Production & Logistics
Henkel operates production sites in 57 countries. We also have administration, research and marketing sites, warehouses, and logistics centers in many countries. As a local employer and contractor, we stimulate the economic development of many regions. Efficient and modern production sites are a prerequisite for the production of high-quality branded products. The continuous improvement of our processes and structures, as well as the reduction of resource consumption and environmental burdens, are an important part of our promise of quality. This includes the worldwide transfer of knowledge and new technologies.
Worldwide Standards
Our safety, health and environment standards (SHE Standards) and our Social Standards apply to all of our sites worldwide. We carry out regular audits to ensure that our standards are properly implemented. The audits are a key instrument for identifying risks and potential improvements, and play a crucial role in the worldwide transfer of knowledge. To gain an integrated view of our regions, we are steadily expanding our audits to cover subcontractors and logistics centers as well.
We have our environmental management systems at the individual sites externally certified, if this yields competitive advantages. At the end of 2008, about 54 percent of the production volume came from sites certified to the international ISO 14001 environmental management standard. About 62 percent came from sites certified to international quality management standards.
In addition to certification of environmental and quality management systems, an increasing number of sites are calling in external experts to verify their activities in occupational safety. The occupational health and safety management system at 57sites were certified to OHSAS 18001 or comparable national standards. Another 7 sites are planning to obtain certifications for their occupational health and safety management system in 2009.
Logistics - An equation with many variables
Our logistics planning is tailored to the nature of the products to be transported. For relatively bulky products, we reduce the transport mileage and the environmental burden by maintaining regional production sites. This applies especially to our Laundry & Home Care products, a well as to parts of the product portfolio of our Cosmetics and Consumer and Craftsmen Adhesives. More compact products with a low specific weight make fewer demands on transport, so we produce them centrally in large quantities wherever possible. Our instant and super glues, for examples, are produced at just a few production sites worldwide.
