Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.

Report 137
Environmental and climate protection
As a globally operating company Knorr-Bremse is aware of its responsibility to protect the climate
and ensure a clean environment. In addition to developing and promoting environment-friendly
technologies, the Group also pursues active environmental management, waste, energy and water
management as well as optimization of its logistics and transport processes. The basis for this is the
mandatory Group-wide health, safety and environmental policy of Knorr-Bremse, which goes well
beyond compliance with national laws and regulations. The company systematically manages and
improves its corporate standards of environmental protection by setting targets and performance
indicators that are reviewed by means of internal and external audits and comparisons with best
practice elsewhere.
“We publicly acknowledge
our responsibility
for ensuring a clean
environment and
protecting the
climate”.
Knorr-Bremse encourages environmental awareness and action
Knorr-Bremse uses communication measures and training to raise awareness of environmental issues
amongst its employees. Training needs are assessed on a site-by-site basis and targeted further training
measures developed. Special campaigns and initiatives – and also incentives to make use of public
transport – encourage appropriate patterns of behavior. Knorr-Bremse also presents an annual internal
CR Award for outstanding projects in the categories “Environment” and “Social Commitment“.
During the year under review there were two winners in the “Environment” category: the LEADER
driver assistant system for rail vehicles received the prize for its significant contribution towards reducing
fuel consumption and CO 2
emissions; and the second winner was the Knorr-Bremse subsidiary
IFE VICTALL for its optimization projects under the ECCO 2
initiative and its comprehensive environment
awareness-raising program for its employees and their families.
Energy efficiency initiative contributes to protecting climate and environment
First launched in 2009, the ECCO 2
(Efficient Cut of CO 2
) energy efficiency campaign is Knorr-Bremse’s
way of contributing towards protecting the climate and the environment. Using 2009 as the base
year, the idea is to increase energy efficiency by 20% by the year 2020 and cut related CO 2
emissions
by 20%. As party of the program, scope for making savings was identified in all parts of the company,
suitable measures were incorporated into processes and successful projects transferred to other sites.
The measures introduced have already enabled energy efficiency to be increased by more than 20% and
CO 2
emissions reduced accordingly. In absolute terms the Knorr-Bremse Group achieved savings of almost
10% of its annual energy consumption and related CO 2
emissions during the year under review.
This was achieved with the help of a wide range of projects at the various Group sites, including optimization
of compressed air generation and distribution, renewal of lighting systems, more efficient
regulation of HVAC systems and optimization and renewal of production technologies.
To maintain the momentum of these improvements Knorr-Bremse intends to continue these campaigns
and introduce a Group-wide system of energy management.
Social responsibility
For Knorr-Bremse, corporate responsibility also means participating in the life of the community, actively
helping shape social development and having a positive impact on the social environment. The
company is determined to contribute towards positive development in the regions of the world in
which it operates and improve the lives of the people who live there. The company not only supports