LANXESS confirmed as supplier of sustainable leather chemicals

·	First company to complete Level 3 Certification in the ZDHC Gateway
·	Chem-MAP Multi-Site Award received

Cologne – After one year as a ZDHC “Value Chain Affiliate”, specialty chemicals company LANXESS has now completed certification for all organic leather chemicals published at Compliance Level 3 in the ZDHC Gateway, the largest online catalog for sustainable chemicals in the textile and apparel industry. Current LANXESS profile in the ZDHC Gateway confirms Level 3 MRSL compliance for a portfolio of close to 500 products for every step of leather manufacture.

The ZDHC Foundation, which was established in 2011, has set itself the goal of improving sustainability and chemicals management. Its “Roadmap to Zero Programme” takes a holistic approach to reducing the use of hazardous substances in the global textile, leather and footwear value chain. This includes to eliminate the use of priority chemicals by focusing on the following areas: Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) & Conformity Guidance, wastewater quality, audit protocol, research, data and disclosure, and training.

As those objectives are fully in line with the LANXESS principles, the company’s Leather Chemicals business unit has contributed to the ZDHC MRSL (ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List) development process from the very beginning. In a first step LANXESS was involved via the sector organization TEGEWA, and since April 2018, the company is a Value Chain Affiliate. This helps to increase visibility and to be directly involved in decision-making processes.

Level 3 certification via Chem-MAP completed

The Chem-MAP value chain program was designed by the British Leather Center (BLC) in response to the need for verification of chemical inputs and involves programs aimed at the three main stakeholders within a consumer goods value chain: the chemical manufacturing company, the materials manufacturer and the brand company and/or retailer.

The program ensures that chemical products are sold in accordance with the MRSL specification and that chemical manufacturers have appropriate stewardship in terms of management including control systems to assure that chemical products are manufactured responsibly and to recognized standards. This process involves a robust assessment of LANXESS and further downstream assurance through audits of facilities and surveillance testing of the chemical products supplied.

After the evaluation process for all organic leather chemicals in the LANXESS portfolio was completed a year ago, the results are now available via the gateway. Once again, LANXESS products for leather production are proving to be a global reference for sustainable chemicals following this final step in certification.

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 7.2 billion in 2018. The company currently has about 15,500 employees in 33 countries and is represented at 60 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of chemical intermediates, additives, specialty chemicals and plastics. LANXESS is listed in the leading sustainability indices Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World and Europe) and FTSE4Good.

Cologne, 	May 21, 2019
mfg		(2019-00038e)

Forward-Looking Statements
This company release contains certain forward-looking statements, including assumptions, opinions, expectations and views of the company or cited from third party sources. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual results, financial position, development or performance of LANXESS AG to differ materially from the estimations expressed or implied herein. LANXESS AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecast developments. No representation or warranty (expressed or implied) is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, any information, estimates, targets and opinions, contained herein, and no liability whatsoever is accepted as to any errors, omissions or misstatements contained herein, and accordingly, no representative of LANXESS AG or any of its affiliated companies or any of such person's officers, directors or employees accept any liability whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from the use of this document.

Information for editors:
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