Environment

These figures include both investments in as well as internal and external spending on waste and wastewater management, water, occupational safety, fire protection, noise reduction, air pollution prevention, decontamination, preservation of nature and the landscape, climate impact mitigation, and energy efficiency. We do not further break down our spending on environmental protection by type.

Our response to the Carbon Disclosure Project contains a detailed description of our calculation methods.

We have included the following gases in our calculation of direct and indirect CO₂eq emissions:

• Direct CO₂ emissions: CO₂, HFCs, PFCs; CH₄/N₂O negligible; SF₆/NF₃ not available.
• Indirect CO₂ emissions: CO₂.

In 2017, we emitted 0.048 kg of CO₂eq per euro of net sales.

No data is available for Scope 3 categories not listed above. Their relevance to the Group is assessed in the Scope 3 document.

Biogenic emissions (Scope 3), if present, are not being recorded.

Substances included: R-12, R-22, R-141b, R-402a, R-409a, R-401a.

Source for the emission factors: Montreal Protocol.

The VOC, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and dust emissions reported here are attributable to production activities as well as energy generation. These figures do not include emissions from vehicles. Emissions are determined partially based on measurements and partially based on calculations or estimates. Only some sites are required to measure individual parameters.

In shipping finished goods from our production sites to the local warehouses of our subsidiaries, we have been working to reduce the use of air shipping in favor of sea freight. This change aims to both reduce costs as well as lower transport-related CO₂ emissions.

At our sites in Billerica (MA, USA), Bedford (MA, USA), Molsheim (France), Tel Aviv (Israel), Rome (Italy), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Shizuoka-ken (Japan), and Shanghai (China), we use photovoltaics to produce power.

We currently only record purchased secondary energy – this is primarily electricity and, to a lesser extent, heat/steam/cold. Details on the local energy mix, including the respective percentage of primary energy, renewable energy, etc. are not available. Data on local energy efficiency in electricity or heat generation are not available either. Our production sites are located in countries with a widely varying energy mix.

Our Darmstadt and Gernsheim sites in Germany consume the most energy, representing 28% of our Group-wide total. At these sites, fossil energy (coal, gas, etc.) accounts for approx. 53.7%, nuclear energy approx. 14.3% and renewable energies approx. 32% of the energy mix. Renewable energies account for a higher share of electricity generation at production sites in Switzerland, with nuclear energy taking the lead in France. Based on an estimated global energy efficiency of 37% for the conversion and distribution of generated electricity, this results in a primary energy consumption of 2,000 GWh for 2017. Based on an estimated global energy efficiency of 85% for heat/steam/cold, this results in a primary energy consumption of 170 GWh for 2017. This yields a total primary energy consumption of 2,170 GWh for 2017. (The calculation is based on factors stated in the “Manual for energy management in practice - Systematically reducing energy costs” published by DENA, 12/2012.)

In 2017, the Group’s energy intensity relative to net sales totaled 0.150 kWh/€.

These figures do not include the ground water that we use for safety measures at our Gernsheim site in Germany. Here, the water is fed back directly into natural circulation.

The increase in reused water in 2015 is attributable to the recirculating cooling system that went online at our facility in Darmstadt, Germany. This system provides recirculating cooling water to both our new co-generation unit as well as our new cold and compressed air generator. The recirculating cooling system largely accounts for the amount of reused water as it allows the water to be re-utilized multiple times. The volume of reused water is thus greater than the total volume of consumed water.

The wastewater volume includes indirect discharge into both public and Group-owned wastewater treatment plants, as well as direct discharge (such as rainwater and cooling water).

The wastewater treatment plant at our Gernsheim, Germany site also treats wastewater from the neighboring municipality of Biebesheim. The communal wastewater from Biebesheim is included in the wastewater volume as well as in the emissions stated in the table.

Emissions are determined partially based on measurements and partially based on calculations or estimates. Only some sites are required to measure individual parameters.

In 2017, less than 2% of hazardous waste was shipped internationally.

As in previous years, the total waste generated continues to be heavily influenced by the waste from construction and remodeling activities. Construction, excavation and demolition waste accounted for 37% of our waste in 2017. Around 74 metric kilotons of construction, excavation and demolition waste was recycled.