Group Management Report Corporate Governance Environment, Safety, and Corporate Social Responsibility Consolidated Financial Statements 71 combined heat and power plants. We were also able to considerably improve energy efficiency by modifying or erect- ing new laboratory buildings (at the site in Ascoli, Italy). Reduction of Further Emissions Organic solvents are indispensable for the manufacture of a number of products. To protect employees and the environment, we reduce the resulting VOC emissions with the help of special exhaust air treatment facilities. In the year under review, our sites in Deventer (the Netherlands) and Quattordio (Italy) expanded and optimized their plants, respectively. The use of closed systems is another proven method of cutting VOC emissions. In the year under review, our Italian sites in Ascoli and Collecchio made progress in this area by installing special raw material tanks. With a new filter system, our U.S. site in Painesville, Ohio, has helped reduce the amount of dust that accumulates when copper is processed for pigment manufacture. Product Responsibility Many of ALTANA’s products make a decisive contribution to reducing emissions. An increasing number of our additives and pigments, as well as our paints and coatings, are conceived for use in solvent-free, water-based, or other low-emission products. Examples are the additives we developed expressly for powder coatings. They help reduce VOC emissions. Moreover, we refrain from using critical raw materials in manufacture wherever possible, or use alternatives. In the year under review, for instance, we managed to replace the solvent NEP (N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone), which is classified as a reproductive toxicant, with alternatives in three products. In keeping with the “Global Product Strategy,” a worldwide voluntary initiative on the part of the chemical industry, we publish safety-relevant information for substances we have registered in compliance with REACH on the Internet, as long as they are not protected as confidential information. That, too, is part of our product responsibility. Safety and Health Protection In 2015, we had 14 significant incidents according to the definition of the German Chemical Industry Association. In one of them, an employee suffered slight injuries. In eleven cases, no harm was done to the environment because we were able to catch the substances released in catch basins installed expressly for such incidents. In the remaining three cases, there were no special retention tanks. In one of these cases, soil was contaminated, but we took measures immediately and were able to eliminate the contamination. The other two incidents had no environmental impact. We consider the improvement of our safety culture, especially occupational safety, to be a continual task of our management and employees. To this end, we have developed various measures depending on the site. As a result, in the year under review the ALTANA Group was able to achieve almost all of the safety objectives it set itself, as the tables on page 72 show. We also pushed forward our health protection in 2015, adopting various measures. At its Wesel site, BYK had its health management system audited and certified. We achieved very good results. Since last year, employees at all of ALTANA’s German sites have been able to take advantage of the anonymous (telephone) consulting offered by the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help solve problems. Among other things, this offer helps prevent against psychological disorders such as burnout.
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