 megawatt-hours of energy per year, corresponding to about 350 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Since December 2006, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the USA have been substantially limited by a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation. This regulation, which requires companies throughout the USA to reduce untreated VOC emissions by at least 75 percent, directly affects the Henkel sites in Buffalo, New York, Carol Stream, Illinois, and Mentor, Ohio. An international team, working in close cooperation with regulatory authorities, not only succeeded in complying with the regulations on time, but also achieved a 90-percent reduction in these emissions. Instead of utilizing the energy-intensive standard approach of burning off the solvent vapors, we installed a two-stage condensing system that feeds the vapors back into the production process. This enables us to conserve resources and cut costs as well.

By installing a new burner in the spray-drying tower for laundry detergents and optimizing other processes, the Toluca site in Mexico succeeded in tripling its production capacity between 2001 and 2005 (from 40,000 to 120,000 metric tons/year). By 2006, gas consumption per metric ton of laundry detergent had been reduced by 50 percent compared with the year 2001. The reuse of rinsing water resulted in a 35-percent reduction in water consumption, despite the higher production volumes. Henkel is thus making an important contribution to the conservation of resources in the region, where water is a scarce commodity. In addition, targeted training of employees helped to increase the waste recycling rate from 10 to 86 percent. The number of occupational accidents was reduced by preventive measures including the introduction of technical measures and special training for employees. Moreover, a detailed analysis was carried out to identify the reasons for accidents, and suitable corrective action was initiated.

At its site in Hayward, California, Henkel produces waterborne adhesives for the packaging industry. In the course of the streamlining of Henkel´s production facilities in North America, the site management examined its operations for potential improvements. The project was a huge success. Changes in production planning and cleaning processes helped to cut the wastewater volume per metric ton of product by more than 15 percent. Even more impressive was the reduction of almost 40 percent in gas and electricity consumption. The site was thus able to offset a steep increase in energy prices and improve its competitiveness.