Resource Efficiency and Environmental Protection

Other goals and targets

Clariant abides by the principles of the Responsible Care® Global Charter, which was initiated by the members of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA). It creates a global vision and highlights the commitment of the industry to continuous improvement in the environmental, health, and safety performance of chemical producers worldwide.

Furthermore, Clariant adheres to its own goals and targets set in its Sustainability Policy, Code of EthicsCode of EthicsThe Code of Ethics is laying down Clariant’s commitments and is intended to be a guide with ethical principles and examples to enable all personnel and associated parties to act with the highest standards of integrity.View entire glossary , Internal ESHA Management System, ESHA Guidelines and Guides, internal audits, and bylaws of the Executive CommitteeExecutive CommitteeManagement body of joint stock companies; at Clariant the Executive Committee currently comprises four members.View entire glossary . They contain principles for environmental protection and prioritize measures that avoid or minimize negative environmental impacts. In 2020, the company finalized its internal quality audits, which are a central element of the ESHA management system.

eWATCH™

Since 2013, the program eWATCH™ has helped to minimize energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. It is a process to analyze energy consumption across operations and to identify cost-saving opportunities. Using eWATCH™, Group Operational Excellence (GOE) systematically assesses site maturity and proposes improvement measures along three dimensions: operating system, management system, and employee system. GOE also supports business units in providing investment roadmaps and evaluating technical savings potential to ensure the company achieves its new 2030 targets.

The Clariant Energy Intelligence Guide (CEIG), a component of the eWATCH™ employee system, supports careful management of the company’s energy demand. CEIG combines information, advice, best practices, and successful optimization projects, as well as key figures and tools that support energy efficiency. It enables users to systematically improve the energy efficiency of the equipment in use.

With its global initiative »eWATCH™ goes digital,« Clariant aims to profit from the latest measurement and monitoring technologies. They ensure full visibility and high granularity of energy generation and consumption. Analyses in this context show a savings potential of up to 10 % for energy and utilities as well as opportunities for lower costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Through Clariant Project Tracking Tool, Clariant measures the outcome of eWATCH™ by cost savings and project tracking (112 projects in 2021). Through Sustainable Operations Cockpit, Clariant measures the outcome of eWATCH™ by CO₂ impact. Since 2013, Clariant has saved a total of CHF 38.4 million through eWATCH™ by implementing energy efficiency measures and energy-­purchasing optimizations. In 2021 alone, the savings amounted to CHF 4.5 million.

Clariant Production System Yield, Energy, Environment initiative (YEE)

The Clariant Production System (CPS) is an important component of the Clariant Operational Excellence program. Its goal is to achieve the highest productivity and financial performance at the pro­duction sites by identifying, developing, and implementing good practices. Applying the CPS leads to improvements in safety, productivity, conversion costs, energy consumption, and product quality.

The Clariant Production System Yield, Energy, Environment (YEE) initiative is a holistic approach built on an organizational blueprint. It analyzes yield, energy, and the environment of a specific unit with the aim to find the overall maximum performance. For example, it defines the way to increase yields, improve energy efficiency, and reduce waste streams by analyzing production processes and production units. Group Operational Excellence systematically assesses the site maturity against the blueprint during routine site assessments and proposes improvement measures. This creates a comprehensive picture of energy opti­mization potential.

Since its inception in 2012, YEE has saved more than CHF 86 ­million. In 2021 alone, YEE allowed for cost savings of CHF 6 million.

Energy consumption

Across the Group, Clariant records total energy consumption from energy sources. Since 2019, energy consumption per ton of produced goods has decreased by 5 %.

The company consumes energy in the form of process heat, steam, cooling, and electricity. As to process heat and steam, it uses direct primary energy sources to generate them or has them supplied by site service providers. Its main primary energy source is natural gas, while it uses coal only in very few locations. Clariant requires steam to heat reactors and separators, such as distillation columns. Wherever possible, it applies the remaining heat of the resulting condensate either for steam generation again or for internal heating purposes.

Electricity is required for electric motor drives in mixers, pumps, and other process-engineering equipment; for measurement and control technology; as well as for lighting. Clariant used 99.7 % grid energy in 2021, which is an indirect use of energy from different primary sources. Small energy procurements, such as transport services during business trips, are insignificant in Clariant’s overall energy balance. Clariant endeavors to increase its share of energy obtained from renewable sources on an ongoing basis. In 2021, it was at 9 %, considering all measured energy sources.

Energy consumption

Reductions in energy requirements of products and services

Clariant evaluates the energy consumption of products through its Portfolio Value Program (PVP), which looks at energy consumption across the entire life cycle. The company aims to help its customers reduce their energy consumption. For this purpose, Clariant reworked its assessment criteria in 2021 and will implement them in 2022. Read more in Product Stewardship

Water withdrawal and intake

Clariant records the entire volume of water withdrawn and taken in. Before 2021, it included cooling water in the calculation of total water consumption, even though it returns most cooling water to the environment after use in cooling cycles (not contaminated pass-through water). For 2021, the company revised its definition of the indicator and changed the name to »water intake« to exclude pass-through cooling water (sustainability 2030 target KPI). In 2021, of the 15.4 million m³total water quantity that the company took in, it used about 8.3 % for cooling production plants, 68.3 % for production processes, and 23.4 % as a product com­ponent (sold with the product to customers) or for steam/ice generation, irrigation, or sanitary purposes. Water intake per ton of produced goods – one of the target KPIs – decreased from 2.35 m³in 2020 to 2.17 m³in 2021 due to water efficiency improvements and less water-intensive production processes.

For the majority of its operations, Clariant uses fresh water with a total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of less than 1 000 mg/l. At only one site in Brazil, the company withdraws seawater and treats it before use, because there is no access to fresh water. The exact quality of the consumed water differs with each business and purpose and with the quality needed for the specific product portfolio and production process.

