More ideas. Less energy.
In Henkel’s laundry detergent factory in Ratibor, Poland, our employees have submitted a regular stream of suggestions for improvements over the past five years. This commitment to always seeking a better way to run our operations has helped to substantially reduce the energy needed to produce laundry detergents and washing active substances.
Helena Buks is a packaging team leader who has contributed an especially large number of ideas: “In the past few years I’ve handed in a lot of suggestions for improvements because I think it is important to work as efficiently as possible. I’m delighted that many of them have actually been put into practice.”
She and her colleagues have concentrated mainly on the spray tower, which is used to produce powder laundry detergents. This manufacturing process consumes more energy than any other at the site. There were three key aspects to consider: safety, efficiency and production flexibility. By making better use of resources, improving powder detergent formulations, optimizing energy utilization when drying the powder products, and recovering waste heat, the site has succeeded in reducing the energy consumption per production unit by 23 percent over the past five years.
In December 2011, the excellent work of our employees was confirmed by external auditors in line with the new energy management standard ISO 50001. The Ratibor plant is the first Henkel production site worldwide to obtain certification to this standard. Ratibor’s achievement also illustrates how we strive to produce our laundry detergents and household cleaners in a resource-efficient way.
The factory in Ratibor has been part of Henkel in Poland for more than twenty years. It produces powder detergents and washing active substances for the European market. The site’s energy efficiency has been continuously increased ever since it was acquired.
23% energy savings per production unit over the past five years, achieved though better processes, heat recovery improvements in laundry detergent fromulations, and other measures.
Our contribution to climate protection
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. In its sustainability strategy, Henkel has therefore defined "Energy and Climate" as one of its six focal areas and assigned a clear efficiency target to this area: a further reduction of 15 percent in energy consumption per production unit by 2015. We will thus continue to help achieve climate protection goals in all of the countries in which we operate.
The underlying approach of our strategy is that reduction is always better than offsetting. As a basic principle, we begin by exploring all options for reducing energy consumption and the related carbon emissions, in order to avoid generating climate-damaging gases in the first place. It is only after we have exhausted all those possibilities that we consider the use of green electricity or carbon offsetting certificates. Nevertheless, we check whether and where the use of renewable energy sources is economically worthwhile for us and can make an additional contribution to climate protection.
To find ways to achieve an across-the-board improvement in our operational carbon footprint, we also look closely at the development, transport and storage of our products, as well as at our business trips and office buildings.