Making ‘Green Giants’: Environment sustainability in the German chemical industry, 1950s–1980s

Abstract

This article examines the evolution of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. It focuses on two companies, Bayer and Henkel, and traces the evolution of their environmental strategies in response to growing evidence of pollution and resulting political pressures. Although German business has been regarded as pioneering corporate environmentalism, this study reveals major commonalities between the German and American chemical industries until the 1970s, when the two German firms diverged from their American counterparts in using public relations strategies not only to contain fallout from criticism, but also as opportunities for changes in corporate culture. The article finds no evidence for variety of capitalism explanations why German firms should have been early in their sustainability strategies, partly because of the importance of regional as opposed to national influences, but the study is supportive of organisational sociology theory about the importance of visibility in corporate green strategies.

Keywords::

• environmental strategies
• sustainability
• chemical industry
• detergents
• Germany

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Henkel and Bayer for permission to use their archives, Oona Ceder for her valuable research assistance on the history of Henkel, Thilo Jungkind for his assistance and ongoing support, and Susanne Hilger for sharing her latest research on Henkel. We would like to thank two anonymous referees, Chris Marquis, Andrew Spadafora, and the participants of a session at the Business History Conference in Columbus, Ohio, 21–23 March 2013, for valuable comments on earlier drafts. The authors would like to thank the Division of Research and Faculty Development at the Harvard Business School for funding this research.

Notes

^1.Rosen and Sellers, “The Nature of the Firm”; Berghoff and Mutz, “Missing Links?”; Rosen, “Business-Environmental Connection.”

^2.Rosen, “Businessmen against Pollution.”

^3.Brüggemeier, Meer der Lüfte.

^4.Dalton, Green Rainbow, 33.

^5.Gerhard, Breeding Pigs.

^6.Souder, Farther Shore, part 2.

^7. Dalton, Green Rainbow, 38–9.

^8.Boullet, Entreprises.

^9.Hoffman, Heresy.

^10. Colten and Skinner, Road; Markowitz and Rosner, Deceit; Ross and Amter, Polluters.

^11.Kehoe, “Merchants”; McGucken, Lake Erie.

^12. Smith, “Turning.”

^13. Jones, Renewing, 339–47; Sluyterman, “Royal Dutch Shell”; Bergquist and Söderholm, “Green Innovation Systems.”

^14. Dalton, Green Rainbow; Wurzel, Environmental Policy-Making; Andersen and Liefferink, European Environmental Policy; Golub, New Instruments.

^15.Lampe and Gazda, “Green Marketing,” 299.

^16. Brüggemeier, Meer der Lüfte; Büschenfeld, Flüsse oder Kloaken.

^17.Uekötter, Age; Hünemörder, Frühgeschichte. An exception for the time before 1930 is Mutz, Umwelt.

^18.Mikler, Greening. For an introduction to the general varieties of capitalism literature, see Hall and Soskice, Varieties.

^19. For the former view, see Bansal and Roth, “Why.” For the alternative view, see Okhmatovskiy and David, “Setting.”

^20.Marquis and Toffel, “When.”

^21.Lee and Green, “Towards Commercial”; Hopfenbeck, Green Management; Cairncross, Green, Inc.

^22.Feldenkirchen and Hilger, Menschen. Raasch, Wir Sind Bayer.

^23.Chandler, Shaping, 116, 134; Verband der chemischen Industrie e.V., Grosse Chemieunternehmen.

^24. Feldenkirchen and Hilger, Menschen, 228–33.

^25. Ibid., 16–36, 73–9. Schöne, Geschichte.

^26. Feldenkirchen and Hilger, Menschen, 62–4, 92–8, 110.

^27.Jeffreys, Aspirin.

^28.Hayes, Industry and Ideology; Lindner, Inside IG Farben.

^29.Osterloh, Diese Angeklagten.

^30.Wiesen, West German Industry, 110.

^31. Ibid., 120–1. Cf. also Berghoff, “End”; Lubinski, “Path.”

