A variety of process improvements, together with information campaigns on water and waste, to raise employees’ awareness of the need to handle resources responsibly. Result: Reduction of 40 percent in water consumption and 5 percent in waste.

Startup of the site’s wastewater treatment plant. This enables wastewater from the cosmetics production units to be filtered before it is discharged into the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Result: Reduction of 62 percent in the organic load of wastewater.

Installation of new air compressors for the technical laboratory areas. Result: Reduction of 70 percent in the unit’s energy consumption.

Comprehensive analysis and overhaul of the existing plant for the generation of deionized water used in the production of liquid laundry detergents. Result: The new process cut the plant’s energy and water consumption by, respectively, 67 and 36 percent.

Weekly monitoring of the water and energy consumption of the production lines. The resulting measures included renewing the hot water network, the complete recycling of the steam condensate, and pressure optimization in the steam and compressed air generation systems. Result: Reduction of 22 percent in water consumption and 12 percent in energy consumption.

Comprehensive optimization of the site’s complex water distribution network and recycling concept. For example reuse of rinsing water in the production process for liquid detergents. Result: Reduction of water consumption by 4 percent.

Implementation of a project to minimize hazardous waste. Liquid wastes from adhesives production are delivered to customers in the USA for reutilization in their production facilities, e.g. for cleaning production lines. Result: Reduction of 35 percent in hazardous waste.

Implementation of various pilot projects to increase energy efficiency. These include the installation of solar tube systems that reflect sunlight from the roof into building interiors. Result: Reduction of 60 percent in the energy consumption of the test building.

Excellence in Site Services (EISS) is one of our worldwide efficiency programs. Since 2006, it has helped us to increase the productivity, quality and safety of our sites, while simultaneously reducing resource consumption, waste, and maintenance costs. Comprehensive analyses and simulations often provide a basis for local improvement measures. As a result of the EISS program, we have identified 731 individual measures at our sites worldwide, in the fields of energy, water, waste, building management, safety, health and the environment, and plant logistics.

Numerous projects for boosting energy efficiency. These included changing the lighting fixtures in two production lines, the installation of heat exchangers for steam generation, and switching to automatic control of the compressor ventilation and the air-conditioning systems. Result: Reduction of 22 percent in energy consumption.

Comprehensive efficiency and training measures, including the installation of fast rolling gates to avoid heat losses, and adjustment of the steam generation capacity. Result: Reduction of 24 percent in energy consumption and 25 percent in waste This positive development contributed to Körösladany being recognized as “Best Factory in Eastern Europe” in 2009.

Optimization of the adhesives production process through installation of a new extruder unit for mixing adhesives. Result: Reduction of 30 percent in the plant’s energy consumption.

A new technique enables washing powder ingredients to be mixed without the addition of water. The detergent therefore no longer needs to be dried in the spray tower. Result: Cut of 20 percent in gas consumption and 23 percent in water consumption.

Implementation of numerous optimization projects in all areas of adhesives production. Result: Reductions of 8 percent in electricity consumption, 22 percent in water consumption, and 14 percent in waste.

Switch of laundry detergent production to concentrates. Result: Reduction of 33 percent in water consumption and 29 percent in waste at the site.

Extensive optimization of the cleaning process and the wastewater treatment plant in the cosmetics production facility. Result: Reduction of 22 percent in the volume of wastewater and a cut of 53 percent in waste.

Installation of a new steam-driven heat exchanger in cosmetics production. With the help of waste heat from a compressor, we now heat the test baths for hair and deodorant sprays. This enabled us to cut our gas consumption and to reduce radiation losses. Result: Energy savings of about 6 percent in 2007 – equivalent to 250 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Installation of an on-site steam generation plant as part of a comprehensive modernization project. Before, the site used to be supplied to 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. Result: In addition to assuring continuity of energy supply to production, annual energy consumption was reduced by up to 30 percent.

Utilizing waste heat from a compressor that generates cold water to cool the mixing vessels for adhesive production. An analysis showed that the waste heat from the refrigerating compressor is sufficient to heat up the 50 degrees Celsius hot water necessary to clean the mixers. Results: Utilizing the waste heat from the compressor has cut gas consumption in production by 5 percent.

