Performance
Environmental Health and Safety Data
Boehringer Ingelheim's Corporate Planning and Reporting System collects Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) data from all sites around the world. In order to strive for continuous improvement we set long and mid-term targets at corporate level. We endeavour to maintain the good level and to improve wherever possible.
EHS data: 2003 to 2007
- Work accidents
For the last four years our global accident frequency rate has settled down at a level of about 3.5 accidents per million hours worked. By the implementation of different safety culture initiatives, it is our target to improve this rate in the future.
- Water consumption
Fluctuations of +/- 5 to 10% in water consumption are normal and depend mainly on variations in energy usage and weather conditions. A general decrease in consumption is related to the step-wise conversion to recirculating cooling system at our chemical plant in Fornovo, Italy.
- Energy consumption
While the absolute energy demand is rising, the consumption in relation to production quantities is declining. This effect is partially to be ascribed to the higher capacity utilisation. Increasingly demanding requirements for air conditioning of pharmaceutical production facilities as well as new plants and buildings coming on stream led to rising energy figures over the last few years. The peak in 2003 is explained by the extremely hot Summer in Europe which caused an increasing energy demand for cooling purposes. To minimize the arising increase in consumption, measures to optimize energy efficiency have been installed.
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
In October 2004, the conversion of the Ingelheim power station from fossil fuels to the regenerative energy source waste wood was completed. This is reflected in an improved CO2 balance. The chart shows CO2 emissions from on-site-fossil-fuel combustion (direct emissions) as well as emissions from generation of external energy (indirect emissions). Among other things, fluctuations are caused by varying the ratio of self-generated and purchased energy.
In 2007, 90,300 tonnes CO2 were emitted due to the use of about 12,000 company cars travelling a total of 430 million kilometres on company business (average performance baseline: 0.21 kg CO2 per driven kilometre).
- Volatile Organic Compounds emissions
Since 2002, the commissioning of the waste gas purification plant at Ingelheim has reduced VOC emissions. The slight overall increase up to 2006 results from new processes and changed product portfolios at our chemical production plants as well as from increased recycling of solvents. The opening of the new central waste air incineration plant in Malgrat, Spain, in June 2007 already resulted in a significant overall decrease in 2007.
- Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen oxides emissions (NOx)
The highest portion of our SO2/NOx emissions is caused by the emissions of the power plant in Ingelheim. By the conversion of this power plant at the end of 2004 to the use of waste wood, the SO2-emissions are considerably reduced.
- Wastewater - Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
The highest COD load in the wastewater can be found at our chemical production plants. Due to investments in new wastewater treatment technologies at different sites, we enhanced the efficiency of our wastewater treatment plants from 87% removal in 2000 to 95% overall COD removal in 2006.
- Disposed waste
Since 2006 the amount of hazardous waste increased significantly. This is due to the fact that slag from the combustion of waste-wood at our Ingelheim site, which was recycled in the previous years, is now classified as hazardous waste and sent to landfill. Slag is responsible for about a quarter of hazardous waste disposed overall. If recycling of hazardous waste is not possible, it is preferably incinerated.
