Manufacturing sites improve on all environmental-impact metrics
JohnsonDiversey conducts rigorous measurement and tracking of the environmental impact of our manufacturing operations and uses the data to drive improvement plans. These plans yielded strong results in 2008, with documented reductions in our wastewater discharges, waste disposal, water usage and energy usage.
The efforts that contributed to those improvements include:
- We engaged all our employees in the Villefranche, France, manufacturing facility in an effort to reduce chemical oxygen demand generated by the plant's wastewater. Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is a measure of the organic compounds in water, and is a means of evaluating the level of organic pollution in wastewater. We established an annual COD reduction target and improved employees' knowledge about products that result in higher levels of COD. Working collaboratively with employees enabled us to deliver a 31 percent reduction in the level of COD per metric ton of product produced at that facility in 2008.
- We upgraded our off-site effluent treatment systems in India, Japan and China in 2008 to meet more stringent discharge regulations in those locations.
- We identified water savings opportunities at Waxdale, our largest manufacturing facility. We applied the AquaCheckTM/MC auditing methodology that helps our customers reduce their water use to the Sturtevant, Wisconsin-based plant. We are implementing changes in 2009 and are planning to conduct AquaCheck audits at additional manufacturing facilities.
- The water-savings technologies and expertise we provide our customers continue to be implemented in our own facilities. These include clean-in-place tank cleaning, efficient line-cleaning techniques, water collection and reuse, and batch sequencing to reduce the number of cleaning cycles.
- We installed energy-efficient lighting in several locations, and optimized heating, steam and compressed-air systems.
- We completed external energy audits at two manufacturing locations and expect to see the benefits of those improvements in 2009. Additional audits will be conducted in 2009 throughout the company.
- Engaging employees continues to yield new ideas to protect the earth, including the implementation of solar tubes to light restrooms and a warehouse in Argentina — the result of a suggestion from an employee who saw the tubes in use at a friend's house.
We continuously examine and improve the methods by which we evaluate our environmental impact. In the past several years, we have improved the precision of our reporting and analysis. Our 2008 results reflect the results of our efforts.