1. Research and development
Innovations are the basis for our economic success and key to sustainable development. Since 2008, the Henkel focal areas have been systematically anchored in our company-wide standardized innovation process. This integrates the knowledge we have gained through many years of work on sustainability in our innovation process and enables us to fulfill our commitment: All new products contribute to sustainable development in at least one focal area. Our system of innovation management draws on information received from a variety of sources, including international trend and market analyses and knowledge resulting from our direct dialogue with customers, consumers and external experts. The results of product life cycle analyses show where impacts on people and the environment are particularly relevant and offer appropriate starting points for improvements. By this process we make sure that today’s research builds the foundation for tomorrow’s sustainable products.

2. Product safety
Customers and consumers can be certain that Henkel products are safe when used as intended. Our raw materials and finished products are subjected to numerous tests and studies. The compatibility of raw materials with health and the environment is assessed extensively during the research and development phase. A risk assessment is carried out for each new product and process. The use of substances with certain dangerous properties is precluded for specific applications from the very start. Henkel does not perform animal testing, unless this is stipulated by legal regulations and no accepted alternative test methods are available. Henkel has been carrying out successful research for the purpose of developing alternative test methods since the early 1980s.

3. Raw materials
Sustainability extends to the responsible management of raw materials, the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity. We have used ingredients based on renewable raw materials for many years to optimize the overall characteristics of our products, wherever this is compatible with ecological, economic and social considerations. A core objective is to replace ingredients derived from mineral oil. Renewable raw materials are already key ingredients in many of our products. We are also committed to considering ecological and social aspects when we purchase renewable raw materials.

4. Production
The continuous improvement of our processes and site structures, as well as the reduction of resource consumption and environmental burdens, are an important part of our promise of quality. The transfer of knowledge and new technologies between our sites enables us to roll out safe and resource-conserving production processes worldwide. We are thus able to make a major contribution toward achieving our occupational safety and environment aims. Through the achieved savings in energy consumption and the associated reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, we are actively contributing to climate protection.

5. Logistics
We are looking closely at the transport and storage of our products, as well as business trips and company cars, in a determined effort to find ways to achieve an across-the-board improvement in our operational carbon footprint. In particular, we are working to reduce the complexity of our distribution network and to expand shipping cooperations with other companies. This way, we ensure that our products always reach the customer by the most efficient route. One of the criteria for selecting our logistics partners is the energy efficiency of their vehicle fleet. Furthermore, we gradually build up our intermodal transport routes.

6. Use: Fostering sustainable consumption
In the effort to achieve sustainability, the roles of companies, customers and consumers are closely interwoven. This is because the ecological footprint of many consumer goods depends not only on production factors but also, and to a very large extent, on their efficient use by consumers. Henkel’s brands and technologies are used daily in millions of households and industrial processes. Our products therefore have great potential to make positive contributions toward social challenges such as climate change, resource conservation, and hygiene. We therefore focus on developing products that provide a crucial added value and combine therefore top performance with responsibility toward people and the environment. They for instance enable customers and consumers to make more efficient use of valuable resources such as energy and water. Through targeted communication, we also try to promote the idea of sustainable consumption among customers and consumers, thus helping them to use our products responsibly.

7. Usage: Industrial business
Henkel products are used in almost all sectors of industry – often invisibly. They serve many different markets, such as the automotive, electronics, aerospace, metal and packaging industries, the development of alternative sources of energy, and for maintenance, repair and overhaul. Our adhesives know-how also helps to protect buildings against cold and dampness and to repair items of daily use, while our glues and tapes are much appreciated in the home, in schools and in offices. Often they help to save weight, increase rigidity, reduce energy consumption or to improve safety levels.

8. Packaging and disposal
Household detergents and cleaners as well as cosmetics and toiletries pass into sewage systems after use. They are formulated by Henkel so that their use will not impact on the aquatic environment. Wastewater from industrial applications is pre-treated using state-of-the-art technology to remove harmful substances and professionally disposed of. To reduce the volume of packaging waste for our customers and consumers, we develop innovative packaging solutions. Throughout the company, we follow three principles here – prevention, reduction, recycling. Returnable packaging systems in the form of reusable transport containers and secondary packaging, for example, are available for our industrial customers.