Siemens 2010 Annual Report Download - page 119

113 Report on post-balance sheet date events
114 Report on expected developments and associated
material opportunities and risks
128 Information required pursuant to § () and
§ () HGB and explanatory report
133 Information required pursuant to § () and
§ () no.  HGB and explanatory report
135 Compensation and declaration pursuant to §a HGB
135 Additional information for supplemental
financial measures
138 Siemens AG (Discussion on basis of HGB)
147 Consolidated Financial Statements
261 Additional information

beginning of the 
st
century. This correlates with a rise in
carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, which is
higher today than at any time in the last , years. The
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is vital to avoiding in-
creasingly drastic effects on our ecosystem. There is a strong
need for innovative technologies to increase efficiency and
reduce the emissions related to energy generation and con-
sumption. Siemens is a leader in climate protection technolo-
gies, including but not limited to increasing the efficiency of
power generation from fossil fuels; generating energy from
renewable sources such as wind and solar; increasing the ef-
ficiency and performance of electrical grids; increasing the
energy efficiency of transportation solutions and industrial
processes; reducing the energy needs of buildings; and reduc-
ing emissions from all of the above.
Globalization refers to the increasing integration of the
world’s economies, politics, culture and other areas of life.
Between  and , the volume of global trade expanded
at an average annual rate of .%. The number of multina-
tional enterprises rose globally from around , in  / 
to more than , in . Further, the four largest thresh-
old countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) – are
emerging as important players in the global economy. Global-
ization leads to increased competitive pressure and demand for
economical, timely-to-market, high-quality products and solu-
tions. With our offerings, we aim to increase our customers’
productivity by facilitating process and energy efficiency im-
provements and the flow of goods. In addition, we believe that
our presence in approximately  countries puts us in an ex-
cellent position to leverage above-average growth in emerging
markets.
Strategy of the Siemens Group
Our vision is to be a pioneer in
> energy efficiency,
> industrial productivity,
> affordable and personalized healthcare, and
> intelligent infrastructure solutions.
This vision is reflected in our company strategy, which guides
us in turning our vision into reality. Above all, we are aiming to
be a market and technology leader in our businesses, based on
our corporate values – to be responsible, excellent and in-
novative. We believe that this approach will position us to
achieve sustainable, profitable growth and to outpace our
competitors. As an integrated technology company, we intend
to profit from the megatrends described above.
STRATEGY
Global megatrends
Global megatrends are long-term processes that will drive
global demand in coming decades. We at Siemens view demo-
graphic change, urbanization, climate change and globaliza-
tion as megatrends that will have an impact on all humanity
and leave their mark on global developments. We therefore
have aligned our strategy and business activities with these
trends. In our three Sectors, Industry, Energy and Healthcare,
we have developed pioneering products and solutions which
we believe are capable of dealing with climate change, contrib-
uting to improved healthcare for a growing and aging popula-
tion, and shaping infrastructures and mobility in urban areas
in an energy-efficient and thus environmentally friendly way.
Demographic change includes two major trends: the world’s
population continues to grow rapidly and to get older. It is es-
timated that by the year  the world’s population will reach
nine billion, compared to approximately seven billion today. By
then, life expectancy is expected to be at a global average of 
years, compared to  years today and  years in . This
will challenge the ability of future healthcare systems to make
affordable healthcare available to everyone. Siemens provides
innovative medical solutions that can help to reduce health-
care costs, while at the same time improving the quality of
healthcare, through preventive care and early diagnosis of
disease – two essential requirements for living longer, health-
ier lives.
Urbanization refers to the growing number of large, densely-
populated cities around the world. This includes both estab-
lished metropolitan centers in industrialized nations and fast-
rising urban centers in emerging economies. In , for the
first time in human history more than half the world’s popula-
tion lived in urban areas. This figure is expected to rise to %
by , coinciding with rapid overall population growth, as
mentioned above. Accordingly, there is strong demand for
sustainable and energy-efficient infrastructures for buildings,
transportation systems, and energy and water supply. We be-
lieve that Siemens’ wide-ranging portfolio is well-suited to
improving the quality of life in cities. We believe that our prod-
ucts and solutions for manufacturing, urban transit, building
construction, power distribution and hospitals, among other
things, can help to advance mobility, security and an adequate
supply of life’s basic requirements while at the same time re-
ducing the burden on the environment.
Climate change is a fact. The average global surface tempera-
ture increased by . degrees Celsius between  and the