Proceedings of the 4th World Conference on Detergents : strategies for the 21st century

354 Pages·1999·24.067 MB·English

by  Arno Cahn

Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
AOCS Mission Statement
To be a forum for the exchange of ideas, information, and experience among those with a professional interest in the science
and technology of fats, oils, and related substances in ways that promote personal excellence and
provide high standards of quality.
AOCS Books and Special Publications Committee
E. Perkins, chairperson, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois
J. Derksen, Agrotechnological Research Institute, Wageningen, the Netherlands
N.A.M. Eskin, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
J. Endres, Fort Wayne, Indiana
T. Foglia, USDA—ERRC, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania
L. Johnson, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
S. Koseoglu, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
H. Knapp, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
J. Lynn, Congers, New York
M. Mathias, USDA-CSREES, Washington, D.C.
M. Mossoba, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C.
G. Nelson, Western Regional Research Center, San Francisco, California
F. Orthoefer, Monsanto Co., St. Louis, Missouri
J. Rattray, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario
A. Sinclair, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
G. Szajer, Akzo Chemicals, Dobbs Ferry, New York
B. Szuhaj, Central Soya Co., Inc., Fort Wayne, Indiana
E. Whittle, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
L. Witting, State College, Pennsylvania
Copyright © 1999 by AOCS Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means without written permission of the publisher.
The paper used in this book is acid-free and falls within the guidelines established to ensure permanence and durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
World Conference on Detergents (4th : 1998 : Montreux, Switzerland)
Proceedings of the World Conference on Detergents : strategies for
the 21st century / editor Arno Cahn.
p. cm.
Conference held 4–8 October 1998 in Montreux, Switzerland.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-893997-01-4
1. Detergents Congresses. I. Cahn, Arno. II. Title.
TP992.5.W67 1998
668’.14—dc21 99-26240
CIP
Printed in the United States of America with vegetable oil-based inks.
03 02 01 00 99 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
Preface
For the fourth time in 21 years, the detergent industry returned Globalization, in its early stages in 1993, has grown up
to Montreux, Switzerland for a World Conference and with a vengeance, not only in terms of global strategies and
Exhibition on Detergents, with its theme of “Strategies for brands but also in the global consolidation of businesses.
the 21st Century.” Since there is as yet no Fourth World, this Particularly among supplier companies, old stalwarts have
conference had an immediate advantage over its predecessor disappeared, replaced by new organizations with names that
in that it could not possibly be subject to confusion with a hint at a resurgence of Latin, a language otherwise relegated
conference of the Third World. to the study of classics.
The large registration—nearly 1,100 technical regis-
In some areas, the prognosticators of yesteryear have had
trants, accompanying persons, and exhibitors—underscored
their comeuppance. The rise of the Asia Pacific region, a sub-
the fact that the World Conference has established itself as
ject of intense interest and great predictions at the 3rd World
the event of the industry, an event where everyone is and
Conference, has—at least for the present—sputtered to a halt,
where everyone simply has to be.
with consequences that have yet to be fully felt and digested.
It has become the forum, not only for the dissemina-
Environmental concerns, once viewed with a measure of sus-
tion of new technical developments, reviews of markets and
picion as the province of misguided activists, have become firmly
consumer habits across the globe, but also for communicat-
embedded in corporate strategic plans. Sustainability, according
ing “policy” by the major players in the industry. The states-
to Niall FitzGerald, is something we disregard at our peril.
manlike keynote address by Niall FitzGerald of Unilever
Against the backdrop of an almost dizzying pace of
set the tone—and a high standard—for the program that fol-
change, a World Conference offers a brief but needed respite,
lowed.
