In the year 2000, we already underlined the high priority of occupational health and safety throughout the Company by setting a target of zero accidents. The first interim target was a 45-percent decrease by 2005. In fact, we achieved a reduction of 67 percent, putting us well ahead of schedule. Our aim was to halve the number of accidents again by 2010, relative to the base year 2005. In 2007, we had already almost reached this second interim target by decreasing the incidence rate to 1.7 occupational accidents per million hours worked.

Aligning the timescale to that of our corporate objectives for the next five years, we have now set ourselves a new interim target: a further 20-percent reduction in occupational accidents by 2012 (base year 2007).

To facilitate the achievement of our ultimate target, we intend to integrate newly acquired companies more rapidly into our corporate structure and to further expand training and support measures relating to occupational health and safety. The early identification of risks and the avoidance of accidents play a key role here. Site-specific circumstances are taken into consideration through regional and local initiatives and actions.

Henkel employs company-wide instruments aimed at preventing occupational accidents. They are based on the worldwide corporate standards, and their implementation is checked by independent auditors from Henkel headquarters. All accidents are registered centrally and analyzed as part of a worldwide reporting system. In 2007, 98 percent of Henkel employees were covered. For the first time, employees of external companies who work at Henkel sites and are directly contracted by Henkel were included in our reporting:

In 2002, a standardized worldwide reporting system was introduced to gather data on serious accidents. In 2006 and 2007, no fatal occupational accidents were suffered by Henkel employees or employees of contractors carrying out work for a Henkel company at a Henkel site:

All Henkel companies supplement the requirements for occupational health and safety and technical measures by carrying out activities that reinforce their employees’ awareness of occupational health and safety and help them to act accordingly. Due consideration is given to site-specific conditions and employee needs:

Leadership performance and the training and awareness of employees play a crucial role in focusing our activities on sustainability. In a special training program we therefore coach all plant managers around the world in managerial approaches to safety, health and environment concerns. The course content ranges from risk analysis and managing emergencies to stakeholder dialogue. Besides imparting skills, the plant manager meetings foster better networking among the sites and provide an ideal opportunity to share examples of best practice from the various regions. Since 2006, we have trained more than 120 employees in all regions of the world in these special topics. We regularly assess the training needs of our employees and integrate appropriate environmental protection and health and safety seminars in our basic and advanced training programs. Moreover, our sites and companies also carry out regular activities to promote awareness.

The Henkel Technologies business sector organized a painting competition in the summer of 2006 centering around “Safety at Work” and invited childrenof all employees worldwide to submit their visions of safety at work. The twelve best  pictures were featured in a wall calendar for the year 2007, which was distributed to all employees. The painting competition and many accompanying activities at the individual sites intensified the dialogue on safety and further increased the safety awareness of all employees. The calendar will be an ever-present reminder that will reinforce our culture of safety in 2007.

Considerable efforts are still needed to integrate contractors and their employees who work at our sites. The basis for this is the provision of information to the companies and their employees about Henkel’s health and safety requirements, and monitoring to ensure compliance with these requirements. In addition, we involve contractors’ employees to a greater extent in existing training courses and address them through targeted programs. In order to be able to assess the success of the measures, we began, in 2007, to integrate contractors’ employees who work at Henkel sites into the accident reporting system as far as possible, recording days lost due to accidents. Accidents concerning directly contracted employees of external companies are recorded in accordance with the same criteria as for our own employees.

For Dial Corporation, which joined Henkel in March 2004, equal career opportunities and safety in the workplace have long been fundamental principles. In 2000, to reduce the number of injuries to production employees typically caused by lifting and carrying, Dial introduced physical aptitude tests for job applicants. A seven-minute routine, simulating the physical demands of a work shift, is used to determine whether applicants are capable of performing their future tasks safely. The results of the test speak for themselves. Since its introduction, the number of injuries has fallen by 80 percent. In 2001, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) raised an objection to this aptitude test. The test allegedly violated Title VII of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws, as more men than women pass the test successfully. In February 2005, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa ruled that the test does violate U.S. Anti-Discrimination Laws and, on September 29, 2005, ordered Dial to pay a total of 3.2 million U.S. dollars. Most of this sum is accounted for by plaintiffs’ claims for loss of earnings. The EEOC’s request for punitive damages was rejected by the jury. Dial still feels that it has a duty to protect the health and ensure the safety of its employees in the workplace. As the job applicant test demonstrably resulted in fewer injuries, Dial is appealing the decision.