Energy management and climate protection
Climate protection is the environmental goal that is given top priority in our production process. Our Groupwide target is to reduce the CO2 emissions generated by production activities by 20 percent per vehicle by 2015, compared to the values recorded in 2007. To achieve this goal, we employ various methods that use energy efficiently and make sure that electricity and heat are supplied in a way that is as environmentally friendly as possible. Alongside technical measures aimed at reducing our energy consumption, energy management systems can help reduce production-related CO2 emissions. Against this background and in order to gain experience in the use of appropriate energy management systems we created the conditions necessary for introducing a certified energy management system according to DIN/EN16001 at our production facility for Formula 1 engines in Brixworth in 2010. Certification was achieved in the first quarter of 2011.
The values for CO2 emissions are calculated and presented in line with the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard 2004 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative. It fully includes all relevant majority holdings (control approach), and takes into account all direct CO2 emissions from stationary sources (Scope 1), as well as indirect emissions resulting from the generation of purchased electricity (Scope 2) and district heating. Direct emissions from the combustion of fuels, heating oil, gas, and liquefied gas are calculated using fixed factors (WBCSD or DEHSt).
The 2010 report incorporates the combustion of fuels into the Group-wide CO2 emission figures for the first time (Scope 1). This includes fuel consumption for production purposes (e.g. forklifts) as well as the fuel used for test vehicles and test rigs in the development stage. Company cars assigned to specific individuals are not taken into account, however. The calculations also apply to the prior years in accordance with data availability.
Indirect emissions resulting from the use of externally generated district heating and electricity are differentiated according to time and region when calculated with the GHG Protocol Initiative factors (as of December 2007), provided more precise data is not available.
For Germany, on the other hand, the factors of the Federal Environment Agency are used with regard to district heating and electricity.
http://www.umweltbundesamt.de/energie/archiv/co2-strommix.pdf (PDF, 117 KB)
In the U.S., the factors related to electricity production published by the EPA are applied to each individual state.
To ensure the consistency of the timelines, the indirect CO2 emissions are recalculated for all plants and years when updated factors are available, creating possible differences between new figures and previously published data.
Emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2 are not assessed across the Group at this time. Assessments of climate-relevant coolants used at German plants do, however, reveal only a negligible portion in the parts per thousand range.
Other indirect CO2 emissions (Scope 3) stemming from the product utilization phase are expressed as specific vehicle emissions.
In 2010 Daimler consumed a total of 10.3 million megawatt-hours of energy worldwide (2009: 8.9 million), or 15 percent more than in the previous year. Due to a substantial increase in production output compared with the prior year, energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions rose at all divisions. However, energy consumption per vehicle dropped substantially at all divisions.
Our Quick Analyser (absolute figures and specific figures) will provide you with further information about our CO2 emissions. In addition, it will enable you to compile data from the past few years, in a targeted manner and in accordance with your specific needs. This data can be output in graphic or table form, or downloaded as an Excel file.
Resource-conserving heating systems. For many years now, we have been using low-carbon natural gas to fuel the heating systems of our plants. We use district heating wherever feasible, and we also try in other ways to ensure that heat is generated in a way that conserves resources and protects the climate as much as possible. Many production plants use highly efficient cogeneration plants operated either by Daimler or by regional power companies. At one plant, shredded waste wood is used to generate CO2-neutral heat. We are steadily reducing the use of fossil fuels that lead to high CO2 emissions. For example, coke is used only for smelting cast iron, since there is no technological alternative to it.
Renewable sources of energy. For our new construction, expansion, and modernization projects we implement innovative low-CO2 energy supply concepts and use electricity generated from renewable sources. At the Rastatt plant, for example, we put a geothermal facility into operation in 2010 to supply heat to a new body shop. The facility saves 5,000 megawatt-hours of energy and reduces CO2 emissions by around 800 tonnes. Over the past few years, we have put new photovoltaic systems into operation on a number of plant roofs. The most recent of these were three facilities at our plants in High Point and Cleveland in the U.S. and Mississauga in Canada, which account for a total of 792 kilowatts of peak performance. Taken together, the facilities have a combined photovoltaic surface of 44,760 square meters (481,800 square feet). These systems enabled us to generate 4,180 megawatt-hours of climate-friendly electricity in 2010.
Optimization of existing facilities. We also continuously optimize existing production processes in order to save energy and conserve resources. For example, an in-depth analysis of the Untertürkheim plant revealed that the maximum processing temperature of the cooling lubricants used at the facility could be raised from 22 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees without hampering the manufacturing processes. “Free cooling” at outdoor temperatures thus suffices, except on very hot days. Because the refrigeration machines can remain switched off most of the time, we can save almost 21,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year at the plant.
Through the use of smart stand-by circuits, our process development team has managed time and again to exploit further savings potential. As a result, motors that would otherwise operate continuously to run pumps, conveyor systems, or cooling facilities are only turned on when they are needed. Sensors trigger the signals for switching on the motors. The associated control software is gradually being installed or is taken into account when new systems are ordered. Since 2009 we have been requiring manufacturers to fill out an energy check list before we purchase new production machines. This allows us to more precisely calculate the energy costs of the machine during its entire service life and to take this factor into account when placing orders.
New painting technologies. Substantial energy savings are being made possible by an innovative exhaust air treatment system that is being used for the first time in our new plant in Kecskemét, Hungary. The plant’s paint shop uses an all-new dry deposition system. In conventional painting facilities that use a wet deposition system, most of the energy is currently consumed in preparing fresh air for the paint booth. The use of dry deposition means that a large proportion of the air in the booth can be reused, enabling us to save around 150 kilowatt-hours of energy per vehicle and substantially reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, the facility generates fewer particulates, no longer requires any fresh water, and is much quieter than conventional systems.
GreenIT. There are hardly any work processes today that can do without IT support. As a result, the operation of computers and servers accounts for a considerable share of our company’s total energy use. We are therefore implementing sophisticated measures to increase efficiency and improve resource conservation in the area of IT. Our GreenIT@Daimler project consolidates existing activities, initiates new measures, and establishes links to other resource-optimization projects. We are communicating the resulting insights and approaches to the entire Group in order to generate synergies in environmental protection.
According to our calculations, GreenIT measures have cut electricity consumption by more than 55,000 megawatt-hours per year throughout the Group. That corresponds to the needs of about 12,000 four-person households. These savings have reduced our CO2 emissions by a total of 33,000 tonnes and cut our costs by over €5.5 million. The results have far exceeded our original goal of reducing consumption by 40,000 megawatt- hours, which we set when the project began.
We are adopting a holistic approach in order to achieve this goal. For example, an improved cooling system has enabled us to substantially increase the efficiency of our data processing centers. We have replaced printers, photocopiers, scanners, and fax machines at our workplaces with power-saving hardware and multifunctional units. As a result, energy consumption has been cut by 70 percent.
Since the end of 2010, the default setting of the printers in Daimler AG’s offices has been changed to duplex printing mode — which saves resources — and we use recycled printing paper for both internal and external purposes. Automatically shutting down tens of thousands of office computers and notebooks overnight saves a further 25 million kilowatt-hours of energy. GreenIT, however, also means moving forward step-by-step from initial applications in the office environment to trials in Production, where the machine controls (industrial PCs) are being shut down completely or to a minimum at weekends and overnight.
The scope of the measures in GreenIT@Daimler also goes even further. Along with server virtualization, storage consolidation, and network optimization, we are also improving the range of applications for videoconferencing and online meetings.
We have successfully promoted “green working practices” among the employees thanks to targeted employee communication.