a pause for catching one’s breath, for reflection, for review of
The detergent industry is deliberate and steady, not
the past, and yes, for a look into the future. The 4th World
given to drastic step changes. Its pattern of change is evolu-
Conference has provided it all, measuring up to the standard
tionary, as befits a consumer product industry. To detect
major and significant changes, one might therefore be of its predecessors. For this we owe a vote of thanks to Jerry
inclined to take a longer view and go back 21 years to the Collins of The Procter & Gamble Company as chairperson,
First World Conference in 1977. Indeed, the world of deter- Michael Cox of CONDEAVista Company and David Duncan
gents of 1977 is hardly recognizable in the detergent world of Unilever HPC Europe as vice-chairpersons, to Kurt Gehri
of 1998. Surprisingly, and astonishingly so at that, major of the Union der Seifen- und Waschmittelfabrikanten der
and significant changes have also taken place during the Schweiz for his fourth (!) time at bat as chairperson for local
shorter interval since the last Conference five years ago. arrangements, and, of course, to the AOCS staff. Once again,
Against all odds, new surfactants have been introduced on a they have produced what we have come to expect as an excep-
commercial scale during this period, new performance fea- tionally well run conference in a superb setting.
tures such as dye transfer inhibition have made their appear- No doubt, the 5th World Conference on Detergents will
ance in detergent formulations, enzyme use has proliferated maintain this tradition of excellence in the new millennium.
more rapidly than before, and new bleach activators have Until then, the Proceedings of the 4th will stand as a record of
been developed. Even new detergent forms have sprung up, where we were at the end of the old.
tablets rising phoenix-like out of the ashes of their earlier,
imperfect incarnation some 30 years ago. Arno Cahn
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
Contents
Preface iii Facing Future Challenges—European Laundry
Products on the Threshold of the Twenty-First
Keynote Address Century
Niall FitzGerald 1 Thomas H. Mueller Kirschbaum and
Eduard J. Smulders 93
Perspectives on Future Global Formulation
and Product Design Technology Trends in Laundry Products:
Nabil Sakkab 7 Far East/Asian Countries
Teruhisa Satsuki 107
The Future of the Global Supplier/Manufacturer
Relationship Laundry Bars and Detergent Pastes:
Hans-Jürgen Degen 11 Worldwide Outlook
Richard Adams 115
The Impact of Product Form on Future Global
Development Laundry Detergents in the Americas:
Jürgen Seidler 17 Change and Innovation
as the Drivers for Growth
Balancing Specialty and Commodity Surfactants
Richard S. Carpenter 123
in the Detergent Industry
William C. Knodel and John P. Stokes 27 Trends and Developments
in the Household-Care Market
Major Factors Influencing Product Formulation
Erich H. Buxbaum 132
for Emerging Markets
Michael Rothwell 35 Trends in Laundry-Cleaning Additives
William L. Smith 137
Packaging Perspective for Detergents in Emerging
Markets Fabric-Softener Market Development Worldwide
M.VPrabhakaran 42 Uschi Schröder 142
Detergent Trends in the Brazilian Market Status and Future of Hydrophobic Feedstocks
L.F. Coimbra, M. Gallotti, and N. Almeida 46 Wilfried Dolkemeyer 149
Home-Laundry Appliance Manufacturers’ Status and Future of Hydrophilic Feedstocks
Drivers of Change: Regulations Edwin S. Metzler, Lou Kravetz, W. Warren Schmidt,
Ulrich Sommer and Michael Laue 54 and John D. Skiffington 156
Home-Laundry Appliance Manufacturers’ Drivers The Evolving Role of Surfactants
of Change: Socioeconomics and Enablers in Household Cleaning Processes
Günter Wentzlaff, Rudolf Herden, and D.J. Kitko 164
Rainer Stamminger 60
New Surfactant Development—
Managing Toward Sustainability: Outlook to 2000 and Beyond
An Environmental Toshio Takahashi 170
Management Framework
P. Hindle and P.R. White 71 Detergent Enzymes: Recent Developments and
