Takasago's plant in France obtained ISO 14001 certification in 2002. The environment, health, and safety (EHS) team led by Vice President Philippe Beauvais protects working conditions and safety for employees while also implementing environmental measures.
Takasago's French plant produces blended perfumes, and one of the challenges it faces is how to dispose of the wastewater left over after cleaning of the blending tanks used in the manufacturing process. Bacteria were once used to break down the waste, but there were problems with processing capacity; the plant has therefore instead installed equipment that treats the contaminated water by means of vacuum evaporation. This equipment saves resources in that it allows water used to rinse the tanks to be reused for cleaning.
Waste products are in so far as possible sorted and recycled: our recycling rate is higher now than ever. Moreover, 50% of the power consumed at the plant is solar-generated.
Equal attention is given to safety and health. A committee on safety, health, and working conditions convenes once every three months to engage in a lively exchange of views on working conditions for employees and safety and health policies. Meanwhile daily efforts are made to foster improvements.
Wastewater treatment facilities with the same capacity whatever the season
Wastewater used to be treated in an outdoor tank using bacteria to break down waste products, but there was a problem with that technique: the bacteria became inactive in winter, resulting in lower processing capacity than in summer. That conundrum has been solved by installing vacuum evaporation treatment equipment.
Getting the most out of every last drop
The blending tanks need to be kept sanitary, and large amounts of water are required to clean them. To reduce water consumption during this process, the water used for the second rinse is later reused for cleaning. That also alleviates the burden on the environment.
Helping build a better society
TAKASAGO Europe Perfumery Laboratory gives financial support to the solar energy development project being implemented by Électricité de France (EDF) in partnership with national research institutes. We are thus helping build a better society, and we have received a certificate from EDF in recognition of our role.
Recyclable items neatly sorted
Discarded items able to be reused are sorted by type - plastic containers, cardboard boxes, aluminum cans, metal drums, and so forth. The garbage collection area is neatly organized, testifying to our employees' determination to let nothing go to waste.