Inorganic air pollutants

 

In 2007, inorganic pollutant emission into air totaled 59t for SO₂ and 330t (334 t in 2006) for NOx. The remarkable 55% decrease in SO₂ emission compared to 2006 (130t) correlates with a fuel switch to light oil or gas at sites that still used heavy oil for their boilers. NOx emission levels from company owned or leased vehicles are not included in these figures. Major contributors to Group SO₂ emission were Sandoz (52t) and Pharma (5t). The distribution of NOx emission is similar to the figure for the consumption of on-site generated energy: Sandoz 44%, Pharma 41%, Consumer Health 7%, Vaccines & Diagnostics 5%, and Research 3%.

 

Inorganic pollutants targets and outlook

Inorganic air pollutants have long been a focus of environmental improvement at Novartis. In line with the implementation of measures to increase energy efficiency and fuel switches, we anticipate that the level of inorganic air pollutants will continue to decrease over the coming years.