Outlook on Entering the Twenty-First Century
Harmonization of Chemical Control Systems
Kalle Axelsen, Anders Pedersen, Keith Gibson,
Around the Globe
and Torben V. Borchert 176
Richard Sedlak 80
Technology Developments of Detergent Builders
Science Versus Politics in the Environmental Hiroyuki Saijo, Atsushi Tanaka, Toshiharu Noguchi,
Regulatory Process Katsuhiko Kasai, and Shuji Tagata 183
John E. Heinze 83
Polymers in Detergency
Global Perspective on Responsible Care® Jean Gauthier-Lafaye, Robert Gresser, Gilles
Charles M. Donohue 89 Guerin, Daniel Joubert, and Carroll Vergelati 190
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
vi Contents
New Bleach Systems: Interactions of Alkyldiphenyl Oxide Disulfonates
In Search of Greater Cost-Effectiveness with Alcohol Ethoxylates
Gerd Reinhardt 195 L.B. Quencer, S. Kokke-Hall, P. Inbasekaran,
and M. Tognetti 269
Detergent Raw Materials—An Important Part
of the Integrated Chemical Network Comparative Gas Chromatography Analysis
Dieter Degner 204 of Ethoxylated Fatty Acid Methyl Esters
with Packed and Capillary Columns
Impact of Global Trends in Detergent Powders on
Zenona Siwek, Wieslaw Hreczucha, Jan
Manufacturing Capability
Szymanowskib, and Gerard Bekierza 273
Peter W. Appel 212
Stabilization of Sodium Percarbonate
Raw-Material Supply in Emerging Markets
Liu Yun, Jhang Jun, and Sun Yue 284
Jerry Golden 218
Structural Influence of Two Types
Balancing Product Application Research vs.
of Ethoxylated Alcohols
Process Research in the Development of
on Mesophase Formation
Detergent Ingredients
R. Stoica, L. Harles, M. Honciuc,
Dale S. Steichen 225
and C. Borlescu 288
Local vs. Regional vs. Global Supply Development
An Environmental Risk Assessment
Strategies for the Global Detergent Industry
of the Biodegradation Intermediates
Georg F. Urban 230
of Nonylphenol Ethoxylates
Low-Foaming Surfactants in Synergistic Ternary C.A. Staples, J.B. Williams, and C.G. Naylor 298
Blends
Nonylphenol Ethoxylates in the Environment
Felix Müller and Jörg Peggau 234
C.G. Naylor and J.B. Williams 304
Synthesis and Application of
A New Dye Transfer Inhibiting Polymer
Phthalimidoperoxycaproic Acid
B. Srinivas, J. Hornby, J. Shih, and J. Virgoe 305
Liu Yun, Ji Ruying, Jin Zhengrong, Wang
Jhangjun, and Sun Yue 238 The Use of Lauroyl ED3A Chelating
Surfactants with Detergent Enzymes
Powder-Detergent Formulations for Improved
Joseph J. Crudden, and Roland J. Lemery 311
Cellulase Performance
Deborah Winetzky, Edmundo Larenas, and Laundering Clothes to Be Sun-Protective
Scott Power 242 Claude Eckhardt and Uli Osterwalder 317
A New Generation Soil-Release Polymer for Cotton The Photochemistry of Fluorescent Whitening
James A. Rosie, Klein Rodrigues, and Agents: Impact on Light Fastness
Robert W. Hodgetts 247 Juergen Kaschig, Monika Schaumann,
and Bernard Schultz 323
The Performance of a Particular Builder System in
the Detergency Process Adenosine Triphosphate Monitoring—A Rapid
Stela Florescu, Anca Golgojan, and Minodora Leca 249 Determination of Microbial Contamination of
Liquid Detergents
Surface Activity of Ethoxylated Methyl Dodecanoate
Thomas Hilgers and Helmut Kruessmann 326
Jan Szymanowski, Danuta Makowska,
Performance Enhancement
and Wieslaw Hreczuch 255
of Cleaning Agents Due to Adaptation
Surfactants—A Holistic Approach to Manufacturing, of Surface Properties to Soil Characteristics
Consumer Safety, and Environmental Criteria Hans J. Garvens and Helmut Kruessmann 328
David W. Roberts 261
Chromatographic Determinations
Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Stability of of Surfactants in Cleaning Agents
Peroxide Bleach in Cleaning Formulations Jurgen Bohnen, Beatrix Fâllne r, Georg Rohm,
S. Kokke-Hall and L.B. Quencer 265 and Helmut Krulsmann 331
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
Contents vii
Optimizing Performance in Light-Duty Liquid Branched Alkylpolyglycosides Derived from
Detergents Part 1: Optimization of Surface- Dimorphecolic Acid: Synthesis and Surface
Active and Application Properties Active Properties
