Production

In the CSR report for 2006, various targets were established for 2007 relating to the production plants in India and Denmark which needed to be realised in 2007. The status of these targets is listed below.

Follow-up on targets for 2007

In the following, the targets are stated with an analysis of the extent to which they have been achieved.

India:

• Establishment of a new incineration plant for chemical waste.
  Comments: Follows the established plan. The plant was ordered in 2007, and construction has commenced. It is expected that the plant will be operational by mid-2008.
• Establishment of natural gas-fired CHP plant.
  Comments: The plant was commissioned in March, and is operating as planned.
• Contributing to optimising waste-water purification at the joint purification plant for industrial enterprises in the area.
  Comments: Operations at        The natural gas-fired CHP plant
  the plant were significantly       in Panoli.
  improved in 2007. However, the volumes of waste water received by the plant are now too large for the plant to treat it satisfactorily. Steps are being taken to increase the capacity of the plant.
• Reduction in the number of accidents at work and unintended incidents.
  Comments: The number of accidents at work has increased while the number of unintended incidents has been reduced, as can be seen from the enclosed fact schedule. The theme sec-tion “Occupational health and safety” describes how these issues are being addressed at the companies.

Denmark:

• Use of waste hydrogen for energy purposes:
  Comments: Hydrogen is produced as a by-product by one of the production processes. In December 2007, the plant which utilizes this hydrogen was commissioned. The plant results in annual energy savings of 26,400 MWh, which corresponds to the annual power consump-tion of 7,000 households or the heating consumption of 1,750 households. Moreover, CO2 emissions are reduced by 5,400 tonnes per year.

The boiler for combusting waste           Certification for the factory

hydrogen on Rønland.                         in Denmark.

• Environmental certification of the company in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard.
  Comments: We received the certification in February 2007. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is the certifying body.
• Occupational health and safety certification of the company in accordance with the OHSAS 18001 standard.
  Comments: We received the certification in February 2007. Det Norske Veritas (DNV) is the certifying body.
• Reducing the number of accidents at work and unintended incidents.
  Comments: The number of accidents at work has increased while the number of unintended incidents has been reduced, as can be seen from the diagram. The theme section “Occupational health and safety” describes how these issues are being addressed at our companies.

Occupational health and safety

Occupational health and safety have always been areas of focus for Cheminova, as is seen in our environmental policy. The policy states that we endeavour to make ongoing improvements in these areas.

There are two important disciplines in relation to occupational health and safety – the first is prevention, while the second is readiness in the event of an accident. These are described in the following under the headlines “Prevention is most important” and “If an accident occurs”. There is also

Closed process plants at the Rønland     a review of the similarities and

site.                                                    differences between the companies in Denmark and India. Finally, we explain where we are doing well in terms of occupational health and safety, and where it is important that we improve.

Prevention is most important

Employees at a company should neither come to harm nor fall ill as a result of performing their work, so preventive efforts are therefore very important. In order to work systematically with prevention, two factors need to be addressed: technology and people’s attitudes.

Technical safety is, on the face of it, the easiest and most obvious factor to deal with. The plants are designed to be safe through safety installations such as casing, shields, instrumentation and alarms. A typical example of this at our companies is a chemical process plant where the effect of chemicals on people is minimised to the greatest possible extent by running the process in closed systems and controlling it via instrumentation.

The human factor, also termed the safety culture, is a question of teaching employees to

conduct themselves in a safe way. This is          Maintenance work at the

achieved through active management in the      company in Panoli.

form of instruction, supervision and follow-up. To assist in this, we use the following rules for safe conduct in general work situations. A typical example might be where it is necessary to per-form maintenance work on plants at regular intervals.

If an accident occurs

Even though a professional approach is taken to prevent accidents and emergencies, they still occur. In such a situation, being prepared to handle such emergencies is extremely important. The emergency preparedness system must limit the extent of the accident and help anyone injured. To have an efficient emergency preparedness system, the necessary equipment must be in place, and the organisation must be trained to deal with such emergencies.

At a chemicals company which handles flammable, swift response times in the event of a fire or explosion are vitally important. The companies therefore maintain a high level of fire preparedness thanks to the presence of fire-fighting vehicles and the necessary fire-extinguishing agents.

Fire engine belonging to the company    Protection unit exercise on Rønland.

on Rønland.

A very important aspect of an efficient emergency preparedness system is training the organisation regularly in how to deal with accidents and emergencies. Weekly training is therefore conducted at the companies for the plant protection units. The training is geared at dealing with emergencies involving fire and chemical spillages, and handling any injured.

Similarities and differences between the companies in India and Denmark

Denmark has a long tradition for creating safe working environments. It is based on a dialogue between the companies, the trade unions and the authorities. One of the results of this is that it is a legal requirement to set up a safety organisation with employer and employee representatives . In Denmark, a significant part of the safety efforts are based on this organisational structure.

When Cheminova took over the company in India in 1997, it was decided to transfer the Dan-ish model to the Indian subsidiary. Thus, an organisation has been created in India which resembles its Danish counterpart with safety reps, safety meetings, safety drills etc., which has generally been a positive experience. However, it is necessary to be aware of the differences that exist between Denmark and India.

