Continual Improvement
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| The industrial operations of Lonza are highly sophisticated and energy-intensive. Ecological as well as economic considerations demand careful management of all resources. It is imperative for our industrial activity to make optimal use of raw materials and energy in all processes, and to develop and maintain a carefully managed system for handling by-products and wastes. We are aware of our responsibility towards nature and the earth's limited resources and take it into account whenever business decisions are made. |
| Distinct programs guide the organizational units in their efforts to conduct industrial operations in a sustainable manner. We combine environmental management systems, national programs (Responsible Care, ChemStewards), safety and industrial hygiene programs, and internal audits with site-specific managerial tools to progress along the path of continual improvement. |
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In March 2009 Lonza Group Ltd joined the United Nations Global Compact. The UNGC is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary agent driving globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. Follow this link to read the UNGC Lonza Communication of Progress reports (COP).
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Responsible Care is the worldwide chemical industry's commitment to continual improvement in all aspects of Health, Safety and Environment performance.
Lonza companies joined the Responsible Care programs of the national chemical associations in Switzerland and the U.S. in the early nineties. Leaving ACC in 2005, Lonza Inc. transformed its Responsible Care program into SOCMA's equivalent.
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In 2005 Lonza Inc., our U.S. subsidiary, decided to leave ACC and to join and actively participate in SOCMA's ChemStewardsSM program, similar to Responsible Care, however better fitted to Lonza's needs and its field of activity.
SOCMA : Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates
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Production, Research and Development
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Lonza provides innovative solutions for a demanding market. From the very beginning of a new project, experts in the area of safety, health and environmental protection are part of the development team. The realization of economically and environmentally favorable solutions is an integrated process, which includes material selection, process development, product design, resource conservation and logistics optimization.
In recent years, all business sectors have contributed to material improvements in SHE performance, resulting in a significant reduction in accident rates, higher standards of industrial hygiene and lower emissions of volatile organic compounds. |
Climate Change Management
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| There is widely accepted scientific consensus that man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions - largely by the use of fossil energy sources - contribute towards global warming. Lonza as part of the global industrial community is engaged in selecting and implementing energy efficient solutions and has set up its Community Practice in Energy (CoPE) project in late 2008 with the aim of saving 10 % of the annual energy costs over the 2007 baseline. Energy we use today is always bound up with the release of additional, fossil-based CO2; implementation of novel energy efficiency measures, paired with the substitution of fossil fuels, has the direct benefit of reducing man-made CO2 emissions to the atmosphere and fight the risk of climate change. The Lonza CoPE project is thus an important tool for sustainable development, benefiting the environment, economy and society. |
CoPE - a global initiative
° 68 energy-saving projects,
° 15 already been realized at the Visp plant in Switzerland
° 53 at a pre-project or conceptual stage in Europe and in China (Nansha).
° Annual savings of 170 gigawatt hours of natural gas equal to 33 600 metric tons of CO2. |
Solar power
At Waldshut, on the grounds of our former inorganic production site in Germany, disused in 1993 and since turned and reshaped into a growing business park, Lonza designed and constructed a photovoltaic power station on the south slope of the former industrial site’s remediated landfill.
Completed in 2008 the "Lonza Solar Park" proved its production stability in the second year of operation, delivering 814 500 kilowatt hours of electricity and offsetting about 750 metric tons of fossil CO2, if produced at a coal-fired power plant.
A 181 kilowatt peak photovoltaic project was realized on the other side of the world at the Singapore-Tuas plant, where part of the roof was covered with solar panels. It replaces 104 metric tons of fossil CO2 emissions annually and delivers clean electricity supporting the administration and laboratory building. In 2009 this project received the Solar Pioneer Award of the Singapore Economic Development Board as well as the Greenmark Gold Award for New Buildings of the Singapore Building Control Authority. |
Waste Management
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Lonza takes action to minimize and where possible to eliminate the generation of wastes by intelligent installation and process planning as well as integrated resource allocation. Every chemical production process creates unwanted by-products. Some of these contain valuable raw materials that can be reclaimed and reused. Only when recycling processes are economically and ecologically unfavorable, Lonza will dispose of wastes by either incineration or landfilling. To ensure sound waste handling practices Lonza has vested in several waste incineration and water treatment plants worldwide as well as a state-of-the-art landfill at the largest manufacturing site in Visp, Switzerland. For wastes that have to be disposed of externally, we follow strict control and audit procedures which supplement local, federal and international legal requirements in this area.
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Risk Prevention
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Lonza believes long-term corporate success hinges on outstanding performance in these areas. Our active participation in the Responsible Care® programs of the national chemical industry associations in Switzerland, Italy and the United States is an affirmation of our commitment to safety, health and environmental protection. It is a Lonza policy obligation that all our chemical processes are carefully analyzed and assessed in the context of systematic risk analyses. All resulting necessary corrective actions have to be executed before the start-up of a new or modified process.
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Product Safety
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The safe handling, use and transportation of our products lies in the hand of competent specialists. These experts assess our products on the basis of their bio- and eco-toxicological as well as their physico-chemical properties and derive the appropriate measures within the applicable legal framework. A prerequisite of successful product launches in today's demanding markets is the on-deadline compliance with all statutory requirements like notification, registration, labeling, and the dissemination of material safety data sheets. The comprehensive and timely information of internal and external customers and the authorities is a business condition.
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Animal Testing
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In order to ensure the safe handling and use of products, regulatory authorities in many countries require various tests which, given the current state of scientific development, still require the use of animal testing. Whenever possible, Lonza uses validated alternatives to animal tests or uses refined methods aimed at reducing the number of animals in the tests. Although we do not perform these tests ourselves, we choose to cooperate with external and independent contract laboratories, whom we carefully select to ensure that they meet the highest ethical and quality standards.
The product portfolio of the Lonza Bioscience sector puts Lonza in a leadership position in the development and commercialization of some categories of non-animal alternatives to the use of animal testing. Examples are the primary cell and media product lines from Bioscience, which represent one of the major alternatives to animal models in R&D labs.
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Dialogue
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We enter into open dialogue with neighboring communities and other interested parties to discuss current concerns and find mutually satisfactory solutions. We take an active role in community advisory panels at our US locations and maintain close contacts with the local community, the authorities and the wider public at all our production sites worldwide.
Open door days, school projects, community emergency support, close contact with co-producers and active membership in national and international associations illustrate our commitment to continuously improve our performance in the area of safety, health and environmental protection.
We report openly on our activities, we are responsive to concerns or fears, and we take appropriate action when necessary.
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