The sustainability data for 2008 update the reporting on ecological, social, and financial data for the Bosch Group published in the 2007/2008 “Corporate Social Responsibility” report. The green focus of innovations at Bosch still applies in times of crisis. Around 45 percent of the current research and development budget is now aimed at protecting the environment and conserving resources. This compares with a figure of 40 percent in 2007. Bosch now generates a good third of its sales from products falling under this category – a proportion that will rise still further in years to come. Company acquisitions are also reinforcing this trend. Following the acquisition of German company ersol Solar Energy AG last year, the Bosch portfolio now also includes photovoltaics. This has seen sales generated by renewable energy technologies passing the one billion euro mark for the first time in 2008. Despite the difficulties being experienced at present, the figure will climb to more than 1.2 billion euros in 2009.
Due in no small part to the large number of company acquisitions – in addition to ersol, these include the Danish remanufacturer of starters and alternators Holger Christiansen and the U.S. manufacturer of laser-based measuring technology CST/berger – the headcount rose by 3.9 percent to 281,700 in 2008. In terms of established business, Bosch once again increased its headcount in Asia Pacific, and the number of jobs also rose slightly in Europe. The number of associates in North and South America fell by a similar amount, primarily as a result of the difficult economic situation in North America. The headcount remained stable in Germany. In 2009, Bosch is sticking to its goal of getting through the crisis with its permanent workforce intact and is only being forced to lay off associates in countries where there are no flexible tools for reducing working hours.
Worldwide, Bosch offers apprenticeships to more than 6,000 young people, which is over and above its own requirements. It expects to be able to keep the number of apprenticeship positions at this level in 2009. The introduction of a new occupational safety management system in 2007 has had a positive impact on the number of occupational accidents. The number of accidents resulting in absences of more than one day fell by more than 10 percent.
At the locations included in its reporting to date, Bosch has achieved improvements for most environmental indicators in 2008. In particular, the Group has now achieved its long-term goal of dispensing with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Last year, the total water consumption fell by 2.9 percent. Electricity consumption at the locations also fell and was 0.4 percent down on 2007. Overall, the Bosch Group’s environmental reporting was extended to a further 15 locations and now covers 313 different manufacturing and development locations. Despite the inclusion of additional locations, the total energy consumption for 2008 remained almost the same at around 6,300 GWh. As a result, CO2 emissions also remained virtually unchanged. The proportion of indirect emissions for 2008 totaled 86.7 percent. Bosch is pursuing the long-term target of cutting CO2 emissions by at least 20 percent compared to 2007 levels by 2020. In this connection, the Bosch board of management reached agreements with the individual divisions as recently as the beginning of 2009 to implement further measures to boost energy efficiency.