^32.Spector, “Business”; Carroll et al., Corporate.

^33.Hilger, “Reluctant,” 194–8.

^34. Chandler, Shaping, 120–123, 135.

^35.Cassis, Big Business, 94, 99.

^36. Cf. Abelshauser, Wirtschaftsgeschichte, 383–392.

^37. Uekötter, Age, 188–97.

^38. See Gutachten über Emissionsverhältnisse, Regional Council Düsseldorf 18 Sept. 1961, in: BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung, Abwasser- und Abluftlabor, hereafter: AWALU [Engineering Department, Effluents and Waste Air Laboratory], 1961–62. BAL 387/1 Vol. 3 Vorstandsprotokolle [Minutes of Board Meetings] 1958–1960, 2 Feb. 1960.

^39. HA 153/7 Postprotokolle [Minutes of Management Meeting], 20 Mar. 1951; Letter dated 28 Sept. 1966, HA Zug.-Nr. 451, Akten Opderbecke, Emissionen/Immissionen alt.

^40. Versicherungsabteilung [Insurance Department] 24 Jul. 1962, HA Zug.-Nr. 451, Akten Opderbecke, Emissionen/Immissionen alt.

^41. “Bei Bayer stinkt’s nach wie vor,” Freies Volk, 09 Dec. 1955; “Der Leser hat das Wort,” Rheinische Zeitschrift, 16 Feb. 1960, BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1959–60.

^42. BAL 387/1 Vol. 8 Vorstandsprotokolle [Minutes of Board Meetings] 1966–1968, 18 Apr. 1966.

^43. HA 153/9 Postprotokolle [Minutes of Management Meeting], 09 Jun. 1953.

^44. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1961–62.

^45. Notiz des AWALU-Labors betreffend Auto-Lackschäden, 14 Dec. 1966, in: BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1964–1967. All conversions to British pounds in this article are at contemporary exchange rates.

^46. Newspaper clippings in: BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU 1964–1967.

^47. Letter City of Düsseldorf to Henkel, 24 Sep. 1958, in: HA Zug.-Nr. 451, Akten Opderbecke, Abt. 501, 510 ab 1950; Direktions-Rundschreiben 1681, 1 Dec. 1955, in: BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU 1954–56.

^48. Kommissionssitzung der Abwasser- und Abluftkommission, 2 Nov. 1959, in: BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1959–60; Wengenroth, “Competition.”

^49.Jones, Renewing, 342–3.

^50.von Randow, “Das Wasser ist krank.”

^51. With reference to air pollution see Uekötter, “Das organisierte Versagen.”

^52.Staats, Entstehung, 60–75.

^53. Uekötter, Age, 168–75.

^54. Handelsblatt, 14 August 1953. For the debate see also Hünemörder, Frühgeschichte, 78–80.

^55. Hünemörder, Frühgeschichte, 78–80.

^56. Ross and Amter, Polluters, 156.

^57.Bundesministerium der Justiz, “Gesetz Über Detergentien.”

^58.Vorwärts, May 3, 1961.

^59. Quoted in Uekötter, Age, 247.

^60. “Blauer Himmel Über Der Ruhr,” title and 22–33.

^61. BAL 387/1 Vol. 6 Vorstandsprotokolle [Minutes of Board Meetings] 1963–1965, 17 Jul. 1963; HA E 20 Juristische Abteilung [Juridical Department], Referat Dr. Erben, 4 Apr. 1967.

^62. Hünemörder, Frühgeschichte, 159–71, 209–14.

^63. HA J 105 Betriebskonferenzen 1943–76, 3 Feb. 1959.

^64. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1990–2, Dr. Peter Berth, “Grundsätzliche Anmerkungen zur Ökologie der Tenside,” internal company research report, undated [c. 1989], 10, 24; Gassdorf and Henkel KGaA, It All Started with Water Glass, 8–13, 24.

^65. Kohoe, “Merchants,” 26–27; Jones, Renewing, 342; Dyer et al., Rising, 108.

