Ecology
Principles for the environmental policy
We consistently take responsibility for our actions and minimize the environmental impact associated with our products and services. We pay attention to the protection of resources and to the minimization of emissions.
- An environmental management system, certified according to ISO 14001, exists at all CHT production sites except South Africa.
- In 2020, the recertifications in Peru, USA, Colombia and Mexico will be successfully completed. The certification in South Africa had to be postponed to 2021 due to Covid 19.
- It is our aim to have energy management certified to ISO 50001 and occupational health and safety certified to ISO 45001 at all production sites by 2025.
- We consistently assume responsibility in dealing with raw materials, plants and products and act in compliance with the Responsible Care® initiative.
- All employees are given environmental training.
- Our state-of-the-art production plants are operated by our responsible, well trained staff.
- Regular maintenance and audits ensure safe operation according to our sustainability strategy.
Environmental risks
Despite the high safety standards, events such as fire, explosions or the release of substances cannot be generally 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 the risk potential, we have taken appropriate safety precautions. Among them there are: alarm plans, alarm systems, extinguishing systems and collecting devices for fire extinguishing water and leaked chemicals.
Environmental effects
The production of chemical products and 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 started in order to be able to determine measurements to reduce environmental effects. For evaluation purposes they were recorded in relation to the total amount of all produced ready-made and intermediate products. The total production volume in 2020 amounted to 178,021 tonnes. In comparison to 2019 (196,563 tonnes) the production volume decreased by 7.8 %. This decline was caused by the lockdowns in the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic, which resulted in the shutdown of production facilities and industrial plants worldwide, mainly in the months of March to June 2020. CHT Group was able to at least partially offset the decline through the short-term production of disinfectants and the increasing demand for chemical products in the medical textiles sector.
Protected areas
We pay attention to sensitive ecosystems and protected areas which are in the sphere of influence of our facilities. 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. CHT Group also practices this in other locations, such as Pakistan and India, where it primarily supports national “Zero Discharge” efforts.