F.B. Malihi, A. Rastegar, N. Abbassi, and G.B. Malihi 334 P.M.P. Bogaert and T.M. Slaghek 345
Life Cycle Assessment of Rainwater Use for Domestic Biotreatment of Alkylbenzenesulfonate and Other
Clothes Washing Surfactants in Industrial Concentrated Effluents of a
Detergent Factory
V. Bronchi and O. Jolliet 341
E. Gorelik, D. Sivan, D. Weiss, T. Ben-Neria,
and O. Vashitz 346
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
Keynote Address
Niall FitzGerald
Unilever PLC, London, England
Not only is Montreux a great place for a conference, it also has adding washing agent, and hanging them out to dry will
a very important connection with the detergent industry—a become a thing of the past. Instead, our consumers will be able
connection going back well before the first World Conference to manage their washing, and dishwashing needs, at the
on Detergents was held here. About a hundred years ago, a touch of a key on their home PCs. Clothes will have built-in
landmark event in our then-fledgling industry took place on the sensors, capable of automatically signaling to the machine
lake, just a short distance from here. A Swiss gentleman— how they should be sorted and washed. They will be custom-
effectively the First “overseas” representative of Lever Broth- programmed with an individual’s personalized fragrance
ers—organized a special competition on the shores of the lake. preferences, capable of intelligently adjusting their own
It was called the “Fete des Blanchisseuses”—a competition for warmth factor, and able to change color quicker than a
washerwomen! It apparently drew huge crowds and inspired Nokia phone. Ironing will have become as quaint and old-
press coverage around the world. It was, if you like, the first pan- fashioned as the clothes wringer, and we will even have fig-
European—even global—marketing promotion for laundry ured out how to wash clothes in space—if there are any
products in the world! clothes there, that is.
It was at about the same time that the first laundry pow-
Into the Future
ders were being invented. Back in those days, of course,
they were just simple formulations of silicate and perborate, I’m not sure how much of that vision of tomorrow will turn
or carbonate. The brand name Persil takes its origins from into reality. I’m dubious about some of it, but I’m confident
perborate and silicate. Most people still used bar soap. The that much of it will happen. For one thing, I know that cer-
“machinery” of the time was the washboard, and—if you
tain things are already on their way to coming true, and I
were lucky—a clothes wringer. Fabrics were basically cot-
have no doubt that plenty of ideas that noone has yet imag-
ton, wool, or silk and had to withstand hours of boiling,
ined will come true, too. As one famous British historian has
scrubbing, and wringing. Some were so delicate that they
written: “The only certain thing about the future is that it
couldn’t be washed at all.
will surprise even those who have seen furthest into it.” We
Well, we have come a long way since then. Today, a cen-
stand on the threshold of a new millennium, facing tremen-
tury later, ours is a 60 billion industry—or maybe next year
dous opportunities to grow and prosper—to achieve the sort
we will call it a 60 billion “euro” industry.
of quantum leaps in innovation that we can look back on and
• It encompasses household, maintenance, industrial, and be proud of. But the drivers of success in the next 100 years
institutional cleaning products; the ingredients used in will not be the same as they were in the last 100—or even
cleaning products; and finished packaging. the last 20 years. Companies that believe they can prosper
• The use of soap—and the resulting improvements in per- in the next millennium without radically rethinking the way
sonal hygiene—have, by some measures, had as big an they do business will get left behind and disappear.
impact on world health and life expectancy as improve-
Whose Future?
ments in nutrition.
