Annual report 2008 - Munters

Business focus
11
Quality and the environment
The division’s quality and environmental manager is responsible
for ensuring that production, product and service
improvements take place based on the Group’s environmental
and quality policy.
The environmental policy contains the following general
guidelines:
• Prevailing legislation in the environmental area must be
complied with and preferably exceeded
• Environmental benefits of Munters’ products and services
should be marketed
• Employees must be involved and trained in environmental
issues
• Increased control of waste volumes
• Increased recovery of material during damage restoration
• Environmentally oriented work processes.
The quality policy contains the following principles:
• Employees must be aware of and understand the importance
of quality
• Organization and delegation of responsibility and authority
relating to quality work must be documented
• Customer focus, cost efficiency and the requirements of
ISO 9001/2000 or the equivalent must be the starting point
for production
• Research and development of products, systems and service
must be based on customer requirements and demand
• Routines, processes and methods that ensure the desired
quality must be documented and followed
• Only suppliers that are able to satisfy Munters’ quality
requirements may be employed
• Marketing and sales activities may only create customer
expectations that we can satisfy
• Development of quality work must be followed up continuously
through information, feedback and quality reviews
• Quality-related work must be managed to achieve annual
goals for quality improvements.
Munters has 20 production plants around the world and conducts
operations subject to permit and reporting obligations at
13 plants. Within production, efforts have been made in certain
local production plants to reduce production waste, as well
as to use resources more efficiently. In producing new products,
Munters’ goal is to reduce the impact on the environment.
Munters’ product development, primarily of consumer products,
is adapted to the EU’s RoHS (Restricted or Hazardous
Substances) directive, which today is also self-evident within
Munters in product development for the industrial market.
Did you know
When traditional air conditioning is used to cool
an area, the humidity increases. This often results
in growth of mold that is hazardous to health and
moisture problems. In warm climates, there is therefore
a demand for air conditioning in combination with dehumidification.
However, traditional air conditioning is
very energy-demanding. Several of Munters’ products
for climate control are based on evaporative cooling.
Evaporative cooling means cooling through evaporation.
Water added to warm air becomes vapor and thus
lowers the air temperature. This is the same principle
that the human body uses when it produces sweat.
Four grams of water added to one cubic meter of air
lowers the air temperature by 10° C. This is a natural
cooling method that does not require energy. It sounds
simple, but it requires great expertise to achieve commercial
solutions.
Munters’ operations in Sweden
Munters conducts operations subject to permit and reporting
obligations that include emissions to air and water according to
permit type B in the Environmental Code at its plant in Tobo.
The permit covers all production operations in the plant and
is valid until further notice. There are also noise restrictions.
There are no injunctions within these areas. The production
operations are environmentally certified according to ISO
14000. The products are continuously adapted to the EU’s
various environmental directives. Chemicals and other hazardous
waste are collected and turned in for destruction. There are
no environmental debts and no current disputes.
Operations outside Sweden
Of the Group’s operations outside Sweden, 12 plants conduct
some form of operations subject to permit and reporting obligations.
Detailed information about these plants is available
at www.munters.com/sustainability. There are no environmental
debts and no current disputes.
Munters Annual Report 2008