Sustainability – Everywhere it matters
June 1st 2010 At Ecolab we know that future generations depend on our ability to find innovative solutions to the changing needs of an evolving world
Ecolab is committed to providing our customers with the most effective and efficient cleaning, food safety and infection prevention programmes available. We are equally committed to reducing the total impact of our products, from creation to package disposal, to helping customers conserve resources and run their businesses more efficiently. Strengthened by the expertise of our associates and our dedication to social responsibility, our offerings provide value to our customers and the global economy, everywhere it matters.
We invest millions in research and development to create solutions that minimise our customers’ water and energy use, increase safety and reduce waste. As a result sustainability is inherent in our products, systems and service. From concentrated solid formulations to innovative packaging and dispensing methods, our products are designed to help increase safety, lower the use of water and energy, and reduce the chemicals and waste released into the environment. We are committed to using minimal resources to package our products, and we have led the industry with innovative product designs that significantly reduce the necessary packaging.
We use renewable materials and review the environmental attributes of raw materials and make environmental sustainability a key requirement in the selection of ingredients for new products and services.
For example our super concentrated formulations eliminate transportation of excess water, while innovations like non-rinse formulas, solid concentrates and formulations that require fewer wash cycles directly reduce the amount of water our customers use on a regular basis. Products that are effective at low temperatures and solid concentrates that can be shipped using less fuel help customers conserve energy, and we reduce waste by using minimal packaging and recyclable or renewable packaging materials where safety is not compromised.
We use environmentally responsible and sustainable energy sources, and invest in improving energy efficiency in our operations on an ongoing basis. We minimise emissions, effluents and waste caused by our operations, and dispose of all wastes through safe and responsible methods. methods.
All our European factories have ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems accreditation. This includes our main production site in the UK based at Cheadle.
Our super concentrated products use less plastic packaging to deliver the same amount of solution as less concentrated products. The 2litre pouches of our Oasis Pro product line reduces plastic waste by 98% compared with 1gallon concentrates, generating 86% lower emissions when transported.
- Each 2litre Oasis Pro pouch can make up to 400 ready- to-use spray bottles. It would take 105 trucks to carry all these spray bottles to clean the same surface area as just one truck of Oasis Pro pouches.
- Each Ecolab Solid capsule is the performance equivalent to one 20litre drum of traditional warewashing detergent.
- Across Europe in the last 12 months transporting Solids has saved 3,000 additional trucks making unnecessary journeys. Saving 182,100 tonnes of needless CO2 emissions.
- Annual plastic packaging waste was reduced by 2,000 tonnes to less then 250 tonnes.
- A Solid capsule is much smaller than a 20l or 10l drum so takes up far less room in disposal and transport.
It doesn’t stop there, Ecolab expanded its commitment to continuous improvement by setting a new goal: to reduce global waste consumption, disposed waste and effluent water in its operations by 18% per metric ton of shipped product form 2009 to 2015. | 
