News

2014-06-12

LANXESS HSE workshop energizing green chemistry

June 12, 2014, Ningbo/Shanghai – German specialty chemicals maker LANXESS held a joint HSE workshop in Ningbo today along with China Petroleum and the Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF), sharing insights on environment protection, health and safety (HSE), as well as LANXESS’ approach to sustainability as a responsible corporate citizen in the chemical industry.


The workshop gathered senior officials from the Ningbo government, the Ningbo Chemical Park and the CPCIF, along with suppliers and media. The half-day event featured viewpoints from Li Shousheng, Executive Vice Chairman of CPCIF, on challenges and solutions to the sustainable development of the chemical industry. LANXESS experts introduced among others, the company’s HSE practices in production processes, transportation, supply chain management, and product stewardship. 

 

“Health, safety, environmental protection, together with process efficiency and product quality are all key components for our successful and sustainable business at LANXESS,” said Chien Ming Cheng, CEO of LANXESS Greater China at the workshop. “At the same time, our corporate responsibility goes towards suppliers, customers and other business partners along the whole value chain from raw materials, production to transportation and product applications.”


LANXESS aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 10% and volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions by 30% from 2010 to 2015. In addition, the company is driving efforts in research and development of bio-based raw materials and footprint analysis for relevant products. On the safety front, LANXESS initiated the Xact global program in 2011 to improve occupational, process and plant safety.


“The increasing public awareness towards safety and environment protection puts higher pressure on the HSE and sustainability performance of chemical companies,” said Li Shousheng. “The workshop provides a good platform for the government and corporations to exchange experiences and ideas on sustainable development. We appreciate that multi-national companies can share their advanced approaches and practical experiences to improve the technology and safety management of the industry as a whole, thus contributing to the sustainability of China’s chemical industry.”


Mr. Li Shousheng from CPCIF and officials from the Ningbo Chemical Park also visited the LANXESS Ningbo iron oxide red pigments plant. The high-tech facility under construction is one of the eminent examples demonstrating LANXESS’ commitment and capability in production in a sustainable way.


The plant, which has an annual capacity of 25,000 metric tons, will use the Penniman process optimized by the company to ensure high environmental compatibility by optimizing water treatment and waste gas cleaning. The plant, characterized by its particularly high energy efficiency, is designed to meet and exceed the latest environmental standards.


“With this plant we will be the first iron oxide pigments manufacturer that is able to produce these bright yellowish-shade red pigments in an environmental-friendly and consistent way,” said Rafael Suchan, Vice President for the Inorganic Pigments business unit in the Asia Pacific.


The construction of the high-tech facility is in full swing. All underground construction has been completed. It is expected to achieve mechanical completion in the fourth quarter of 2015 and the production startup is scheduled for the first quarter of 2016.


LANXESS’ New Red iron oxide pigments plant is located in the Ningbo Petrochemical Economic & Technological Development Zone (NPETD) which is one of the very few national level chemical parks in China approved by China’s State Council. It has completed integration of upstream and downstream and good infrastructure facilities. The Ningbo Chemical Park has been recently selected by CPCIF as one of the top 3 chemical parks in China in 2014 based on comprehensive assessment indices for chemical production.


LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 8.3 billion in 2013 and roughly 17,000 employees in 31 countries. The company is currently represented at 52 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals. LANXESS is a member of the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and DJSI Europe) and FTSE4Good as well as CDP’s Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).


Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.


Information for editors:
All LANXESS news releases and accompanying photo, video and audio material can be found at www.lanxess.cn or www.weibo.com/lanxess.
Information on chemical products from LANXESS can also be found in our Web Magazine at webmagazine.lanxess.cn.