In 2003 schülke was awarded 1st Prize in the Responsible Care Competition of the Organization of the Chemical Industry LV North (Verband der chemischen Industrie LV Nord) for exemplary recognition of its product responsibility. schülke’s award is the result of great effort in fullfilling our product responsibility during the entire life cycle of the products, which we have continually carried out since then.
Integrated Product Policy
With our company principles we have committed ourselves to manufacturing our products with the most advanced, safest and ecologically-friendly methods possible and economically in the spirit of our Total Quality Concept. For this holistic view of our products we have incorporated the integrated product policy in our management system. This pursues the goal of optimizing the direct and indirect environmental and safety aspects of our products during the entire life cycle of the product. The key to this is the integration of all aspects, from raw material acquisition and processing, manufacturing, sales and usage to final disposal. The consistent implementation of the integrated product policy provides our partners with important arguments for a cooperation.
Raw Materials
In the framework of our quality assurance, we place the highest demands on the selection of raw materials. A large number of informational points are the basis for deciding with which materials we will work. Our own supplier’s questionnaire provides schülke with additional information on chemical-physical data, toxicological and eco-toxicological information as well as the certification status of the raw materials. Before they are deployed, all raw materials are toxicologi-cally and eco-toxicologically evaluated. When developing new products, schülke avoids, above and beyond legal requirements, the use of ingredients which present an avoidable toxicological or ecological hazard. However, existing formulas and processes are also continually tested according to the latest scientific standards and when necessary are modified to employ ecologically friendlier materials.
Manufacturing and Packaging
With the help of the integrated product policy we are continually working on optimizing all production processes under the aspects of quality, safety and the environment. We carry out the packaging of our products with several points of view: safe handling by our customers is foremost. We of course comply with legal transportation requirements, e.g., for hazardous materials, when developing packaging. Above and beyond that, we consider a number of ecological criteria: when possible, we only use one type of packaging material in order to facilitate recycling. We do not use halogenated polymers, e.g., PVC, and observe ecological criteria in the use of packaging aids and labels.
Utilization
We consider ourselves to be obligated to provide the greatest possible transparency for our customers and users of our products. In open dialog with our customers we want to promote the safe and conscientious use of our products. In addition to the ingredients we offer a wide range of information on ecological and other sustainability-related issues concerning our products, for example the dosage. When using disinfectants and preservatives, the correct and sparing usage makes a sustainable contribution to environmental protection.
We provide assistance for optimal usage under safety and ecological aspects in the most varied ways and provide comprehensive brochures and informational data sheets. They provide information on the contents, origin, effectiveness, areas of application, specific properties and environmentally relative aspects. Safety data sheets provide detailed information on potential hazards. In order to make all of this information available to customers as quickly as possible, our employees have access to all product information, including environmental and safety aspects, in our intranet. Much of this information can be viewed online in different languages. The internet is an important medium for us to provide interested parties with information around the clock and without obligation.
However, for schülke, personal contact with our customers comes first in order to respond to questions and wishes during discussions and visits on location. For example, in the area of SAI our hygiene audit offers an opportunity. The goal of this audit is to develop a hygiene plan according to the individual requirements of our customers. We observe production processes, take microbiological samples and analyze the plant design and cleaning methods. After evaluating all samples, an assessment is made based upon these results and recommendations for a hygiene strategy are made. In the end, good product hygiene can reduce the need for preservatives or even make their use avoidable.
In 1999 we founded the OPAL Service GmbH in order to provide our customers in the area of HI an extensive consultation service in addition to that provided by our representatives in the field. Since we accompany and advise our customers during the application, we observe our product responsibility after delivery as well. In the meantime, OPAL advises and trains clinics, nursing homes, medical and dental practices, out-patient surgeries and convalescent centers nationwide in hygiene and other related topics. With individual hygiene concepts, we want to ensure on location that our products are sparingly and effectively employed. The principle “as little as possible, as much as necessary” saves our customers expenses and ensures the most minimal water contamination possible and a dependable effectiveness. We support the establishment of hazardous materials management systems and train the employees on safety and ecologically relevant topics.
Product and Application Consulting
Competent professional consulting is the first imperative at schülke. In 1996 we therefore founded an all-encompassing system for product and application consulting for the area of HI. All application-related activities are concentrated there. In the area of SAI, these tasks are carried out by the Application Technologies (AT-SAI). In both areas we can be contacted, amongst other means, by telephone to answer all questions and provide consultation on the selection of appropriate products and their dosage. At the same time we always consider the legal obligations of our customers, e.g., in relation to hazardous materials, and the individual organizational and technical issues. We offer assistance on ecological questions to our products and services and questions on work safety. On request, we prepare and send assessments, recommendations, progress reports, operational directives, product information sheets, current legal requirements, safety data sheets and information on infectious diseases. Our laboratories perform their own tests and evaluations in order to answer all enquiries as thoroughly as possible.
Waste Disposal
schülke’s products are all expendable goods. They are either further processed in the industry or are used by our customers for cleaning and disinfecting. The packaging remains left over. This is recycled according to the requirements of packaging directives.
schülke thoroughly investigated the possibility of re-using the packaging containers. Due to the strict hygiene and quality requirements, this has, up till now, not been possible. With the current state of technology, it is not possible to clean the containers thoroughly enough to enable their re-filling. In addition, a costly return system would have to be established. It is certain at the moment, even without calculating a concrete ecological balance, that the return transport and costly cleaning would not offer any ecological advantages. After usage of the disinfectant solutions, they are disposed of in the waste water system. The degrading of these solutions in the waste water treatment plants presents a peculiar challenge to us. The problem: our disinfectants effectively fight bacteria. However, in the waste water treatment plants, these bacteria are responsible for the decomposition of organic substances in the waste water. We take this problem into consideration starting with the product development: the concept of the effectiveness of our products is designed so that disinfectants, in the proper concentration, effectively kill bacteria and viruses, while smaller doses – such as in waste water – do not harm useful bacteria nor provide a nutritional basis, such as with ethanol, for example.
The same principle applies to the area of SAI : we first test customer samples in our own laboratories in order to determine the correct concentration of preservatives for the varying customer requirements. The proper usage of preservatives helps to keep the dosage as low as possible. This combination of effective products and competent consulting helps our customers to save costs and conserve the environment.
Contribution of our Products to Sustainability
In both our core business areas our products contribute per se to sustainability:
Our product spectrum in HI makes an active contribution to the fight against infections. The avoidance of infection, and as a result disease, protects the health and thus the life of humans. Besides this, every disease that can be prevented obviates the use of medications and consequently their environmental impact. In addition, the economy and the state reduce losses due to illness-related absenteeism.
In the area of SAI our products contribute to sustainable development by preventing contamination in production in the most varied branches of industry and thus extend the life cycle of many economic goods. This conserves valuable resources and ensures longer lasting product usability.
It is only the use of preservatives that makes it possible to use water as the basis for products such as paint and eliminates the necessity for environmentally dangerous organic solvents.
