Siemens Building Technologies Issues Its First Sustainability Report
06 Agosto 2009 - 11:54AM
PR Newswire (US)
2009 Sustainability Report reveals the steps Siemens Building
Technologies is taking to introduce greener, more sustainable
practices throughout its U.S. facilities BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., Aug.
6 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., remains
committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility across
every aspect of its business - as well as transparency and honesty
about how well the company plans to achieve these objectives.
Integral to Siemens Building Technologies' commitment is how it is
applying, to its own business operations, the energy efficiency and
green building sustainability practices that it delivers to
customers. Siemens 2009 Sustainability Report documents the
company's progress and further defines its path going forward.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )
Over the past year, Siemens Building Technologies has taken
significant steps to adopt more sustainable practices throughout
its business and drive sustainability into the organization and out
to field operations. Key accomplishments include: -- Completing a
comprehensive CO2 inventory of our operations for FY2007 and
FY2008. -- Establishing local sustainability champions in each of
the company's nine field operating zones. -- Establishing a Local
Sustainability Grant Program to support field office initiatives.
-- More than quadrupling the number of LEED Accredited
Professionals working throughout the company. -- Reducing our total
CO2 in two primary manufacturing locations by 11% from FY2007 to
FY2008, and 14% versus FY2006.* -- Incorporating a renewable energy
offset component into the electricity supply for Siemens Building
Technologies' Buffalo Grove corporate campus. To obtain a copy of
the report go to:
http://www.buildingtechnologies.siemens.com/bt/us/About_Us/Pages/sustainabilit
y_initiatives.aspx These accomplishments are proof points to the
systemic approach the Siemens Building Technologies Internal
Sustainability Committee defined when it first convened in 2007;
its intentions were clear, make sustainability an integral part of
the strategic mission of the entire organization. Since its
inception, the committee's mission was predicated on the importance
of understanding the collective impact that Siemens Building
Technologies' business has on the environment. "As a first step,
Siemens wanted to understand the range of sustainability efforts in
the U.S. and where the company fell in that spectrum," says Brad
Haeberle, Vice President and Committee Chair. Siemens own research,
published in conjunction with McGraw-Hill Construction in the 2007
SmartMarket Report, The Greening of Corporate America, highlighted
that organizations fall along a continuum of five stages of
sustainability. Stages one and two view sustainability as a cost;
stage three begins to see sustainability as a lever of economic
advantage; stages four and five embrace sustainability as part of
organizational strategy. "We view our company as a solid stage
three, and then set our goal to become a stage four to stage five
organization," says Haeberle. "With that in mind, the committee's
first task was three-fold: to learn from other industry leaders in
corporate sustainability, and to gather information on what we were
doing today, and to brainstorm what we could and should be doing as
a company." According to Haeberle, this led the committee to
interview a number of leaders and pioneers in corporate
sustainability, many from industries unrelated to Siemens, to
provide a fresh perspective of the role that sustainability can
play across the enterprise and its people. In Siemens Building
Technologies' 2009 Sustainability Report, the company's strategic
sustainability mission is reviewed and accomplishments are put in
the context of the four pillars of success that underpin the entire
effort: Pillar One -- Products: Reduce the negative environmental
impacts of our products, specifically in manufacturing, packaging
and labeling. Siemens Building Technologies now includes an
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) on every product released,
which identifies all materials used in the manufacturing of the
product. Pillar Two -- Operations: Minimize the environmental
footprint of Siemens Building Technologies' operations. For
example, emissions associated with fuel consumption by the
company's vehicle fleet were reduced, and the company also
introduced a water reduction plan that lowered water use by 8.4% in
FY2008 over FY2007 and 15% over FY2005. The company also reduced
air travel directly associated with our business activities and
similar downstream activities like parcel shipping. The company
also worked hard to lower electricity consumption at the Buffalo
Grove campus and manufacturing facilities, reducing it in FY2008 by
5% over FY2007 and 13% over FY2005 levels. Pillar Three --
Solutions: Develop industry-leading solutions that generate a
positive impact on the environment for our customers. Since 1994,
Siemens has been involved in more than 1,300 energy efficiency
projects, saving some $2.1 billion in energy costs while reducing
the amount of CO2 released by 700,000 tons per year. In addition,
we have negotiated more than $3 billion in energy supply contracts
on behalf of our customers. Pillar Four -- Transparency: Siemens
Building Technologies understands that the company's sustainability
initiatives and activities are relevant to many different
audiences, both inside and outside the organization. In 2008 the
company publicly announced its Sustainability Committee to
employees and published "Sustainability Initiatives" an eight-page
e-brochure outlining key aspects of the program to select
customers. Since 2007, we have institutionalized a number of
communications tools including webinars, internal blogs, email and
newsletter updates to ensure that all employees understand our
mission and objectives, as well as our commitment to making
sustainability an intrinsic part of our company's DNA. As a leading
provider of energy and environmental solutions, building controls,
fire safety and security systems solutions, Siemens Building
Technologies, Inc., makes buildings comfortable, safe, secure and
less costly to operate. With U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove,
Ill., Siemens Building Technologies employs 7,400 people and
provides a full range of services and solutions from more than 100
locations coast-to-coast. Worldwide, the company has 28,000
employees and operates from more than 500 locations in 51
countries. *Figure represents a 25% reduction, exceeding the
Siemens AG goal of reducing energy and CO2 in manufacturing
facilities by 20% from FY2006 to FY2011 relative to revenue. For
more information on Siemens Building Technologies, visit:
http://www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGODATASOURCE:
Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. CONTACT: Steven E. Kuehn,
+1-847-941-6047, Web Site:
http://www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies Company News
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