Global challenges - Local responsibility

On March 17, 2005, Ulrich Lehner and Wolfgang Gawrisch, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Research/Technology and Chairman of Henkel´s Sustainability Council presented the Henkel Sustainability Report 2004. Henkel’s sustainability performance from 2000 to 2004 published in this Report confirms the high level of environmental protection and occupational safety. In the past five years, operating profit (EBIT) increased by 27 percent and sales by 18 percent, while carbon dioxide emissions per metric ton of output, for example, were reduced by 12 percent over the same period. The Company´s occupational health performance is also good; since 2000 the occupational accident rate has been cut by 56 percent. Henkel´s long-term objective remains zero accidents.
“A unilateral commitment to sustainability is not enough. Progress is only possible in cooperation with our customers, suppliers, and all social groups. It is essential to show due respect for the different values, customs, expectations and needs of people in different countries and markets,” stressed Gawrisch. Recognizing this, Henkel asked five sustainability experts to contribute to the current report by describing the challenges they see in their countries and regions, and those facing a company like Henkel.

One of the five sustainability experts is Mikhail Kozeltsev, Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Centre in Moscow, Russia. In his statement at the sustainability press conference he said “Only if companies accept national challenges can they gain public confidence.” Since the late 1980s, for instance, Henkel has invested in Central Eastern Europe by engaging in joint ventures with local companies and their brands. The latest example is a product innovation from Vernel: the fabric softener can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees Celsius.

You can find the Sustainability Report 2004 in the publications download area.