Siemens Cuts GHG emissions by 8% in 2008

June 8, 2009

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The Siemens Sustainability Report 2008 covers three key areas: CO2 reduction, integrity and diversity. In terms of environmental performance, the global electronics manufacturer reports that it has improved CO2 performance by 10 percent, water by 21 percent, and energy by 7 percent, as well as improved waste reduction by 4 percent over a two-year period. The company’s goals by 2011 include improving CO2, water and energy performance by 20 percent and waste reduction by 15 percent.

Although Siemens’ total revenue grew by 9 percent in fiscal 2008, power consumption recorded at its environmentally-relevant locations dropped by around 15 percent. The company attributes this drop to the sale of the Siemens VDO Automotive (SV) manufacturing locations that had higher headcounts and consumed significantly larger quantities of power than the new factories and acquired businesses that it has incorporated into its reporting system.

Siemens’ consumption of natural gas and liquid petroleum gas during the reporting period was higher, partly because many of its manufacturing locations were operating at high capacity with three shifts a day, seven days a week, says the company. Siemens still achieved a 5 percent efficiency gain in its primary energy and district heating consumption, which represents a 21 percent aggregate savings in relation to sales, according to the company. Facilities reduced their primary energy requirements through initiatives like re-roofing buildings with better-insulating materials, replacing windows, and modernizing heating systems.

The company’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2008 totaled four million tons, primarily from power generation, burning fossil fuels, and the emission of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) from the manufacture of high-voltage equipment converted into CO2-equivalents. Other greenhouse emissions were caused by glass furnaces, cooling systems, test stations, small office locations, and business travel. The company reports that its GHG emissions have dropped steadily since 2006 and cut emissions by 8 percent compared to the previous year.

Here’s a look at Siemens’ GHG emissions.

Siemens’ waste volume has remained constant over the past two fiscal years, but waste intensity has improved slightly, according to the report. The company did not achieve its average annual reduction goal of 3 percent in 2008, however, it did reduce waste reduction by 2 percent. Siemens matched its fiscal 2006 recycling rate of 83 percent.