Water withdrawal and Intake

Wastewater management

Clariant leads the water it has used in its various production processes into its comprehensive wastewater management. The company makes sure it follows local regulations regarding discharge limits at all production sites. It treats the priority substances of concern, as identified in the wastewater discharge permit, based on the type of industrial operation, not generalized at the Group level.

For assessing wastewater quality, it consolidates water quality indicators at the Group level, such as concentration of heavy metals, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, soluble salts, total sus­pended solids (TSS) as well as biological (BOD) and chemical oxygen demands (COD), which are the indicators of organic content in wastewater. For example, there were 2 046 t of COD discharged in the wastewater in 2021, which was a reduction of 18 % from 2020 to 2021 and coincided with a reduction of fees and production costs.

Before transferring the effluents to third party or municipal wastewater treatment plants, Clariant often pretreats wastewater at its own sites in a multi-stage chemical and physical procedure. Only small amounts of heavy metals remain in the discharged effluent, with concentrations partly at or below detection limits. In combi­nation with constant monitoring, this approach ensures that discharged wastewater does not impair receiving water bodies and ecosystems.

In 2021, wastewater generation per ton of production decreased to 1.5 m³ from 1.7 m³ in 2020.

Water discharge

Water risk management

In 2017, Clariant undertook a Group-wide water risk assessment, employing the Aqueduct Water Risk Map developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI). The tool locates the sites in water stress areas and calculates an overall water-risk score as a combination of quantity, quality, and regulatory and reputational risks. Clariant shortlists all sites that fall under the risk category of medium at a minimum. Regional water risk assessments refine the global outcome further with specific knowledge of the sites’ geography, water use, operations, revenue, and expenditure. Using this two-step risk assessment, Clariant then shortlists sites located in areas of high water risk and updates these water risk assessments every year.

The risk assessments revealed that in 2021, a fraction of Clariant production sites (<20 %) were situated in areas under water risk and that around 30 % of the total water intake from continuing business was from sites identified to be under water risk/stress. For these sites, the site management, together with the regional ESHA teams, has performed in-depth assessments since 2019 to conceptualize and execute water risk management at the site level. The aim is to manage risks responsibly, as the sustainability target KPIs for 2030 include a 100 % achievement of advanced water management at sites in areas of high water stress or risk. To ensure continuous operations in such areas, reducing water intake and increasing water reuse are essential.

Safety management system

Guaranteeing the safety of people and the environment is Clariant’s highest priority. An effective safety management system to identify, assess, and control risks in the production process is indispensable. In close cooperation with the European Process Safety Centre (EPSC), Clariant has helped to develop a simple and representative measurement system with the aim of establishing an industry-wide standard.

The system records and systematically assesses smaller substance and energy releases in order to avoid major incidents. It cat­e­go­rizes them as process safety events (PSEs) according to criteria stipulated by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) as part of the ongoing improvement for the process safety of production systems. In addition, Clariant has developed methodologies and standards to investigate PSEs with the aim of setting the adequate corrective measures to avoid the recurrence of such events at its sites and production plants.

In 2021, Clariant’s rate of process safety events increased from 0.36 to 0.46. In total number of cases, there were only six more cases (66) than during the pandemic year 2020. Of them, 91 % (60) had a low impact and, therefore, were in the lowest category. Significant process safety events for Clariant are those with a score of ≥ 3 points according to ICCA criteria. This definition changed in 2020, so numbers are not comparable with 2019. The process safety severity rate in 2021 decreased to 0.63 from 0.73 in 2020. After a process safety event, Clariant conducts an investigation to determine its roots and establish corrective measures to avoid recurrence.

Safety management

For 2021, the number of significant spills decreased from 17 to six with a total volume of 13.2 m³. Spills of liquids handled in Clariant’s production plants are process safety events that fall under the ICCA criteria. They can be of a diverse nature, but in 2021, all of them were contained on-site in paved areas and were adequately retained and treated according to local waste regulations. Nobody was hurt as a result of the spills.

Operational sites in protected areas

Since all of Clariant’s sites are located in industrial parks or areas designated as industrial zones by local municipalities, they usually do not affect vulnerable ecosystems. However, the company tracks the number of chemical production sites in biological reserves or in areas with a high biodiversity value. In 2021, there were none.

Significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity

If there are protected areas near Clariant’s sites, the company makes sure to follow local regulatory guidelines to prevent pollution in the protected areas. Where possible, it extends its monitoring along the value chain, for example, by evaluating products with its Portfolio Value Program (PVP).

If there are unprotected areas, like forests, in the immediate vicinity, Clariant ensures that its production sites do not have any appreciable adverse effect on the surrounding flora and fauna by following all local rules and regulations.

Palm oil

Clariant is aware of the potential impact of palm oil and its culti­vation on biodiversity. Therefore, the company is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and aims to prevent ecological degradation caused by the clearing of land for palm oil plantations. It emphasizes this palm oil policy in its first new Innovation Arena, which centers on the bio-based economy.

Bentonite

At bentonite mining locations, Clariant exceeds social and community expectations regarding the conservation of surrounding ecosystems. Clariant’s geologists develop plans to minimize environmental impact associated with drilling. This includes carefully removing the topsoil and overburden to preserve it for land restoration. During mining, Clariant ensures that the resident fauna can easily move to adjacent areas. It sun-dries the bentonite before transportation in order to reduce its weight.

When closing mines, Clariant collaborates with local experts to restore the land for forestry or agriculture. In certain areas (such as southern Bavaria), animals from the Red List of Threatened Species have repopulated after reclaiming. With these efforts, Clariant ensures healthy relationships with local communities and protects ecosystems.