^66. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1954–1956, Direktionsrundschreiben 23 Jul. 1954.

^67. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1967–1971, Luftüberwachung Nov. 1967.

^68. Henkel “Company History.” Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.henkel.com/about-henkel/company-history-11,789.htm ()

^69. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU 1954–56, Letter by Engineering Department to AWALU, 2 Feb. 1956.

^70. Jungkind, Risikokultur, 185.

^71. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1961–62, letter AWALU to Prof. Rieß, 12 Jul. 1960; ibid., 1959–60, letter Dr. Wolff to chief engineer, 17 Nov. 1960.

^72. HA J 105, Betriebskonferenzen 1943–76, 10 Oct. 1960.

^73. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU 1954–1956, Henkel to Rieß re AWALU-commission, 1 Jul. 1955.

^74. HA J 106, Meisterkonferenz 1949–1967, 21 Jul. 1959; HA E 20 Juristische Abteilung [Juridical Department], Referat Dr. Erben, 4. Apr. 1967.

^75. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1954–56, letter Rieß to Ritter, 10 Aug. 1955.

^76. Uekötter, Age, 175.

^77. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU 1964.

^78. German Chemical Industry Association (Verband der chemischen Industrie) Wirtschaftliche Mitteilungen der Niederrheinischen IHK Duisburg-Wesel Nr. 4/67, 11 May 1967, in: HA, unverzeichnete Akte Verband der chemischen Industrie.

^79. BAL Bayer Annual Report 1969, 17.

^80. HA J 105, Betriebskonferenzen 1943–1976, 7 March 1967. For the state as active partner in coordinated market economies see Hall and Soskice, “Introduction,” 57.

^81. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1964–67, Vermerk von Dir. Dr. Heimsothe, 11 Nov. 1966 in Düsseldorf.

^82. HA Zug.-Nr. 314, Akten Opderbecke, Abt. 651 Ingenieurwesen/Jahres- und Quartalsberichte 1958–65, Jahresbericht 21 Nov. 1960, 6; BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung, AWALU, 1960–61, letter Rieß to Haberland, 21 Oct. 1960.

^83. Hall and Soskice, “Introduction,” 26–7.

^84. See especially Colten and Skinner, Road; Markowitz and Rosner, Deceit; Kehoe, “Merchants.”

^85. Uekötter, Age, 175–6, 264–5.

^86.Smith. “Turning.”

^87. Uekötter, Age, 184.

^88.Mann, Lösung, 39–40.

^89. Quoted in Uekötter, Age, 185.

^90.Beeton, Eutrophication; Vollenweider, Water Management Research; Kehoe, “Merchants,” 25–30; Jones, Renewing, 342–5.

^91. “Konrad Henkel Ist Tot.”

^92. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1990–2, “Umweltmonitoring bei Henkel.” Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.henkel.com/about-henkel/company-history-11,789.htm; ibid., “Änderungen wichtiger Wasserqualitätsparameter im Rhein bei Düsseldorf,” undated [c. 1989].

^93. Jones, Renewing, 343; Kohoe, “Merchants,” 30–3.

^94. Carroll et al., Corporate, 242–5.

^95. “Gesellschaft Und Umwelt.”

^96. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, 1967–1971, Landtag NRW-Sechste Wahlperiode, Kleine Anfrage 25 Nov. 1968.

^97. Ibid., letter Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs NRW, 20 Dez. 1968.

^98. Ibid., letter Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs NRW to Vorstand Bayer AG, 30 Dec. 1968.

^99. BAL 59/385 Ingenieurverwaltung, AWALU, 1967–71, letter Heidecke to Bayer AG, 23 Sep. 1969.

^100. HA 153/49, Post ZGF Nr. 33, “Umweltprobleme-Initiative des Bundesministeriums,” 25 Aug. 1970, 6.

^101. Kohoe, “Merchants,” 32; Dyer, Rising, 108–9.

^102. Haus der Geschichte “Regierungserklärung Willy Brandt.” Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.hdg.de/lemo/html/dokumente/KontinuitaetUndWandel_erklaerungBrandtRegierungserklaerung1969/index.html

^103. Wurzel, Environmental Policy-Making, 19–20, 24.