• Our consumers can now machine wash their clothes with The basic question we have to ask ourselves is simple.
minimal effort at much lower temperatures than ever Whose future is it? The reason the industry has grown so
before, using detergent powders, liquids—and now tablets. strongly over the last hundred years is because it has focused
• We have greatly reduced the grin and drudgery of house- rigorously on meeting consumer needs in certain key mar-
hold chores and built a reliable and trusted range of brands. kets. But are the consumer needs of today all the same as the
• Clothes themselves can now be made out of dozens of
consumer needs of tomorrow? Are today’s consumers even
different types of fabrics; colored using an amazing range
the same as the consumers of tomorrow? In considering our
of some 200,000 dye combinations; and even finished
strategies for the future, perhaps we should reflect on
with space-age coatings, like Teflon.
whether all we’re doing today is really positioning ourselves
So where on earth will we be in another 100 years? to prosper in the century ahead.
• Consider, for example, how much of our industry’s inno-
Tomorrow’s World
vation is still geared to the developed world, as opposed
But first, let me entertain you for a moment with a vision— to the great many people living in developing and
I won’t say it’s mine—of how our industry might contribute emerging markets. We are, for instance, inventing surfac-
to society in the next millennium. Sorting clothes, manually tants which cost many times more than those used for the
Reproduced with kind permission of Unilever PLC.
1
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
2 N. FitzGerald
basic job in the developing world—inventing them for rather than simply of competition and confrontation. We
minimal gain in the almost functionally saturated West. have spent the last few years looking ahead to the year 2000.
We might ask ourselves: is it wise to spend 90% of our It might be timely to start contemplating the year 2025. And
effort on relatively marginal improvements in 10% of the who knows, some of us may even still be here to enjoy it!
world market?
The Global Village
• Similarly, we tout biodegradability and ecoefficiency as
real progress toward environmentally sound practices. Think of the futuristic vision I described earlier. In fact, at
And so to an extent they are. Yet, in the last decade of the the moment, most of it would apply to little more than the
twentieth century, we are still continuing to operate as if relatively small number of people who live in the so-called
chemicals are precious and water is free. Is it any surprise developed world. Consider this: If we could, at this time,
therefore that while we boast of concentrated powders
shrink the Earth’s population to a village of precisely 100
and liquids as one of our greatest achievements, con-
people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same,
sumers have been less than convinced?
it would look like this:
• Or consider the world of science. They say it is growing
even faster than the global population. Yet 90% of the • There would be 13 Europeans, 13 from the Americas, 13
global R&D spent is in just five countries: the United Africans—and 61 Asians.
States, Japan, Germany, France, and the UK. Does that • Forty-eight would be under 25 yr old.
really make sense? • One in 3 of the adults would be unable to read.
How farsighted is our vision and how broad are our hori- • Five of those people would have half the world’s
zons, when we don’t even have any speakers from outside wealth—and all of them would probably be living in the
the industry addressing this conference? Reflecting on all United States.
this, I see three key challenges for our industry for the next • Only one would have a college education.
millennium:
(i) The first is to operate for people everywhere. Detergent And that is today. How will that same village look 50 yr
consumption per head in the United States is five times from now? Or even five? Between now and 2025, the global
greater than in China. Yet despite that, the total size of the population is set to grow by three billion; 95% of that
Chinese market is already almost as big as the market in the growth will be in what we now consider developing and
United States. For many of us, it is quite clear where our emerging regions. Those same regions will account for 70%
core market has been, historically. That, presumably, is part of the increase in consumption.
of the reason why we meet for the World Conference on
Detergents in Montreux, at the heart of the developed Meeting Different Needs
world. But it is also quite clear that in the future—and the Many mistakes have been made in developing and emerging
near-future at that—the real action is increasingly going to markets—mainly because we have approached then simply as
be in the developing and emerging markets. We should not new markets for old products. Many of our products have been
be so mesmerized by the current economic difficulties in developed for the mature and greying markets in the West—
these markets that we ignore their enormous long-term eco-
while consumers in emerging markets are not only younger,
nomic potential. Realizing that potential, we know, will not
but also have very different needs and attitudes. Just take a
be easy. It will require not just a greater emphasis on under-
stroll through the streets of any city in the developing world,
standing what the needs really are, but a radically different
and you will see what I mean. Market stall after market stall
way of approaching them.
