Environmental goals, 2007 through 2012

International activities
Our environmental program for the period from 2007 through 2012 involves ambitious, binding goals. We monitor the degree to which we meet these internationally applicable environmental goals through a global monitoring program based in each case on constant production quantities. The current five-year plan also includes emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Our activities in this area have already yielded clear successes: From 2007 until 2011, we were able to achieve a 49 percent reduction, meaning that we have almost met our target of a 50 percent reduction by 2012. This is also directly connected with the ongoing further development of our production technologies, where we are consistently eliminating solvent use wherever possible. In 2011 this approach led to a decrease of 12 percent over 2006.

As in the crisis year of 2009 and the subsequent year 2010, our final figures for energy consumption in the reporting year fell short of our expectations, but improved significantly compared to the previous year’s level. With regard to the constant 2006 production volume, which we use as the fixed benchmark across all areas, we posted a decrease in energy consumption worldwide of 10 percent.