DSM plans new environmental targets

27/03/06 Over the next few years DSM will be upgrading its production plants to make sure all of the company's facilities, including those outside Europe and the USA, comply with the strict environmental standards that apply in Europe and the USA. For new facilities and major plant modifications this was already a requirement. Existing plants now also have to meet the standards, within a period of five years. The new standards should among other things lead to a 75% reduction in DSM's global emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and a 20% reduction in its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. This can be concluded from the company's Triple P Report for 2005 (Triple P = People, Planet, Profit).

It is DSM's ambition to rank among the global top 25% of comparable companies in terms of safety, health and environmental performance. To this end, the company has set itself long-term environmental reduction targets. At year-end 2005 DSM had already achieved ten of the fourteen targets for year-end 2006 that it had set in 2001. The company has therefore set new, more ambitious targets that it wants to achieve by 2010. DSM has decided that also older plants outside Europe and the USA will have to meet the new standards. "This means that some plants have a gap to close. But this will produce the greatest benefits for the environment. That is why we will be investing time and money over the next five years to bring certain plants in countries such as China, India and Brazil up to standard," comments Jan Zuidam, deputy chairman of the DSM Managing Board.

In 2005 DSM once again improved its scores on most of the metrics used in the Triple P report. For example, the number of lost-workday cases per 100 employees decreased from 0.22 to 0.17, energy consumption dropped from 66 to 57 petajoules and the number of environmental incidents decreased from 522 to 501[1]. Greenhouse gas emissions remained virtually unchanged compared to 2004. Production of non-recyclable waste increased by 10,000 tons to 50,000 tons.

The Nutrition Improvement Program, which focuses on the fortification of foods with vitamins and minerals in order to prevent disease and mortality due to malnutrition, is DSM's first initiative in the context of the 'Base of the Pyramid'. This is a new development in the field of sustainability to which the company will increasingly be paying attention. The 'Base of the Pyramid' concept involves the development and implementation of new, innovative business models in developing countries in order to profitably serve the needs of the four billion people living on at most a few dollars per day.

On the People dimension, the internationalization process at DSM has been gaining strength over the last few years and will continue to be high on the agenda in the next few years. At the end of 2005, 35% of DSM's employees were based outside Europe. The number of non-Dutch employees has increased to over 70%. Internationalization and diversity are important in order to realize the ambitions for innovative growth and an increased presence in emerging economies such as China, as described in DSM's strategy Vision 2010 - building on strengths.

In 2005 DSM headed the chemicals sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the second year in a row. The company was also included once again in the FTSE4Good Sustainability Index for Europe.

DSM is active worldwide in nutritional and pharma ingredients, performance materials and industrial chemicals. The company creates innovative products and services that help improve the quality of life. DSM's products are used in a wide range of end markets and applications such as human and animal nutrition and health, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, automotive and transport, coatings, housing and electrics & electronics (E&E). DSM's strategy, named Vision 2010 - Building on Strengths, focuses on accelerating profitable and innovative growth of the company's specialties portfolio. Market-driven growth, innovation and increased presence in emerging economies are key drivers of this strategy. The group has annual sales of over EUR 8 billion and employs some 22,000 people worldwide. DSM ranks among the global leaders in many of its fields. The company is headquartered in the Netherlands, with locations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

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