Environment
Accepting responsibility for the environment.
Buhler complies with the targets defined by the REACH directive of the European Union. If Buhler does not register the substances applied itself, it demands a confirmation from the respective suppliers stating that the substances purchased from them is in conformity with the REACH directives.Energy efficiency.
Prudent consumption of resources is a high priority. Due to a slight increase in output and a larger building volume, energy consumption at the Group’s sites in Switzerland increased from 129.4 terajoules to 155.1 terajoules. The entire water consumption in Uzwil dropped from 65,218 cubic meters to 56,300 cubic meters, which – among other factors – is attributable to process improvements in the factory. The different types of waste are separated and all but completely recycled.
In addition to our own in-plant efforts, our environmental protection philosophy also focuses on the products and services that we provide to customers. Combined, the plants we have supplied to all parts of the world offer a high potential for conserving resources. Approximate calculations have revealed that we install an electric drive power of about 220 to 250 megawatts every year. An analysis conducted shows that overall, the plants we supply achieve a high energy efficiency. But with new standards on the horizon, the goal now is to make further improvements. In an in-house competition, Buhler engineers therefore defined measures apt to further cut energy consumption. For example, the energy consumption of a grain mill can be appreciably reduced by utilizing the process exhaust air for a heat recovery system. As a result, during the cold season, it is not necessary to heat the fresh air introduced into the grinding process to the same high extent as before in order to achieve the required constant air inlet temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius.
