Chr. Hansen Producing More with Less

GLOBAL - Chr. Hansen has just published its annual environmental report. The total energy consumption decreased by 6 per cent in spite of increased business activity.

22 January 2009

2 minute read

Although business activity increased Chr. Hansen reduced its consumption of raw materials and energy in 2008 hereby reducing its impact on the environment. At the same time the total amount of waste water and solid waste decreased together with the emission of CO₂. In addition there has been a shift towards the more environmentally friendly natural gas, while the consumption of oil was reduced.

These are some of the good news in Chr. Hansen’s global environmental report for the financial year of 2008, which has just been published. The report covers 26 sites.

Reduction of carbon footprint

A major focus area has been the reduction of our carbon footprint in the form of CO₂ emissions.

We work with a range of instruments to continuously improve our own and our customers’ resource efficiency. One tool is the switch to more environmentally efficient energy sources. Another is the development of high performing products improving customers’ yield while reducing resource consumption.

Moving production closer to the customer

And a third example is moving closer to the customer. When Chr. Hansen moved the production of cultures from one continent to another – closer to the customer - the annual CO₂ emission was reduced by approximately 1,800 tons equal to the emission of 180 households per year.

The transport chain was reduced significantly, eliminating the need for transcontinental transportation by airplane. Also the need for transportation by truck is considerably reduced.

Building a sustainable business

This year Chr. Hansen established a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organization. The objective is to establish procedures and positions to monitor on the impact its business has on the surrounding society.

“We have developed a four year strategy with specific objectives relating to our impact on the climate, utilization of natural resources and our social involvement,” says Lars Frederiksen, CEO, Chr. Hansen.

“In the coming years we will continue to strengthen our CSR platform. We see it as a way to create value for the company, our employees and the society we are part of,” he concludes.