Items for which we have already achieved the target 2010 or are on track
are indicated green in the table. The items for which achievement of the
targets is not yet certain and which require additional effort for their
realization are marked in yellow.
In the following paragraphs, we give the total emissions and energy
consumption of DSM in 2008 and comment on our progress towards meeting the
reduction targets for 2010. It should be taken into account that several
plants reduced their output in the last quarter of 2008 for economic reasons.
The reporting of the data by the sites is regularly audited by the Corporate
Operational Audit department of DSM.
Emissions to air
Dust
Based on the improvements realized in previous years, the
target 2010 has already been achieved.
N2O
The emissions of N2O (dinitrogen oxide) have decreased
strongly due to reduction projects that were realized in the nitric acid
plants of DSM AGRO in Sittard-Geleen and IJmuiden, the Netherlands, at the end
of 2007. The target 2010 has been achieved.
The main source left for N2O emissions is at the caprolactam plants of DSM
Fibre Intermediates in Sittard-Geleen, the Netherlands, Augusta, USA and
Nanjing, China. Measurement of N2O in these plants is complex, which causes
some uncertainty in the reported values. Improved measurements may thus lead
to corrections in the coming years.
DSM Fibre Intermediates is working on new technology for N2O abatement in
caprolactam plants. For our 2020 targets we take into account that the
development and application of this new technology will be successful.
SO2
Emissions of SO2 have decreased significantly since 2005.
Due to limited sampling of the coal used at DSM Fibre Intermediates in
Nanjing, China some uncertainty exists regarding the accuracy of the absolute
SO2 data.
Closure of our DSM Nutritional Products site in Gonglu, China and the
divestment of DSM Deretil have resulted in a reduction of approximately 350
tpa compared to 2007. Further reductions of SO2 are planned at the DSM
Anti-Infectives sites in Toansa, India and Zhangjiakou, China. Reduction
possibilities at DSM Fibre Intermediates in Nanjing, China are being evaluated
and will be implemented by the end of 2010. Depending on the timely
realization of these projects, we expect to realize the reduction target of
75% in 2010 or one year later.
NOx
The NOx-emissions fell compared to 2007 due to the closure
of our site DSM Nutritional Products in Gonglu, China and the reduced output
of several other plants, as a result of the economic situation. Realization of
the target of 20% reduction in 2010 is related to the citric acid business
activities.
VOC
Total emissions of volatile organic compounds fell by
approximately 350 tpa compared with 2007.
Reductions resulted from lower production volumes at DSM Anti-Infectives
Toansa, India and DSM Fibre Intermediates in Augusta, USA, the closure of DSM
Nutritional Products in Gonglu, China and the divestment of DAI Deretil. An
incident at DEX Plastomers in Sittard- Geleen resulted in an increase.
Further reduction projects are planned at the DSM Anti-Infectives sites Ramos
Arizpe, Mexico, Toansa, India and Zibo, China. The achievement of the
reduction target of 40% depends on the timely realization of these projects
and improvements at DSM Fibre Intermediates in Augusta, USA.
Emissions to water
COD
The discharge of COD was significantly reduced compared to
2007, mainly due to improvements at DSM Fibre Intermediates in Nanjing, China
and DSM Anti-Infectives in Zhangjiakou, China and the divestment of DSM
Deretil. As a result of these and previous reductions, the target for 2010 has
amply been achieved.
Waste
Non-hazardous waste
The landfilling of non-hazardous waste was
significantly reduced compared to 2007. A major reduction resulted from a
change in the destination of the mycelium at DSM Nutritional Products in Wuxi,
China, which has been used as fertilizer since April 2008. Further reductions
resulted from the divestment of DSM Deretil and reduced production of one of
the products at DSM Nutritional Products in Dalry, UK.
As a result of these and previous reductions, the target for 2010 has amply
been achieved.
Hazardous waste
DSM intends to ban landfilling of hazardous
waste for all situations where feasible alternatives exist, which has been
expressed via the 100% reduction target. Landfilling is only accepted within
DSM if there are no technically feasible or legally permissible alternatives.
In 2008 a total of approximately 4100 tons hazardous waste were landfilled. By
far the largest amount (3700 tons) came from DSM Anti-Infectives in Toansa,
India. This concerned different types of waste that had been stored at the
site in previous years and are now being transferred to an authorized
landfill. No other feasible alternative is available.
For practically all the other material it was also shown that no technically
feasible or legally permissible alternatives exist.
