200
We purify industrial waste water equivalent to over 200 Olympic swimming pools every day
Protecting our planet through circular filter solutions for clean water, air and soil
This is the mission we are on, every single day. We do this by providing companies with filters that capture pollutants from air, water and soil. We use a natural activated carbon that acts like a sponge, sucking up contaminants, and our innovative circular process enables us to reuse the carbon and create energy at the same time. Since our inception in 1990, we have committed ourselves to being a sustainable company, a good neighbour, a great employer and above all, having a positive impact on the world we live in by protecting the environment with our filter solutions.
Creating positive impact together
Protecting our planet through innovative circular filter solutions for clean water, air and soil is not something we do by ourselves. We provide the technique and expertise, but we need our community, our customers and our people to create real impact. We do this together. Find out how.
Some of our key achievements
80k
DESOTEC contributes to reducing CO2 emissions by the equivalent of 80,000 passenger cars annually
We can fully recycle the carbon used to clean water, air and soil, creating a closed loop system
H2O
The visible smoke from our chimneys is actually water vapour and free from contaminants
20
Each of our large filters purifies the equivalent of over 20 hot air balloons’ worth of air on an hourly basis! And we have hundreds of these at our customers’ factories
500k
Our biogas purification process allows for the creation of enough renewable energy for around 500,000 households
Sustainable Development Goals: our compass
The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which sets out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.
In order to have a positive impact and help protect our planet, we have set clear and measurable goals using 5 specific SDGs as our compass. These SDGs are where we can make a real difference with our own business while at the same time contributing to our customers’ sustainability ambitions.
- We are proud that filtering contaminants from water is one of our core businesses.
- We purify canal and rain water so they can be used as alternative sources in our reactivation process.
- We sponsor water filters each year at one of the local Belgian festivals to optimize their fresh water consumption.
- Via the purification of biogas and biomethane, we support the responsible production of and transition to renewable energy in Europe. We contribute to saving 10 megatons of CO2 each year on greenhouse gasses from landfills. This equals 2 to 3 coal fired power plants running for a year.
- The heat produced during the reactivation process is both used within the organisation and transferred to a neighbouring company. A yearly emissions reduction of 2.382 tons of CO2.
- We installed more than 1,300 solar panels on our roofs, producing clean and local energy; the equivalent of more than 40 homes’ energy usage for one year.
- With our filter solutions and services, we make our customers’ infrastructure more sustainable and circular, so they are fit for the future.
- We make sure that no adsorbed pollutants can be emitted into the environment via continuous measuring systems and periodic ground and ground water quality controls.
- Through our circular solutions for filtering contaminants from air, water and soil we contribute to responsible production for our clients’ and our own facilities
- We implemented a fully digital mindset to minimize our impact. This means that also the majority of our marketing materials is digital.
- By using reactivated carbon instead of sourcing fresh activated carbon, we save 170,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year.
- Transport is optimized in such a way that delivery of new filters is combined with the return of saturated carbon intended for reactivation. By doing this, we saved 400,000 trips since 2015.
- We use company bikes to travel between our different sites. All new Belgian company cars have CNG engines and can drive on clean bio gas.
Awards and certifications
Our goal is to excel in everything we do. We are proud that DESOTEC has been awarded the Gold Medal in CSR by Ecovadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. This establishes DESOTEC as best-in-class industry leader, over-achieving 94% industry-wide, over four diverse pillars:
– Environment
– Labor & Human Rights
– Ethics
– Sustainable Procurement
DESOTEC’s ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certifications were extended again in 2018, emphasizing our commitment to be a well-managed organization while controlling the impact of our business activities on the environment.
