Würzburg, April 17, 2008
The trade journal PROCESS asked around in chemical companies and found that the industry is taking its voluntary commitment to reduce greenhouse gases very seriously. Numerous projects have now been set up.
In recent decades, the chemical industry has often taken enough of a beating as an environmental polluter, but BASF, Bayer and Co. have rarely been in the role of the poster boy. But that is about to change: when it comes to climate change and minimizing greenhouse gases, the industry has taken on a pioneering role in international comparison. Despite this, the consequences of global warming continue to concern the boards of management of German chemical companies, and even seasoned corporate leaders such as Bayer CEO Werner Wenning are exercising self-criticism in the face of melting polar ice caps and retreating Alpine glaciers "We are aware that we are an emitter of greenhouse gases," he said when the Group presented its new climate program at the end of last year and he and his fellow board member Wolfgang Plischke explained the targets for the coming years.
Facts on minimizing greenhouse gases:
In the Kyoto Protocol, Europe has committed itself to reducing its own carbon dioxide emissions by eight percent by 2012 compared to 1990, Germany by 21 percent! The distribution is as follows: Power plants are responsible for around 40 percent of total emissions. At the end of the 1990s, emissions from road traffic reached a temporary peak of 186 million tons and have only decreased slightly since then. The greenhouse gas load from households has been around 120 million tons for years.
Industry in particular has made savings: from 237 million tons in the 1990s to 180 million tons most recently. The chemical industry was one of the first sectors to commit to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 30 percent by 2005 compared to 1990. It already achieved this target in 2000.
Background: The chemical industry takes its obligation to minimize greenhouse gases seriously. However, this is not an end in itself, but a necessity, as the chemical industry is energy-intensive: it is the largest consumer of electricity in Germany (ten percent!).
PROCESS and www.process.de are aimed at all technical employees in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries as well as plant construction. These are mainly planners and project planners, plant and production engineers, purchasers and service providers as well as technical management in the manufacturing industry. PROCESS is a specialist medium of Vogel Business Media based in Würzburg.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Dr. Gunther Schunk
Head of Communications and Corporate Marketing
Vogel Business Media
97064 Würzburg
Phone +49 931 418-25 90
Fax +49 931 418-28 60
E-mail: gunther_schunk@vogel-medien.de