Launch of a systematic energy audit program to draw up an energy balance for each site. In the future, the results should serve as decision-making criteria for approving projects and investments. Results: Possible measures identified for increasing energy efficiency include optimizing production lines, providing information and training programs for employees, and using energy from renewable sources.

Implementation of a comprehensive energy audit. With the help of a monitoring system, the main energy consumers and the root causes of high consumption were identified. Based on the results, an energy management plan was initiated. Savings were achieved by various means, such as optimizing the hot water system and eliminating leaks in the compressed air system. Result: Cut of total energy consumption at the site by 12 percent.

As cleanliness is critical to the production of silicone products, the complete cleaning process at the site has been automated. Before, employees had the laborious task of cleaning the vessel manually with brushes and solvents. Results: Vessels are now cleaned in less than 25 minutes using water at high pressure. The filtered waste water can be used again several times before being discharged. All residuals are removed without the help of solvents, the cleaning process is faster, the burden on the environment has been reduced, and a higher level of safety and health is assured.

Marketing of all left-over stocks, including raw materials, packaging, finished products and equipment, via a virtual surplus goods marketplace, where they are sold to interested external parties. Result: Significant contribution to avoiding waste and conserving resources by returning surplus materials to the recoverable materials cycle. In addition: considerable savings in disposal and warehousing costs. The money earned covers part of the production and purchase costs of these left-over stocks.

Since January 2005, some 12,000 industrial installations in the European Union 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. Henkel´s power plant in Düsseldorf-Holthausen, the Company’s largest source of direct carbon dioxide emissions, is subject to the emissions trading scheme. 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 features of the newly erected Henkel headquarters for China and the Asia-Pacific region are highly energy-efficient. Glass curtain walls and heat recovery circuits for the heating and air conditioning system contribute to saving energy. Result: The building consumes about 60 percent less energy than comparable structures.

Modification of two processes at the site for producing dishwashing detergents, glass cleaners and laundry detergents. Residual solids in the wastewater from the production process are now separated out and dewatered in a new filtration system. The reclaimed process water is then fed back into the production process. Secondly, installation of a new treatment plant to reduce the organic load in the wastewater from sanitation facilities. The treated wastewater can now be used for the cooling tower and for watering the greenery. Result: The annual savings amount to about eight percent.

Optimization of the powder detergents production to make the most energy-intensive stage - the spray drying towers - more efficient. Result: Using only a very low proportion of spray dried raw materials in our detergents has reduced gas consumption at the site by 25 percent.

Comprehensive measures to achieve reductions in the amount of wastewater and the associated water consumption of the production facilities. Result: Targeted optimizations reduced the plant’s wastewater amount by 17 percent, along with the associated water consumption.

Investment in a new heat recovery system for the detergent production line to recycle waste heat from production to our processes. Result: Reduction in energy consumption by about 15 percent by recovering the 100 degree Celsius waste heat from the spray drying tower and using it for our production processes.

Appointment of a site water committee - composed of employees from production and administration - to monitor and steer water management more effectively in the future. The committee is responsible for precisely monitoring total water consumption each month and devising ways of reducing both water consumption and the volume of wastewater. The efficiency of water use in the office buildings is considered just as attentively as the utilization of recycled water in production.

Organization of three-day information campaigns to raise awareness among employees of the need to adopt a responsible approach to water as a resource. At Diadema, our employees also visited 250 apartments and houses in the neighborhood, where they distributed brochures with information and advice on saving water in the home.

Detailed screening of the plant’s operations for potential improvements. Result: Changes in production planning and cleaning processes helped to cut wastewater volume by more than 15 percent and gas and electricity consumption by even 40 percent.

Continuous projects to raise awareness among employees, their families as well as neighbors with regard to environmental protection, health, and accident prevention. These may also include some unconventional methods. The fashion show “From trash to luxury”, for example, makes use of creative works of art to show what is disposed of each day and make people aware of recoverable materials.