One of these is the social conditions. The Indian company does not have access to the same health and emergency services as those which are available in Denmark. At the company in India, it has therefore been necessary to make special arrangements with doctors and involve them and local hospitals in the area in the preventive work so they can treat any injured employees quickly and professionally. Moreover, the company has its own ambulance, so people can be transported safely and quickly, should the need arise.

Another difference is the safety culture. In India, people generally live with a higher level of risk than in Denmark. The concept of “safe behaviour” is therefore not regarded in the same way in India and Denmark. In relation to the safety culture, the company’s policies are, in principle, the same. Ongoing improvements are desired at both companies, but it is necessary to accept that the starting points for this process are different in the two countries.

What can be improved?

There is a long-standing tradition in the chemical industry for taking a systematic and targeted approach to ensuring safe conduct in relation to handling chemicals. This applies to daily exposure as well as preventing accidents. However, there has not been quite the same tradition as far as the physical working environment is concerned in terms of operations, construction activities and maintenance works. This is reflected in the accident statistics, where injuries affecting back, arms and legs etc. exceed those involving chemicals. In future, efforts will be made to reduce injuries.

Facts: Environment, health and safety   More extensive data are available for the production in Denmark in the annually prepared green accounts, including historical data for the past five years. The accounting policies applied are described on page 41.
	Unit	Cheminova A/S		Cheminova India Ltd.
		2007	2006	2007	2006
Water consumption:
Cooling	m³	49,000,000	51,046,000	80,004	84,923
Processes and    ordinary consumption	m³	749,000	779,094	193,617	196,296
Energy consumption:
Natural gas	MWh	409,483	465,564	70,787 (note 1)	60,766 (note 1)
Elektricity	MWh	74,977	78,201	8,595 (note 1)	16,897 (note 1)
Heating oil	MWh	590	534	1,881 (note 1)	2,871 (note a+1)
Discharge of waste water:
COD	Tonnes	174	181	27	27
Nitrogen	Tonnes	22 (total N)	20 (total N)	9 (ammo- nium-N)	11 (ammo- nium-N)
Phosphorus	Tonnes	4	4	24	50
Air emissions:
SO2	Tonnes	36 (note 2)	259	1	5
Particles	Tonnes	11 (note 3)	1	5	13
CO2	Tonnes	97,000	109,660	12,540	11,710
Ordinary waste:
Reuse	Tonnes	2,801	2,904	518	499
Incineration	Tonnes	857	976	0	0
Depositing	Tonnes	31,296	36,450	36	42
Hazardous waste:
Reuse	Tonnes	0 (note 4)	172	0	2
Incineration	Tonnes	6,127 (note 5)	4,970	2,775 (note 6)	2,103
Depositing	Tonnes	0	0	955 (note 7)	1,810 (note a)
Spillage and waste:	No.	21	37	48	58
Accidents   (note b):	No.	19 (27)	17 (19)	12	4
Accident frequency (note b):		28.5 (36.0)	23.5 (26.4)	7.28	2.86
Absence from work due to accidents (note b):		3.7 (4.8)	2.7 (2.8)	0.06	0.81
Note a: Changed in relation to the CSR report for 2006, which contained errors in the calculations. Note b: Figures in brackets cover absence from work for more than one day, which is the normal specification in Denmark.

Comments on developments from 2006 to 2007:
Note 1:	There are several reasons for the changes in energy consumption in India. A natural gas-fired CHP plant has been commissioned, which has led to a significant increase in natural gas consumption which is counterbalanced by a fall in the amount of power purchased. Also, a diesel-driven generator has not been used as much. Moreover, an incineration plant was converted so that it is now fired by natural gas rather than diesel fuel.
Note 2:	In February 2007, Cheminova commissioned a SO2 scrubber at the Claus plant in Denmark. This has resulted in a marked reduction in SO2 emissions.
Note 3:	In Denmark, particle emissions have increased significantly, which is due to defective filters.
Note 4:	In 2006, used active coal from a production plant was supplied to a coal power station. Today, it is supplied to Kommunekemi.
Note 5:	The volume of condensed waste water from the production in Denmark which is trea-ted by Kommunekemi has increased by more than 1,000 tonnes. Moreover, incinerat-ing waste which has built up from the production of a single product has contributed to the volumes of hazardous waste for incineration in Denmark.
Note 6:	The reason for the increased volume of hazardous waste in India is an increase in the production of acephate.
Note 7:	The reason for the fall in the volume of hazardous waste for depositing in India is that it has been possible to use a significant proportion for processing.

Targets for 2008 

India:

• Commissioning of a new incineration plant for chemical waste.
• 20% reduction of COD in the waste water discharged from the company.
• Examining the possibilities for reducing the waste-water flow.
• Campaigns to improve occupational health and safety, focusing on volatile and toxic chemicals.

Denmark:

• Campaigns to improve the safety culture with the primary aim of reducing the number of accidents at work.
• Reduction in the number of spillages and waste with special focus on the discharge of chemicals to open areas.
• Maintaining the certifications in accordance with the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards.

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