manned by teenagers—some not even that—selling
(ii) This leads me on to my second challenge—the need to
“designer” labels, trying to save up a relatively small fortune for
operate in a sustainable way. This is an enormous challenge—
that one pair of Adidas. Over 90% of households in
and it is much easier to recognize the importance of sustain-
Guangzhou, Hanoi, Jakarta, and Buenos Aires have TV. Even
ability than it is to develop sustainable solutions. Sustainability
in rural areas, people are often far more “in touch” than many
forces us to consider every aspect of the way we think and
people would imagine. You may have seen the Coca Cola ad
act—with respect to our businesses, the environment, and the
that ran during the World Cup, of people in the farthest cor-
societies in which we operate and our consumers live. Operating
ners of the world, all reliving the same football match. I can
sustainably will be crucial not only for success in the
believe it. I was in China during the World Cup. More than
twenty-first century, but also for survival So we need to take
quarter of a million Chinese tuned in to the first match—and
a longer-term view—a broader perspective.
that was between Brazil and Scotland! People in developing
(iii) And that is my third challenge. To lift our horizons.
markets know what they want, they want it now, and they want
The corporate graveyard is littered with the tombstones
it to be just as good, hip, fast, and effective as whatever they
of businesses that were too introspective to see the tide of
have just seen on satellite TV. But—and it is a big but—they
change sweeping over them. Consider, for example, that of
also want it to be affordable. And after all the economic dis-
the companies in the Fortune 500 in 1954, two-thirds of the
ruption of the last 12 months—even more affordable.
names have disappeared: only 160 are left. There is a salutary
lesson for all business leaders here. Lifting our horizons
Affordable Solutions
requires us to take a longer-term view; to talk and listen to
people beyond our industry, rather than simply to ourselves; Hence the surge in sachet packaging. As some of us have
to think sometimes in terms of cooperation and partnership, experienced, when the unit price of a product seems to be too
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
Keynote Address 3
high in a developing market, an obvious way to lower it is consumers as developed societies grow older and welfare
to reduce the unit size. Package your premium brand sham- systems come under ever greater pressure?
poo in sachets, and consumers who can’t afford to buy a • Developed countries are also experiencing some of the
whole bottle can at least splurge for a sachet once a week, same environmental problems as the developing world.
in time for Friday night. Clever, and effective—up to a Water scarcity, for example, is increasingly a challenge
point. But still a short-term response: and one that has the that those in the developed world must tackle. Here in
consumer paying for a disproportionate amount of packag- Europe, Greece and Spain—to name but two—have
ing. Rather than be satisfied with a packaging solution, we imposed restrictions on use at times during this decade. In
should be looking for technical and logistical solutions to Texas we have seen the problems associated with
make our products more affordable. drought. And in parts of the Western United States,
Let me give you an illuminating example from Unilever’s increasing regulation will oblige manufacturers to produce
experience in India. Our company there, Hindustan Lever, less water-intensive machines, while, in Japan, the water
has been an established presence in India for decades. Yet to wash a load already costs as much as the powder.
we failed to see that there was an unsatisfied demand for • Yet the current Western wash process is still relatively inef-
affordable detergent products that our premium brands were ficient. Consider, for example, that a 3-kg washload con-
unable to meet until an Indian detergent maker called Nirma taining just 30 g of soil, currently uses an average 100 g of
virtually cornered the market with a low-cost alternative. chemicals and, in Europe, 70 Lof water; in the States, 160
What did we do? Hindustan Lever completely rethought the Lof water; and in Japan, 200 Lof water.
product, the price point, the marketing strategy, and the
Which brings me to the challenge of sustainability.
whole distribution system, and came up with its own low-
cost brand called Wheel, to compete with Nirma. Wheel has Sustainability
now won back market share and, after 10 yrs, is now bigger
The phrase is much bandied about these days, and it is tempt-
in India than our established premium product.
ing to dismiss it as simply the latest in fashionable guruspeak,
This emphasizes the point that affordable solutions,
soon to be assigned to the management annals, along with
delivering value benefit to consumers, are not incompatible
TQM, business reengineering, and all the rest. That would
with value generation for manufacturers. It also goes to
be a mistake. It is more a matter of: Sustainability is here to
show that, even when you are strong in a market that you
stay or we may not be. What do I mean by sustainability?
