Henkel works with partners to ensure that new products and solutions offer more value and better performance with smaller environmental footprint

Düsseldorf, Germany, 6-10-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Henkel is working together with partners and leading specialists in various industries to ensure that new products and solutions offer more value and better performance with a smaller environmental footprint. This approach is key to Henkel’s sustainability strategy of achieving more with less.

As part of the strategy, every new product must contribute to at least one of Henkel’s six sustainability focal areas – performance, social progress, health and safety, energy and climate, water and wastewater as well as materials and waste. In many cases, collaboration begins in the product design stage to understand customer and consumer needs and develop cutting-edge innovations.

A success factor for the company

Looking outside of the organization and embracing collaboration is fundamental not only to Henkel’s sustainability strategy but to the company’s business success. “We need to collaborate with the best partners so that we can develop new and pioneering products and solutions,” said Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, Corporate Senior Vice President of Research & Development, Laundry & Home Care and co-chair of the Sustainability Council. “This approach will enable us to bring innovations to the market sooner and remain one step ahead of our competition.”

Recent examples of collaboration

Somat Gold and Somat 10 leverage pharmaceutical dissolving agent: Henkel’s Laundry & Home Care business unit draws upon innovations in industries such as food & beverage, food processing, pharmaceuticals and textiles to make products more effective and efficient. For example, Henkel has repurposed a substance, which was first developed in the pharmaceutical industry and used to ensure that drugs in pill-form dissolve quickly, for its Somat Gold and Somat 10 dishwashing detergents. The ingredient ensures that Somat Gold and Somat 10 dissolve so quickly that they are best suited for short washing cycles. This innovation not only delivers superior performance due to the fast release of the active ingredients, but also enables consumers to reduce water and energy consumption in the process.

Open-source alternative to animal testing: Henkel has been developing alternatives to animal testing for more than three decades. The company made a significant step forward in 2008, announcing – for the first time – an open-source skin model for safety testing. The new approach features three-dimensional human skin models, used in place of animal testing to ensure that a cosmetic ingredient is compatible with consumers’ skin. The innovative open source skin irritation test was successfully validated in an extended trial with several partners. Validation data from these studies are currently being reviewed at the European Commission for official approval as an alternative method. Unlike other skin tissue models, Henkel will make the protocols for the production of the skin tissue and for the implementation of skin irritation tests publicly available without restrictions. With this measure, Henkel support the world-wide dissemination of animal-free safety testing.

Solutions for innovative furniture: Urbanization is changing the way people live. The shift toward more single-person households and smaller living spaces is creating demand for innovative furniture designs that combine functions – while using less resources. Henkel offers solutions that open new design possibilities, drive down resource consumption during the manufacturing process and deliver high quality throughout a longer product life. Henkel has collaborated with machine manufacturers Homag and Cefla to develop sustainable technologies and applications for the furniture industry that create more value for manufacturers and end-consumers alike. “Fusion-coating”, for example, delivers longer-lasting surface hardness and a higher degree of thermal resistance without using any water during production – and the final product is both solvent and formaldehyde free.

Find more information and pictures on the topic „Sustainable Innovations“ in our press special.

Julie CruzHenkel
Corporate Media Relations
Headquarters, Düsseldorf/Germany
+49-211-797-8551
press@henkel.com
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Rabea MöllersHenkel
Corporate Media Relations
Headquarters, Düsseldorf/Germany
+49-211-797-6976
press@henkel.com
Download Business Card