Sustainability Report 2016 / 2017

Effective Use, High-quality Re-use Our exemplary sustainable water management incorporates two aspects: 1. Doubled thermal effectiveness With geothermal groundwater use, our own well water flows via the heat pump to heat our headquarters building in the winter and without the heat pump to cool the offices in the summer. 2. Doubled qualitative effectiveness Through the use of reverse osmosis facilities and downstream bacteria filters, our well water can be demineralized practically without chemicals. Because the disinfection rate of our water is so high, we can minimize the preservatives in our products. In our on-site pre-treatment facilities the wastewater from Production is so efficiently purified in physical and chemical processes that it can be forwarded to the central treatment plant in Mainz for final treatment only. The low chemical exposure in the accrued filter sludge makes the sludge suitable for re-use. We have chosen a technology that allows us to deliver the residue in the form of compressed filter cakes to a nearby brick factory, where it is used to produce insulating bricks. The high-quality reuse of this material fits perfectly in our philosophy of a sustainable circular economy. An online measuring instrument to capture the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in the wastewater flow from Production was installed in the pre-treatment facilities in May 2015. It is now possible to respond immediately to high levels of contaminants and isolate the affected water. The new process eli- minates the previously used photometric measurement of the COD concentration for which test cuvettes containing quicksilver and dichromate had to be used. The change has resulted in a savings of about 100 test cuvettes per month. Our Purchasing Our company involves suppliers and vendors in our environmental and sustainability goals. We have worked out extensive criteria systems for use in our supplier evaluation that gives preference to vendors who support and enhance our work in sustainability, environmental protection, biodiversity, occu- pational safety and health. Our holistic approach guarantees that we influence not only the quality of our raw materials in terms of sustainability, but that we also evaluate our suppliers of packaging, technical facilities and equipment accordingly. 34 Ecology