BSH receives award as climate protection company

Federal Environment Ministry (Bundesumweltministerium) awards certificate for outstanding energy efficiency measures

Munich, March 1, 2012 (bsh) – BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH is as of today officially one of Germany's climate protection companies. This award has been bestowed by the Federal Government and the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce for outstanding climate protection performance. The Parliamentary Secretary of State in the Federal Environment Ministry, Katherina Reiche, today awarded the certificate to Dr. Peter Bauer, who is responsible for concern-wide resource management at BSH.
According to the Jury, Europe's leading manufacturer of household appliances has implemented energy efficiency measures of outstanding innovative power and, through its products, makes a special contribution to the protection of the climate.

"We are very happy to have received this award and also to be accepted into the German Business Association Climate Protection and Energy Efficiency Group, because this is an important recognition of our daily efforts and successes in the field of energy efficiency and climate protection" said Bauer at the award ceremony. "Environmental protection and resource efficiency are for us not only a question of credibility, but are also important competitive factors."

As an association of companies that take a leading role in climate protection and energy efficiency, the members voluntarily commit themselves to measurable and ambitious goals in climate protection and energy efficiency and acknowledge their responsibilities concerning sustainable business models. Through their efforts, the climate protection companies show that economic efficiency potentials can be achieved through voluntary measures.

For Europe's leading household appliances manufacturer, environmental and climate protection is not a fashion trend but rather the core of business and a driver for innovations that has been for many years firmly anchored in company strategy. BSH engineers work every day to continually improve the convenience and performance of household appliances while steadily reducing their consumption of water and energy. Modern household appliances use up to 73 percent less electricity than comparable devices of 15 years ago, and thus offer an enormous potential reduction in energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. BSH was the first manufacturer of household appliances to collect its most economical devices together in one "super efficiency" portfolio and have the numbers confirmed by certified business auditors. Every year, only the most economical appliances available on the market are accepted into this portfolio. In 2010 alone, the super-efficient appliances sold by the BSH in Europe led to an energy saving of 1.9 billion kilowatt hours.

In all areas of the value creation chain, BSH takes care to work in the most environmentally friendly and resource-saving manner. For 20 years, BSH has had concernwide environmental management that sets clear goals for ongoing reductions in, for example, water, energy and waste. The key environmental figures are recorded systematically and published in an annual sustainability report. In addition, the concern has set itself an ambitious goal. By 2015, the consumption of resources that are not product-related are to be reduced by 25 percent in production, logistics and administration. This includes all forms of energy, water and other fluids such as oils, greases and chemicals, as well as solid materials such as paper, plastics and metals. In order to achieve these goals, BSH has introduced a new structured and systematic form of energy management.

For its successes in climate and environmental protection, BSH was already awarded the first German sustainability prize as "Germany's most sustainable company" in 2008.