Interview

Dr. Rudolph, you once said that your task is to make sure Degussa acts responsibly in all areas of environment, safety, health and quality (ESHQ). How do you view the situation after fi ve years of Degussa? I am proud to say that Degussa does a top job in this respect. How can you tell? This was the result of the Board of Management’s first environmental management review, finished in March 2005. What is an environmental management review? To be honest, we should call it an ESHQ management review. The review gives the Board of Manage ment a full overview of Degussa’s performance in the areas of environment, safety, health and quality. That includes examining the Group-wide ESHQ manage ment system, checking that it functions, analyzing its results and identifying the need for improvement. So what is so special about that? It is important to take a systematic approach and gain a full overview of the situation. That includes looking at the organizational structure, the delegation of ESHQ responsibilities, the processes and their impact. This is reflected in a wide range of key data from occupational safety to the heavy metal content of wastewater.

Dr. Jochen Rudolph, head of Chemical Environment, Safety, Health and Quality (ESHQ), is satisfied with Degussa’s ESHQ performance - but would like to see it improve even further

And naturally, the Board of Management looks ahead to the new challenges. The overall picture was very convincing: Our actions and their outcomes correlate well. Our ESHQ performance is not good by chance but because it is managed well and focused on specific goals. We can be proud also of our ESHQ performance. Nevertheless, there are things that need to be - and will be - improved. That is another finding made in the review.

So what is not quite so good?
The review pointed out that there were no long-term ESHQ targets for the whole of Degussa. The Board of Management has now adopted Group-wide targets. The priorities are occupa tional safety, energy and greenhouse gases, water consumption and waste. We are aiming for a 20 percent improve ment by 2014 compared with 2004. The goal for accident frequency, a key indicator of occupational safety, is a reduction of 60 percent. Another outcome of the management review was the ISO 14001 certification of the Corporate Center which, by the way, was among the first corporate centers in the chemical industry that had been certifi ed according to this standard.

Has a date been set for the next management review?
The next major review is planned in three years’ time. But there will be smaller annual reviews in the meantime.

Where will Degussa’s ESHQ performance be then?
The demands made by the company and external stakeholders will continue to rise. However, by then we will also have improved our performance. Constant and systematic improvement of our ESHQ performance creates confidence and enhances trust - by our shareholders and other stakeholders, environmental protection organizations, politicians, analysts - and, above all, our employees.