^104. Uekötter, Age, 253.

^105. KAccessed May 24, 2013.loepfer et al., Geschichte. Umweltbundesamt. URL: http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/index-e.htm

^106. HA Zug.-Nr. 451 Akten Opderbecke Umweltschutz bis 1978, survey by the Institut für Angewandte Sozialwissenschaften.

^107. BA 388/130 Notiz fuer K. Hansen und G. Broja, 30 Jun. 1972.

^108.Gruhl, Ein Planet; Bramwell, Ecology, 219–21. Gruhl left the CDU in 1978.

^109. HA Stabstelle Öffentlichkeitsarbeit, Firmenbildstudien 1969–1983, speech Konrad Henkel, 29 Apr. 1971.

^110. HA 153/45 Gemeinsame Post [Management Meeting], 16 Mar. 1971.

^111. Dyer, Rising, 109.

^112. Hoffman, Heresy, chapter 4.

^113. Markowitz and Rosner, Deceit, 210–11.

^114.Greer and Bruno, Greenwash.

^115. Hilger, Reluctant, 204–5.

^116. HA 455,155, ST-PR, Bohmert, Das PR-Konzept des Unternehmens Henkel, 13.6.1969. Cf. Hilger, Amerikanisierung, 262–5.

^117. Henkel-Blick 6/1974: 2.

^118. HA 153/49 Post ZGF Nr. 33, [Minutes of Management Meeting], 25 Aug. 1970, 6.

^119. HA 153/45 Gemeinsame Post [Minutes of Management Meeting], 16 Mar. 1971, 4–5; Peter Berth, “Aktuelle Probleme des Umweltschutzes,” 20. Technische Waschmittelkonferenz, 25–6 September 1972, 2.

^120. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1971, PR-Aktion “Gespräch mit dem Nachbarn,” 9 Dec. 1971, 1.

^121. Ibid., statement to the press by Dr. Friedrich Bohmert, Public Relations, Dec. 1975, 4–5; for the internal debate cf. Referat Bohmert, 28 Nov 1971, 3–4.

^122. Ibid., statement to the press by Dr. Friedrich Bohmert, Public Relations, Dec. 1975, 4–6.

^123. Ibid., 6–7.

^124. Dr. Grunewald, “Grenzen des Wachstums,” presentation at the 20. Technische Waschmittelkonferenz, 25–26 Sep. 1972, 92.

^125. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1989, “Ökologisch orientiertes Management bei Henkel,” undated (c. 1989.)

^126. HA 153/6 Gemeinsame Postbesprechung [Management Meeting] Nr. 12/1972, 5. Dec. 1972.

^127. Dr. Heise, Industrie und Gesellschaft, presentation at the 21. Technische Waschmittelkonferenz, 30–31 Aug. 1973, 2.

^128. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1990–2, Berth, “Grundsätzliche Anmerkungen zur Ökologie der Tenside,” internal company research report, undated [c. 1989], 3.

^129. HA C7300, Sasil, press release 25 Nov. 1976, 2.

^130. Helmut Siehler at the panel discussion “Marketing and Wohlfahrtsökonomie,” published as Freter, Marketing, 500.

^131.Kleinschmidt, Blick, 104, 240, 360.

^132.Koch and Vahrenholt, Seveso ist Überall.

^133. Dyer et al., Rising, 109.

^134. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1971,Verbraucherbewegung-Verbraucherschutz-Umweltschutz: Firmenpolitische Stellungnahme und Sachinformationen, Public Relations, 28 Jun. 1973, 8–9.

^135. Dyer et al., Rising, 109. Knud-Hansen, Historical Perspective.

^136. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1989, “DIXAN” press release, undated (c. January, 1983); H603 Umweltschutz 1990–2, public relations, letter Lengsdorf to the Saarbrücker Zeitung, 3 Aug. 1990. Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.henkel.com/about-henkel/company-history-11,789.htm#top

^137. HA 603 Umweltschutz 1990–2, public relations, letter Lengsdorf to the Saarbrücker Zeitung, 3 Aug. 1990.

