Expenditure by the manufacturing industry on environmental protection: in twelve years, protection of the air and the climate and prevention have improved

From 2002 to 2013, manufacturing firms with 100 or more employees spent between 0.7 and 1 billion euros every year on investment or research to limit the impact of their activities on the environment. In 2013, the chemicals industry accounted for almost one third of this expenditure. Since 2014, this spending has been directed mainly at protection of the air and the climate. At the same time, the proportion spent on pollution prevention has increased, although it is still lower than that spent on treatment and disposal. Every year, two thirds of manufacturing companies with 100 or more employees incur expenditure on investment or antipollution studies. For half of them, this budget item is less than 40,000 euros; for one in ten, it is close to or over 400,000 euros. The 10% that are spending the most contribute 74% of all expenditure.