EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 26 No. 12/25 www.petpla.net 20 ing all raw materials, free from fossil carbon by 2050 – and CHT’s target is even 2045. That’s a huge challenge!” Green electricity and water management When it comes to resources, CHT’s approach combines direct action with strategic adaptation. In Germany, 100% renewable electricity has been purchased since 2015 but the approach is adapted to local conditions: in China, where direct renewable procurement isn’t easily possible, CHT leased rooftop space at its Shanghai facility to a solar provider who built and operates the panels, selling clean power back to the facility. The installation even won an Energy Saving Practice Award in December of the previous year, with surplus electricity sold to external buyers. Own investments in photovoltaic plants are underway or completed in Australia, Austria, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, and Mexico. Currently, 66% of CHT’s global electricity consumption comes from renewable sources, a figure the company continues to expand. Water management follows similar principles of necessity-driven innovation. CHT operates a wastewater treatment facility at various-sized plants globally, with all water is treated and the discharge monitored for contaminants. At several sites – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and parts of Brazil – regulations prohibit any process wastewater discharge whatsoever. “We’re forced to run water in closed loops,” Vester explains. Some facilities can use treated water for irrigation or vehicle washing after processing; others can cycle it endlessly within production systems. “That’s challenging for our sites – to allow water to be reused,” Dong adds, noting that a German customer faces the same zero-discharge requirement, necessitating either perfect water recycling or expensive removal of unusable water. Targets, reality, and the path forward Between 2019 and 2025, CHT set targets to reduce specific water and energy consumption as well as waste generation by 10% globally. “We’ll definitely achieve the waste target,” Vester says. “With energy, it’s more difficult but the important thing is actually the path,” she emphasises. Rather than annual snapshot assessments, the company maintains continuous dialogue with subsidiaries about performance and improvement measures. This strategy is also applied to CHT’s supplier engagement strategy. The company began “supplier roundtables” three years ago with all strategically important partners – covering raw materials, packaging, and logistics. All suppliers exceeding €10,000 in annual purchases undergo annual risk assessment using the “Chemie³” industry standard. Those flagged as medium-to-high risk must sign CHT’s Supplier Code of Conduct and complete detailed questionnaires on environmental and social practices. Insufficient scores trigger downgrades – unless suppliers present EcoVadis Gold certification, which provides automatic approval (though annual reassessment continues). “We’ve obliged some suppliers to pursue EcoVadis specifically because we would have excluded them otherwise,” Vester notes with satisfaction. While she observes steady progress in terms of sustainability efforts over the decade - with rapid advances in the past five years and especially strong momentum in the last two – there are, however, most recently signs of stagnation as many companies focus on simply staying economically viable. However, Vester is convinced: “In the end, we will only be able to position ourselves successfully for the future if we truly position ourselves sustainably.” www.cht.com A look inside the CHT laboratory
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