To reach our climate protection goal, we are focusing our measures on our largest emitters of greenhouse gases, which generate around 80% of greenhouse gas emissions of the Merck Group. The largest emitters in 2010 included the Darmstadt and Gernsheim sites in Germany, the Mollet del Vallès site in Spain, the Jaffrey, NH and Savannah, GA sites in the United States, the Onahama site in Japan, and the Taicang site in China. In 2010, we conducted energy conservation audits at the production sites in Darmstadt, Gernsheim, Onahama and Atsugi. At the Onahama and Atsugi sites in Japan, we identified measures that resulted in average energy savings of 15% to 20%. In the reporting period, the Bari site in Italy was the first pharmaceutical production site to receive certification in accordance with EN 16001, the international energy management standard. The new pharmaceutical research center in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, received the gold standard according to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the U.S. classification system for planning energy-efficient, eco-friendly buildings. Moreover, in 2010 the Merck Millipore sites in Massachusetts and New Hampshire carried out 57 measures to improve energy efficiency, including installation of better temperature control systems and optimized control of the exhaust system. Overall, around 3,600 MWh of electricity and natural gas were saved.
In February 2011, the Merck Millipore site in Billerica was awarded the Energy Star designation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for outstanding energy performance of the building. Only those buildings that use 35% less energy overall and therefore generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions than conventional buildings earn this designation. At other sites as well, Millipore is committed to implementing energy-saving measures to reach its goal set in 2008, namely to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the end of 2011. Reducing the emissions released during processes will play an important role in reaching this goal. In order to reduce the impact of these chemicals, we have developed a comprehensive strategy with concrete goals and responsibilities as well as short- and long-term measures and projects. The short-term measures include optimizing the manufacturing process. In this connection, we are checking our equipment to ensure the optimum use of gases. In the long term, we want to replace these chemicals by alternative materials Here it is important for us to maintain and even improve product safety. We record process emissions on a monthly basis in order to monitor their extent.
At the same time as we adopted our climate protection goal, we launched EDISON, the Group-wide climate protection program, at more than 120 sites in May 2009. The program includes production sites, relevant warehouse and laboratory sites, and some commercial subsidiaries. The objective is to identify examples of best practice in energy use and transfer them to the other sites. Various tools include energy checklists and energy-saving ideas. These are available via a central intranet site to support the mutual exchange of information and learning.