think you know well, how well do you really know those
Well, the “Brundtland Commission” gave us a helpful
consumers, or recognize potential consumers?
definition back in 1987. when it defined sustainability as:
At Unilever, we think that pursuing the same approach
“meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
should stand us in good stead in Southeast Asia as well. We
ability of future generations to meet their needs.” Although
strongly believe that the difficulties experienced there in the
it sounds like some soft, altruistic ideal, it is actually a very
last few months do not diminish the strategic significance of
hard-edged commercial imperative. I do not believe that we
those markets—they simply make it all the more important for
will be able to maximize shareholder value and prosper in
us to focus on understanding and meeting local needs as they
the longterm unless we are able to operate in a much more
are today. Because when these economies pull through—as
sustainable way—today.
they will—those that have stuck it out will reap the rewards.
Yet for all the definitions of others, our industry needs to
Revolutionizing Our Thinking work out what sustainability means for us. What does it
mean in practice? Quite simply, we cannot grow, we cannot
I am not, of course, ignoring the developed markets—they
reach more consumers with more products and services, and
are hugely important, and will continue to be so. Developed
thus succeed as enterprises—even survive as enterprises—
markets account for 70% of Unilever’s turnover, and we are
unless the resources we rely on grow with us. Yet, in reality,
innovating as hard in these markets as anywhere. What is
that does not seem to be what is happening. On the contrary.
more, many of the lessons we have learned—and continue
Of course, this is not a new challenge for us. Much has
to learn—in Europe, North America, and Japan will help us
already been done. We have been through the foaming rivers
in our efforts to meet the aspirations of consumers in emerg-
of the 1950s and survived. We are reducing energy con-
ing markets. But perhaps the opposite, too, is true. Try turn-
sumption in our plants, we are making more efficient dish-
ing your thinking upside down for a moment. Rather than
washers and washing machines, and we are developing
taking the experiences and knowhow gained in the devel-
products that operate at lower water temperatures, are
oped world as the starting point, see what can be learned
biodegradable, and use less packaging. As an industry, we
from the developing and emerging markets and, who knows,
have developed the AISE Code of Good Environmental
even apply some of that knowledge to generating innovation
Practice, and we are running campaigns to raise awareness
in the Western world. Some of the problems we face are
among consumers.
similar—but the pressure to do something about them has
These are all steps in the right direction. So how far do
sometimes been rather less in the developed world.
we have to go? Without being a millenarian prophet of
• Mature markets are changing, just as developing and doom, 1 can safely say we will have to go a lot, lot further—
emerging markets are changing. Just think how much Western and do a lot, lot better. The AISE Code is a good start, but
consumption patterns have already altered during this it’s just that: a start—and a late start at that. We need to be
century—through the wars, the depression, the 50s, and the even more proactive, as an industry, in setting the agenda,
baby boom years. What will happen to the profile of our and not just responding to it. Urgency should be our watch-
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press
4 N. FitzGerald
word. Take water, which we are all probably guilty of tak- • factor water into product life-cycle assessments,
ing a little bit for granted. The World Health Organization • and encourage wider initiatives to improve the quality of
estimates that, for safe drinking water and adequate sanita- water.
tion, we need 20-40 L of water per person per day located
At Unilever, we recognize the importance of clean water
within reasonable distance from the household. That is not
stewardship and are seeking to make it a priority. As a recog-
actually very much, if you consider that for a single
nition of this, we recently announced our support for “Living
washload, here in Europe we use 70 L. Anything less than
Lakes”—a global project to improve water quality in
20—40 Lper person per day in an area is considered to be
environmentally sensitive areas. We believe that making this
in a state of water stress.
sort of commitment to ensuring the sustainability of our
So let’s look at how much water there is out there. In the
resources is crucial. But we are under no illusions—this kind
world, there are some 1.4 billion cubic kilometers of water.
