Our Sustainability Strategy
We systematically focus all our activities throughout the value chain on the challenges of sustainable development as they relate to our operations. We have grouped these sustainability challenges in five overarching focal areas: energy and climate, water and wastewater, materials and waste, health and safety, and social progress. At the heart of all our actions are our Vision & Values. With our business activities and our products, we want to contribute to each of these five focal areas. This is why we develop new, smarter products, in which top performance is combined with responsibility toward people and the environment. It is also the reason why, in line with our commitment, all new products contribute to sustainable development in at least one of these focal areas. We work closely with our customers and with consumers in order to help them to understand and appreciate the added value of these innovations.
We are convinced that sustainable business practices help to increase Henkel’s value long-term. We will continue to strive for sustainable development throughout our company – on a global scale. Each of our more than 52,000 employees around the world bears responsibility for this effort within his or her sphere of influence, and each employee makes a vital contribution to the attainment of our three strategic priorities.
Sustainability / CSR & Business Potential: Trust in Henkel and in our brands and technologies gives us entrepreneurial freedom. This fosters our business success and help to position Henkel positively in the market. Within Henkel, efficient and safe processes not only contribute to environmental protection and occupational health and safety, but also reduce resource consumption and costs.
Sustainability / CSR & Our Customers: With our brands and technologies, which combine top quality with responsibility toward people and the environment, we can position Henkel as a leading sustainability partner for our industrial customers, for retailers, and for consumers.
Sustainability / CSR & Our Global Team:
Sustainable business practices strengthen our employees’ motivation and their identification with the Company. The skills and performance of our employees are key factors for ensuring the future success of our Company. Their experience, talents and skills should reflect the diversity of our markets and customers.
Sustainability as a driver of innovation and growth
Innovations are the basis for our economic success and for sustainable development. This requires a high degree of innovativeness. In 2008, Henkel employed about 2,900 people and invested 429 million euros in research and development (including restructuring costs of 52 million euros). 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. Sustainability checks in our innovation processes integrate the knowledge we have gained through many years of work on sustainability, and also help us to identify and utilize new trends. The development of innovations is stimulated not only by the desire to continuously improve quality and performance but also by the search for ecological and social progress, which we see as an important driver of economic growth and a generator of competitive advantages in the market.
