Merck 2010 Annual Report Download - page 40

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The Merck Millipore division offers an example of sustainable product development with its
“Design for Sustainability” principle. This starts with production and packaging, extends to
helping customers to conserve resources in the daily use of products, such as laboratory
instruments, and includes their disposal or recycling possibilities. Examples are the Mobius ®
filter units and bioreactors for biopharmaceutical production.
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For Merck, product responsibility does not end with the sale of the product. The return and
eco-friendly disposal of chemicals and packaging waste is part of our corporate responsibility.
Together with the German Society for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für
internationale Zusammenarbeit – GIZ), Merck is promoting better chemicals management in
Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, with the aim of improving eco-awareness and the
handling of chemicals in these countries. This project is based on the Retrologistik ® concept,
which involves the regulated return and safe disposal of packaging waste such as empty chemical
bottles. The alliance with the GIZ started in 2010 and is initially planned for three years.
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We are addressing not only the opportunities, but also the risks of nanotechnology. We follow
the precautionary principle and take safety issues involving nanomaterials seriously. When
manufacturing and processing products, we strictly observe all statutory regulations and other
applicable standards. These include the guidelines of the German Federal Institute for Occupa-
tional Safety and Health (Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin) as well as the
German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der Chemischen Industrie). We expanded our
guidelines on handling nanomaterials, which apply throughout the Group, to include those
aspects of relevance to the Pharmaceuticals business.
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In 2009, Merck had the environmental management system of all its production sites certified
in accordance with the international ISO 14001 standard. This globally valid group certificate
was confirmed by the annual certification maintenance audit in 2010. Consequently, all products
manufactured by Merck come from certified sites.
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Our spending on environmental protection, health and safety totaled EUR 140 million in 2010.
This figure includes depreciation of property, plant and equipment, and operating costs.
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Our goal remains to reduce all our greenhouse gas emissions – both direct and indirect – by
20% by 2020, compared to the 2006 levels. Direct emissions are those emissions that a company
itself releases by burning fossil fuels for steam or power generation, or through production
processes. Indirect emissions are those that are generated from purchased energy, such as
electricity, steam or distance heating.
All Merck products come
from certified sites
Merck Annual Report 2010 36