ECOLOGY
Clear environmental principles
We consistently take responsibility for our actions and minimize the environmental impact associated with our products and services. We give attention to the protection of resources and to the minimization of emissions.
- An environmental management system certified according to ISO 14001, exists at all production sites of the CHT Group with the exception of the site in Bangladesh, which began operations in 2023
- It is our aim to have energy management certified according to ISO 50001 and occupational health and safety certified according to ISO 45001 at all production sites by 2025
- In 2021 the CHT companies defined goals and measures in place to achieve the internal environmental goal by 2025 (reduce water consumption, waste generation and energy consumption by 10 % each)
- We update our guidelines and requirements on an ongoing basis. To this end, we also exchange information with authorities, associations and organizations
- We always act responsibly when dealing with raw materials, plants and products to ensure compliance with the Responsible Care® initiative
- All employees are given regular environmental training
- Our state-of-the-art production plants are operated by responsible, well-trained staff
- Regular maintenance and audits ensure safe operation according to our sustainability strategy
- We regularly review our performance and progress in audits which were carried out at all CHT sites in all companies in 2023
- Possible risks and deficiencies as well as their potential impact on the environment are analyzed in this way – within research and development, production and the sales organizations
Environmental risks
Despite our high safety standards, potential events such as fire, explosions or the release of substances cannot be entirely excluded. Depending on the type of event, the air, soil, and water may be polluted. Under very unfavorable circumstances, this can also affect people and the environment.
In line with this potential risk, we have taken appropriate safety precautions. Among them there are: action plans, alarm systems, extinguishing systems and collecting devices for fire extinguishing water and leaked chemicals.
In addition, a 42-strong CHT Germany GmbH plant fire department at the largest site in Dußlingen was officially recognized as a fully-fledged plant fire department on 1 January 2022. The colleagues work in 3 shifts to ensure the shortest possible response times to be able to guarantee hazard prevention, the legally required demand for the highest level of safety at the site and the constantly increasing requirements in fire protection.
Environmental effects
The production of chemical products and their processes consumes raw materials, energy, and water. Emissions are released into the air, wastewater and waste materials are produced. The systematic recording of all emissions was implemented to determine measures for reducing environmental effects. For evaluation purposes they were recorded in relation to the total production of all ready to use and intermediate products. The total production volume in 2023 was 171,889 metric tons. Compared with 2022 (195,373 metric tons), the quantity produced decreased by 12.2 %. In 2023, demand in the markets continued to fall due to high energy costs and rising inflation and uncertainty worldwide. Overall economic development was subdued in 2023. Inflation and high interest rates led to a decline in consumer purchasing power. In the EU, consumers were reluctant to spend despite the solid labor markets due to the rise in electricity and gas prices and the uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine. The reluctance to spend had a direct impact on production volumes in the CHT Group worldwide.
Ecosystems and biodiversity
We pay attention to sensitive ecosystems and protected areas which are in the sphere of influence of our facilities. As a chemical company, we use valuable resources such as water, air and soil. At the same time, our business activities have an impact on nature through emissions into the environment or the purchase of renewable raw materials.
When managing our sites and plants, we aim to preserve biodiversity by minimizing negative impacts on the environment. For example, we keep the emissions of our production facilities into the air, water, and soil as low as possible and have set ourselves targets for waste reduction.
In order to better understand the state of biodiversity at our sites worldwide, we conducted a “biodiversity” status quo survey within the company in 2023. The result of this survey shows that the proportion of green spaces is > 30 % and that 7 of our 25 production sites are located in or near protected areas. Emissions are avoided for the sites that are located in a protected area.
Protected areas
Our site in Piracaia, Brazil, is located within a water protection area, we therefore only manufacture products whose production is approved there, and which will not have a negative impact on the water quality in the surrounding area. Thus, the water from the production area is completely cleaned, treated, and returned to the water circuit of the production plant. The CHT Group also practices this in other locations, such as Pakistan and India, where it supports national “Zero Discharge” efforts.
In addition, a catalog of measures to increase biodiversity at the CHT sites was drawn up in 2023 as part of a sustainability project and distributed throughout the company. This has already led to the first measures being implemented at various sites.