^138. Ibid., letter to Braungart, Hamburger Umweltinstitut, 11 Oct., 1990.

^139. Henkel. Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.henkel.com/about-henkel/company-history-11,789.htm#top (accessed 24 May, 2013.)

^140. Hilger, Umweltschutz, 432–4.

^141. Jones, Renewing, 355.

^142. BAL 388/129 Awalu and Presse-Information Umweltschutz 3 August 1971; BAL 388/135 letter Henkel to Meinck, 25 April 1974.

^143. BAL 388/140 Werksverwaltung Leverkusen AWALU Allgemein ab 1 Jul. 1974, Memorandum der AWALU Kommission, 23 Sept. 1974, 4.

^144. “Konjunktur geht vor,” Der Spiegel, May 26, 1975.

^145. “Fisch vor die Tür,” Der Spiegel, August 31, 1981.

^146. “SPIEGEL-Interview mit Bayer-Vorstandschef Herbert Grünewald,” Der Spiegel, December 9, 1977.

^147.Dauvergne and Lister, Eco-Business.

^148. BAL 388 137 Awalu an Weber 22 Apr. 1975; BAL Bayer AG Annual Reports.

^149. BAL 59/384 Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department], AWALU, several reports. There were significant exchange rate movements during the 1970s. In 1974 £1 was 6.04 DM; in 1979 it was 3.88 DM.

^150.Verg, Plumpe and Schultheiss, Milestones, 427.

^151. BAL Bayer AG Annual Reports 1970 to 1975.

^152. Mann, “Lösung.”

^153. Verg, Plumpe and Schultheiss, Milestones, 524, 528.

^154. BAL Ingenieurverwaltung [Engineering Department] AWALU 1973–1988, LE Umweltschutz/AWALU 8 May 1981.

^155. Bayer AG. Accessed May 24, 2013. http://www.bayer.de/de/umwelt-und-natur.aspx

^156.Moeller and Winkler, “The Double Contact Process.”

^157. BAL Bayer AG Annual Report 1980, 36.

^158. BAL 388/131 Vortrag Henkel in Wien, 11 Jan. 1972.

^159. BAL 388/91 Bayer-Imagewerbung 1973/Fernsehwerbung, Febr. 1973.

^160. BAL 388/214 Werksverwaltung Leverkusen AWALU II, Weber to Broja, 4 Jan. 1972.

^161. BA 388/131 Aktennotiz Besprechung am 14 Nov. 1972 Leverkusen Werksverwaltung, Abt. AWALU.

^162. BAL 388/212 Letter Jacobi to Broja, 29 Jun. 1973; ibid., Bayer Presseinformation, Leverkusener Forum, 19 Jun. 1974. Over 7,400 people, among them 2,100 school children, visited the exposition in 4 days.

^163. BAL 388/165 Notiz for Weber, 6 Nov. 1974.

^164. BAL 388/131 AWALU II, Henkel and Broja, 25 Apr. 1972.

^165. Ibid. Beratung von Kunden in Umweltfragen 1972; BAL 388/132 Katalog von Bayer Maßnahmen mit positiver ökologischer Relevanz, 30 Jan. 1973.

^166. BAL 388/29 Vermerk Bayer Zentralbereich Werbung und Marktforschung, 14 Oct. 1976.

^167.Hoffmann, “Der Grüne Riese.”

^168. BAL 388/214 Protokoll der Ausschuss-Sitzung “Umweltschutz-Information,” 13 Feb. 1980.

^169. Dauvergne and Lister, Eco-Business, 2.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Geoffrey Jones

Geoffrey Jones is Isidor Straus Professor of Business History and Faculty Chair of the Business History Initiative at the Harvard Business School, USA. Christina Lubinski is Associate Professor in Business History at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark and was previously Fellow at the German Historical Institute in Washington DC.