APC 2007 Annual Report Download - page 97

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Business review
Spain: Ensys Himel, a member of Schneider Electric, has
rationalized its shipping. Products are now put together in
a new assembly and localization center to reduce ship-
ping volumes. Because the company wants to avoid send-
ing out empty enclosures, it installs components before
shipping.
Measures to reduce energy
consumption
Energy consumption at production sites
As the marketplace’s energy efficiency partner, Schneider
Electric applies its solutions in its own operations through
the "Energy Action" program to reduce consumption.
The objective is to reduce energy consumption per pro-
duction site employee by 10% between 2005 and 2008.
The program focuses on five key areas: heating, air condi-
tioning, equipment (notably for data processing), lighting
and specific manufacturing processes.
2007 results
As of December 2007, more than 71 sites had initiated ac-
tion plans (26 in the United States, 4 in Mexico, 5 in the
United Kingdom, 10 in France, 11 in China, 6 in Australia
and 1 each in Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Greece, Sweden,
Italy, Denmark, India and Thailand).
Examples in 2007
United States: The Group’s Smyrna, Tennessee plant,
built in 1980, makes medium voltage products. It intro-
duced initial measures to optimize performance and re-
duce energy costs more than 10 years ago. An energy
action plan was drawn up in 2002 and site maintenance
was centralized in 2005. Specific products and compo-
nents were installed in office and industrial systems to en-
hance:
The energy performance of lighting and monitoring
equipment.
Energy management and control.
Temperature control (standard in summer and winter, ad-
justed when staff is not present).
Motion detectors in offices.
Compressed air systems, to match production to needs.
Use of key equipment, such as air compressors, which
are shut down when the plant is not in operation.
Thanks to these measures, the site has reduced its elec-
tricity consumption by 27%, water use by 9% and total in-
frastructure costs by 16%.
India: The Hyderabad plant inaugurated on October 3,
2007 manufactures circuit breakers, contactors, pushbut-
tons and indicator lights. A number of simple energy sav-
ing principles were applied when the global plant was built
concerning the choice of materials and techniques, as well
as the utilities installed to optimize energy efficiency. The
site is certified ISO 14001.
To make the plant more energy efficient:
The roof and walls were covered with a 75-mm layer of
insulation to reduce the amount of energy used by the
cooling system.
An air-cooling system was used instead of air condition-
ing in a large part of the building, resulting in energy sav-
ings of 60% compared to similar-size buildings cooled
solely with air conditioning.
The building was designed to make the most of natural
daylight so as to reduce the use of electric lighting.
Special air compressors were installed that shut off au-
tomatically when not in use.
Promoting energy efficiency
The Group has launched numerous initiatives to explain
the short and long-term benefits of energy efficiency.
These include awareness campaigns, the election of "en-
ergy champions" in each country, the formation of local
working groups to deploy Energy Action measures at their
sites, and recognition for the most energy efficient em-
ployee and site. These measures will continue in 2008. In
addition, a dedicated intranet site will keep the corporate
community informed of Energy Action’s progress and re-
sults.
Promoting renewable energy sources
In 2007, Schneider Electric significantly stepped-up its
commitment to renewable energies, notably with its range
of photovoltaic UPS systems and investment in Solaire Di-
rect, a company involved in solar power generation and
the installation of PV infrastructure of all sizes.
The Group also created the Renewable Energies Business
Unit in 2007, which focuses in particular on solar energy.
The BU responds to customers who want to combine en-
ergy efficiency and renewable energies. Its goal is to de-
vise solutions and services that meet the special needs of
the commercial/services and residential markets, as well
as for solar power farms.
Examples
France and Spain: The Group is also developing the use
of renewable energies in its own infrastructure. For exam-
ple, the corporate restaurant at the Electropole R&D Cen-
ter in Eybens, France is powered by solar energy. The
European Operating Division’s headquarters in Barcelona,
Spain is equipped with a photovoltaic system and a cen-
tralized HVAC solution that reduces energy costs by 15%.
And the Group’s future headquarters under construction
in Rueil-Malmaison will comply with France’s HQE green
building standards, notably as concerns energy con-
sumption (target: less than 50 kWh per square meter per
year).
Respecting ecosystems
As part of an innovative initiative, Schneider Electric
launched a reforestation program at its Tlaxcala, Mexico
production site in July 2007.
Releases, nuisance and waste
Land use
Virtually all Schneider Electric sites are located in urban or
industrial areas and do not affect any notable biotopes.
None of the Group’s businesses involve extraction or land-
farming.