of initiative is not a substitute for developing techniques
But most of that is salt water and another chunk of it is
which use water more effectively in the production and con-
frozen into icecaps and icebergs. In fact, reliable runoff
sumption of our products, to contribute to the sustainability
amounts to only about 0.0006% of global water, or 9,000
of clean water.
cubic kilometers per year. In the meantime, while the global
It is quite possible that the sustainability issue is bring-
population has grown threefold, water consumption has
ing us, as an industry, toward what Andrew Grove has
increased sevenfold.
described as a “strategic inflection point”: the sort of sea
What does this mean in reality? It means that Northern
change in conditions that can revolutionize the shape of a
Cyprus has been forced to import water from Turkey in giant
whole industry, like the advent of containerization did to the
bags, towed across the sea. It means that, in parts of Chile,
shipping industry, or the oil crisis did to the petrochemicals
they are so desperate they have put up giant nets to trap mist.
industry.
And it means that Californians consider the availability of
Thinking of the oil crisis brings to mind something
water second only to crime as their greatest concern.
British prime minister Tony Blair said in an address to the
Let us return to our global village. In our global village:
United Nations some time ago. He described water as “a liq-
uid more precious than oil.” Yet not only have we been act-
• agriculture accounts for two-thirds of total water use,
ing as if water is free—it has more or less been free, until
industry for another 23%, while households take just
now. But will that always be true in the future? Water sup-
10%—which does at least put domestic water consump-
ply has already been privatized in Britain. Will we be able
tion in perspective
to look back from the twenty-first century and say that we
• of that 10%, a few of the villagers use as much as they
had the vision today to see the big picture?
want—for drinking, washing, swimming pools, lawn
I have focused on water, because I think it has been
sprinklers, washing machines, flushing toilets and wash-
neglected for too long as an issue of sustainability—and
ing their teeth
because it is so central to our industry—at least today. But all
• yet 50 out of the 100 are without enough water for proper
our resource and raw materials could—and should—be sub-
sanitary facilities
jected to the same scrutiny. In fact, one theory of what it
• and 20—one in five—do not even have access to safe
takes to be sustainable is known as Factor 4 thinking. This
drinking water.
says that, to be sustainable, industry needs to increase its
Jump ahead and, at this rate, by 2025, two-thirds of our resource conversion efficiency by a factor of four—that is, a
village will be living with “water stress,” meaning that they 75% reduction in resource consumption for any unit of pro-
won’t even have enough for safe drinking water and sanita- duction. There are those who argue that, at least in Western
tion. Never mind enough for a washload. societies with their excessive consumption habits, we should
And should anyone still harbor any doubts about the be looking rather for Factor 10 improvements—that is 90%
business case for being concerned about this state of affairs, reductions. Try applying that to some of our industry’s pro-
let me repeat this warning from the United Nations: “In view duction processes . . . I raise this as just one example of the
of the growing demands on water, which is a finite resource, need to think the unthinkable at this conference.
water will become a major limiting factor in socioeconomic
Lifting Our Horizons—the Way Forward
development unless early action is taken.” (Report on the
5th Anniversary of UNCED, 1998) These are exciting, but demanding, challenges that we face.
The challenge then is clear. Domestic water consumption To tackle them, as I am confident we will—now and in the
is significantly less than the consumption of water for agri- twenty-first century—I should like to touch on two funda-
cultural and industrial use. However, as a high profile indus- mental elements that hold the key to our success.
try, we still have an important role to play in fostering the
debate about how to develop more efficient and sustainable Innovation
ways of using water. We must:
The first is innovation. Let’s consider for a moment what
• raise the priority of product development for the toughest innovation actually means. I have always liked Ted Levitt’s
conditions, including washing in little water, cold water, definition. He said that: “Creativity is thinking up new
grey (not drinking quality) water, and even salt water, things. Innovation is doing new things.” Interestingly, when
• constantly pursue best practice in minimizing water con- I was in Russia recently I learned what the Russian word for
sumption in our industry, innovation is: “Novovadgye.” or literally, “doing new
Copyright © 1999 AOCS Press