3/6/2009 – Bosch aims to cut global carbon dioxide emissions from its manufacturing sites by at least 20 percent by 2020. At a conference in Feuerbach, the board of management and individual divisions agreed to implement measures to raise energy efficiency.
At the “Sustainability at Bosch, Energy Efficiency in Production” conference, representatives from major plants, the divisions, and research areas reported on their successful energy-saving measures. Franz Fehrenbach, chairman of the Bosch board of management, presented his vision of how Bosch can lead the way internationally in energy efficiency and CO2 reduction. Bosch’s target is to cut relative CO2 emissions (measured against value added) by at least 20 percent compared to 2007 levels.
Board of management member Peter Marks called on the divisions to explore the full range of opportunities that exist for using energy more efficiently and to implement strategies aimed at achieving these objectives. The objectives will also be met through a range of measures, such as internal targets, continuous reporting, and activities to make associates more aware of the importance of energy efficiency. In 2007, the total energy consumption of the Bosch Group came to approximately 6,300 GWh, which means that the locations emitted almost 2.75 million tons of CO2.
Examples from the Thermotechnology and Bosch Rexroth divisions, as well as from the Bamberg and Blaichach locations made it clear that a whole host of measures are already underway. For example, many locations are cutting their energy consumption by around 30 percent by installing state-of-the-art lighting systems, while others are covering over 20 percent of their heating requirements by employing heat recovery systems. Analyses of individual plants show that there is still considerable potential for improving energy efficiency and making savings of up to several hundred thousand euros in the process.
