Siemens Sustainability Report: Water Use Down 5%, Energy Efficiency Improves 4%

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Siemens has reduced its water consumption by about 5 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2009 compared to a year earlier, using approximately 14.1 million cubic meters of raw water worldwide, according to the company's Sustainability Report 2009. This figure excludes approximately 15.7 million cubic meters of cooling water drawn from and returned chemically unchanged to groundwater and surface water resources.

The global electronics giant also has improved water performance by 29 percent, CO2 performance by 17 percent, energy by 13 percent, waste by 12 percent and primary energy and district heat performance by 25 percent. The company’s goals by 2011 include improving CO2, water and energy performance by 20 percent and waste reduction by 15 percent.

Siemens' performance is computed on a portfolio-adjusted basis and normalized against location revenues.

Siemens' power efficiency improved six percent year-over-year in FY 2009 and improved 13 percent, compared to fiscal 2006, its baseline year. Primary energy efficiency improved four percent in FY 2009.

Siemens overall greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions have been falling since 2006. In FY 2009, emissions fell by 2.2 percent, compared to the previous year. Cutbacks in air travel contributed to the lower emissions, helping Siemens avoid 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions compared to a year earlier.

VOC emissions also were lower year-over-year in fiscal 2009, dropping nearly 43 percent, from 1400 tons in FY 2008 to 800 tons in FY 2009, due to several reasons.

As an example, the company's OSRAM Sylvania plant in Versailles, Kentucky, which had the highest emissions in FY 2008, reduced its output to zero by eliminating VOCs from the manufacturing process for T12 lamps.

Emissions of R11 equivalents remained essentially flat in fiscal 2009.

Siemens' facilities, which burn fossil fuels in furnaces and combustion engines, emitted 340 tons of nitrogen oxide in FY 2009. The company increased the assumed emission value for gas burners this year due to a better understanding of current combustion technology, which resulted in a higher emissions figure in FY 2009. If Siemens used the same method for FY 2008 reporting, last fiscal year's figure would have been lower, according to the company.

The company's environmental technologies are expected to become a major global economic driver, generating about one-third of its total revenue in FY 2009. About 40 percent of the orders from government stimulus programs are for energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies.

Siemens also expects its 'green' portfolio to reduce its customers' GHG emissions. It targets a reduction of 300 million tons by 2011.

Solutions from its portfolio that were installed between 2002 and the end of 2008 reduced CO2 emissions by around 160 million tons a year. Portfolio products and solutions that were installed at customers in fiscal 2009 will cut those emissions by an additional 50 million tons a year to yield a total reduction of 210 million tons in 2009.

The company publishes environmental product declarations (EPD) to inform customers about its products. The company plans to further increase the number and coverage of the EPDs published by the end of 2010.

Environment + Energy Leader