Economics and the environment: mutually beneficial

  • Stuttgart-Feuerbach and Homburg locations are winners
  • Process efficiency and energy efficiency are clear competitive advantages
  • Bosch Group: 20 percent less CO2 by the year 2020
Stuttgart – Bosch receives two 2013 Lean & Green Efficiency Awards. The company’s Stuttgart-Feuerbach and Homburg manufacturing sites in Germany are awarded joint first place in the “automotive group/OEMs” category; performance at both locations impressed the jury enough for it to award first place twice. The Lean & Green Efficiency Awards recognize successful approaches to protecting the environment and conserving resources. Instead of viewing the environmental aspects of product development in isolation, the awards see them in the context of the manufacturing process itself, evaluating how energy and environmental considerations are dealt with through process efficiency and lean principles. “Receiving this double award underlines our conviction that economic and environmental interests are very compatible. They’re even mutually beneficial,” says Dr. Werner Struth, whose responsibilities as a member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH include production systems and environmental protection. “Increasing energy efficiency helps to protect the climate as well as improve our competitiveness,” Struth continues. Award winner Stuttgart-Feuerbach: identifying waste “We do not tolerate waste. We’ve been implementing the principles of the Bosch Production System for more than ten years now. In the past, we systematically identified unnecessary waste in production and logistics processes,” explains Dr. Andreas Wolf, the technical manager of the Feuerbach plant. “Nowadays we’re just as systematic and meticulous in our endeavors to pinpoint energy waste,” he continues. Energy consumption at the Feuerbach plant has dropped by more than 40 percent since 2007. Total CO2 emissions fell by almost 50 percent in the same time period, while relative CO2 emissions (in relation to value added) dropped by more than 10 percent. Taking a smart approach to shutting off production machines, for example, can save enough energy in a year to supply 3,200 family homes. Award winner Homburg: energy value stream reveals levers “We are improving our energy efficiency using the same methods we use to optimize our production processes. This illustrates the importance we give to combating resource waste. Our systematic approach is yielding great results,” explains Thomas Gönner, the technical manager at the Homburg plant. An energy value stream is used to ascertain how much energy is consumed at each stage in the process of manufacturing diesel injection pumps. “The energy value stream creates transparency. This is how we identify the levers that allow us to increase energy efficiency,” Gönner continues. The plant has implemented many energy-saving measures since the early 2000s. Gönner and his associates have managed to reduce energy consumption by a further 16 percent since 2007, for example by optimizing cleaning systems to improve their energy efficiency. Once optimized in this way, cleaning systems consume around 20 percent less energy, which enables the Homburg plant to save enough energy every year to supply some 1,400 family homes. Bosch Group: 20 percent by 2020 Industry accounts for over 30 percent of all energy consumed worldwide. The Bosch Group aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from its manufacturing sites by 20 percent by the year 2020, compared with the 2007 baseline. It also aims to improve its energy efficiency by 20 percent. In addition to grid-based energy supply Bosch generates energy from renewable sources such as hydroelectric power and photovoltaics at its locations in Germany and elsewhere. Upgrading the energy efficiency of manufacturing facilities and power stations helps to make the energy supply system more efficient overall. Associates’ awareness of energy-efficiency topics is raised through training events such as “energy experiences,” “energy schools,” and “energy days.” More than half of the technology and service company’s approximately 260 locations around the world are certified to ISO 14001, the global standard for environmental management systems. More information on this topic can be found online. About the Lean & Green Efficiency Awards The 2013 Lean & Green Efficiency Awards will be presented at the beginning of November at the Lean & Green Summit. Awards in the categories “groups”, “OEMs”, and “SMEs” will be presented to representatives from both the automotive industry and the mechanical engineering sector. There will also be a special award for particularly outstanding performance. An independent jury drawn from science and industry decides on the winners. http://www.bosch-presse.de/presseforum/