Climate Change (energy and Greenhouse Gases)
Due to lower production volumes, the total energy consumption has decreased
significantly compared to 2007. The energy efficiency has improved by
approximately 3% relative to 2005. The most important changes contributing to
the improved efficiency are shifts to more efficient technology in DSM
Anti-Infectives and DSM Nutritional Products, combined with a growth in
production volume in these business groups. On the downside, a number of
business groups had a significantly lower production, especially in the fourth
quarter of 2008, resulting in inefficiencies.
Our total greenhouse-gas emissions are shown in the graph. They include direct
CO2 emissions (emissions from our own processes), indirect CO2 emissions
(emissions from the generation of purchased electricity and steam) as well as
emissions from N2O and other greenhouse gases. The total emission of
greenhouse gases was greatly reduced. This is primarily the result of a
significant reduction of N2O emissions due to the reduction of N2O at the
plants of DSM AGRO in Geleen and Ijmuiden, the Netherlands that was realized
end 2007.
In 2008 we reviewed the options to reduce greenhouse gases, direct emissions
of N2O and CO2, as well as indirect emissions of CO2 due to the use of
electricity and steam. On the basis of this review, we have set a target of
25% reduction of greenhouse gases for the period 2008-2020, taking into
account a certain dimension of production growth. To achieve this 25%
reduction target, an average annual energy efficiency improvement of 1.7 % is
necessary, as well as measures to substantially reduce the N2O emissions in
our caprolactam plants.
In addition to reductions effected by DSM, some of our products and services
will also contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases in the value chain.
In 2008 we continued Life Cycle Analyses to quantify the present impact and to
develop a proper method for quantifying improvements. We expect to be able to
derive meaningful targets for this in 2010.
Non-compliances and penalties
Four DSM sites were given environmental penalties by the competent
authorities. Two of these were fined. The total amount paid in fines amounted
to approximately €110,000, compared to €185,000 in 2007. The fines were
imposed on DSM Anti-Infectives in Zhangjiakou, China and DSM Engineering
Plastics in Genk, Belgium, in both cases for exceeding waste water discharge
limits.
To the best of our knowledge, no other fines or non-monetary sanctions were
incurred in 2008.
Environmental incidents and complaints
The total number of environmental complaints was 78. Just like previous years,
most complaints were about odor (36) and noise (36). The sites that received
most complaints were in Delft, the Netherlands (18) and Seclin, France (19).
The total number of all environmental incidents was 539. Of these incidents,
17 were rated as serious. This increase compared to 2007, when three incidents
were classified as serious, is the result of a change in the definition of
serious incidents.
Of the total number of 539 environmental incidents, 251 have also been
classified as related to process safety. Together with 10 of our LWCs in which
contact occurred with process chemicals, this adds up to 261 incidents that
have a relation to process safety. 2008 is the first year that DSM reports a
total number of these so-called ‘process safety incidents’.
Industry recognizes the need for performance indicators for process safety. It
has been concluded that exclusively focusing on recordable injuries may hamper
insight into performance on process safety. However, uniform reporting
standards for process safety incidents are not available yet. We have
therefore decided to use our own criteria, applying relatively low reporting
thresholds. A process safety incident is defined as either a release of
hazardous materials from an installation above previously defined reporting
thresholds, or a lost-workday case due to contact with process chemicals.
In 2008 DSM started a dedicated 'process safety competence network' where
specialists from all over the world work together on maintaining high process
safety standards and sharing good practices. The above-mentioned information
on process safety incidents will be analyzed to identify areas where we can
improve further and to prioritize efforts following a risk based approach.
Water consumption
DSM’s global water consumption is shown in the graph below. DSM wishes to
reduce its water footprint in the future in view of the fact that water
scarcity is a growing issue worldwide and water is likely to become a
strategic resource.
The first step is to compare the consumption figures of DSM sites in 2008 to a
water scarcity database (WHO, UNICEF and the Water Resources Institute). This
will be done in 2009.
On the basis of this initial scan, DSM will prioritize actions and set
differentiated targets in a water policy for different water scarcity levels.
Biodiversity
In order to evaluate whether our operations can have a potential impact on
biodiversity, we asked all our production sites whether they are in, or within
a distance of 500m from, a protected area or an area of high biodiversity. In
parallel, we conducted an independent internet search into this issue for the
sites with the highest emissions. From these investigations it was shown that
DSM has 12 sites in or adjacent to (protected) areas of high biodiversity.
From a first analysis we have no indication of any impact of our operations on
these areas. The analysis will be finalized in 2009.
Raw materials
DSM wishes to shift from non-renewable raw materials to renewable raw
materials. In order to chart our progress over the coming years, we analyzed
our raw material consumption in 2008. From the total amount of raw materials
of approximately 4.9 million tons that DSM used in 2008, 12% can be classified
as renewable. This category comprises mainly sugar, molasses and vegetable
oils.
