Aug 10 2009
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.
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(R) 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/sustainability_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: www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies