For months, rising raw-material and energy costs have dominated discussion about future global economic trends and triggered widespread concern among businesses and consumers. Germany’s Chemical Industry Association (VCI) estimates that German chemical companies will spend €16 billion on raw materials and energy this year – almost twice as much as in 2004.

Whereas only a handful of idealists shaped dialog about energy and the environment in the 1970s and 1980s, no one today doubts that efficient energy production and consumption will be a major challenge facing tomorrow’s global economy. Though almost everyone is burdened by high raw-material and energy costs, some good has come from this price shock: it gives us the chance to develop and market new energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products.

At WACKER, we see huge demand potential here. Moreover, we can already offer technologies for enhancing energy efficiency. This issue of WACKER’s corporate magazine is dedicated to its comprehensive expertise in this field and its innovative energy-efficient product developments. The sun supplies more energy per hour to the Earth than mankind consumes in a whole year. We report here on what WACKER is doing to tap this important energy source. Exterior insulation and finish systems reduce energy consumption in buildings by up to 60%. WACKER’s special binders for dispersible polymer powders ensure these systems’ weatherability on exterior walls. We used our Villa Sell training center in Burghausen, Germany, to demonstrate how this works.

In June, we won the Federation of German Industries’ environmental award for a technique we developed to manufacture L-cysteine amino acid, used chiefly in the pharmaceutical and food sectors – our process relies on renewable raw materials and requires no organic solvents. This small selection of examples highlights WACKER’s substantial expertise in energy-efficient and environmentally sound products.

And we intend to continue our efforts, developing even more products to help conserve natural resources. For everyone’s benefit.