One year after the launch of its decarbonization program, automotive supplier Siemens is already making significant advances in reducing its carbon footprint. The company has reported that it was able to cut its CO2 emissions from 2.2m tons in fiscal 2014 to 1.7m tons in fiscal 2016.
A major portion of the carbon dioxide savings – 200,000 tons – were achieved at locations in Germany. With the aid of Siemens solutions, the company’s customers worldwide succeeded in reducing their CO2 emissions by 521m tons in fiscal 2016. This amount is equivalent to more than 60% of Germany’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.
In September 2015, Siemens announced its intention to cut the carbon footprint of its operative business in half by 2020 and to be climate neutral by 2030. To achieve this decarbonization, Siemens is focusing on four different areas. First, its Energy Efficiency Program (EEP) is reducing energy consumption at the company’s own buildings and manufacturing facilities. Second, increased use of distributed energy systems (DES) is optimizing energy costs at the company’s locations and production plants. Third, Siemens is systematically employing low-emission vehicles and e-mobility concepts in its worldwide car fleet. Fourth, the company is moving toward a clean energy mix by increasingly acquiring its electricity from sources that emit little or no CO2.
“Decarbonization is absolutely essential in order to halt climate change and its dramatic consequences,” said Roland Busch, the member of Siemens’ Managing Board who is responsible for sustainability. “The Paris Agreement on climate change has gone into effect, and the commitments now have to be fulfilled by taking concrete action. The global economy must consistently drive this process and demonstrably reduce CO2 emissions in all sectors.”