All Bosch Group manufacturing sites in Bavaria will commit to the Bavarian State Government's Environmental Pact. This was announced by Franz Fehrenbach, chairman of the Bosch board of management, during the Bavarian State Medal award ceremony in Munich. "Our corporate responsibility is at the intersection of business, society, and the concerns of environmental protection and resource conservation," said Mr. Fehrenbach: "Even the smallest local steps to help protect the environment and the earth's resources can have a global effect in their totality." Dr. Werner Schnappauf, Bavarian State Minister for the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection, praised Bosch's commitment: "Bosch is publicly raising the banner for environmental responsibility. The idea of sustainability and the far-sightedness it expresses have been part of the company's tradition since it was founded at the end of the 19th century." Bosch's Bavarian sites have already set up an environmental management system that complies with ISO14001 standards.
As a matter of principle, the Bosch Group uses environmentally-friendly and resource-conserving technology at all its sites worldwide. Heat pumps were connected to heating circuits as early as 1985. In all its building technology, digital control technology has also been used for over 20 years to guarantee efficient control. Furthermore, since 1990 ventilation systems with regenerative heat exchangers have been installed in any new buildings or whenever renovation work is done. Boilers with condensing technology have been in operation at Bosch sites since 1995, and the buildings' thermal insulation has been consistently optimized. The heat from air compressors is reused for heating drinking water and other heating purposes.
The individual Bosch sites that will now join are in Ansbach, Augsfeld, Elchingen, Munich, Nuremberg, Ottobrunn, Schweinfurt, Straubing/Hohenwarth, and Volkach. The Bamberg, Lohr, and Immenstadt/Blaichach sites are already members of the environmental pact. The Bosch Group employs a total of some 29,000 associates in Bavaria. The focus of the agreement between the Bavarian government and Bavarian enterprises is the proactive prevention of environmental pollution. Another matter being addressed is the removal of bureaucratic hurdles through improved communication between business and local government. Eight work forums, which address issues such as water management, energy saving, or reductions in pollutant emissions have since been set up for this purpose. The environmental pact currently has 4,300 member companies.
