Global Compact International Yearbook 2012

Best Practice
Environment
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte
Less is More
Less is more – This applies especially where the environment is concerned. Less energy
consumption means more climate protection, because using energy efficiently is the fastest
and easiest way to save energy and avoid CO 2
emissions. This applies to all areas of life –
including the “little things”. With super-efficient home appliances, every household can
reduce its power and water consumption considerably. And that benefits our climate and our
budgets.
By Fridolin Weindl
Since the average household appliance
in the kitchen, bathroom, and cellar has
a useful life of 10 to 15 years, the savings
potential worldwide is huge. Modern
fridge-freezer combinations, for example,
consume around 70 percent less
electricity than comparable models did
15 years ago. Modern washing machines
and dishwashers also use only half as
much electricity as models that are 15
years old. The reasons for this progress
are the huge technical improvements
and innovative technologies in today’s
appliances. Less energy consumption
does not, however, mean that modern
refrigerators, washing machines, and
dishwashers offer less convenience, performance,
or quality. On the contrary,
today’s home appliances deliver outstanding
convenience and top quality
paired with maximum efficiency.
And to make the purchasing decision
easier for consumers, home appliances
in Europe have been required to feature
the European Union’s Energy Label for
many years. This allows consumers to see
at a glance whether a model is energyefficient
or a power hog. Since December
2010, the most efficient washing machines,
dishwashers, and refrigeration
appliances carry the A+++ energy rating.
The number of plus symbols makes a
significant difference, because a model
in energy-efficiency class A+++ consumes
60 percent less power than a model in
class A and is still 50 percent more efficient
than an appliance sporting the
A+ rating. That means that a household
that upgrades all its appliances to superefficient
models can save up to €270
in energy costs each year. Savings like
these pay for the additional cost of highefficiency
models within a few years. As
a result, buying a new home appliance
will have a major impact on the size of
your electricity bill for years to come.
Government agencies have also recognized
the importance of energy efficiency:
As of mid-2012, new models of
energy-efficiency class A will be barred
from the market. Nevertheless, over 190
million appliances that are 10 years old
or older are still in use in European
households, consuming a lot more energy
than necessary. If these appliances
were to be replaced with modern models,
up to 44 billion kWh of electricity could
be saved each year – about as much as
the entire country of Portugal consumes
annually.
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte
GmbH, Europe’s leading manufacturer
of home appliances, has firmly established
the topic of energy efficiency in
its product policy and business strategy
for many years. BSH engineers strive
every day to continuously improve the
convenience and performance of the
appliances while steadily reducing their
energy and water consumption. To make
this progress visible and measurable,
BSH was the first home appliance manufacturer
to combine its most efficient
models in a so-called Super Efficiency
Portfolio and have the numbers checked
by professional auditors. Each year, only
the most efficient models on the market
are added to this portfolio. In 2011,
more than one in four appliances sold
by BSH in Europe already belonged to
this elite group. Extrapolated to the
average lifespan of these appliances,
this represents savings of around 1.9
billion kWh, the equivalent of the annual
power consumption of over 500,000
private households in Germany. And
since super-efficient home appliances
with minimum consumption values
are no longer a niche market, they are
major contributors to climate protection.
A look at the product lifecycle confirms
this: Depending on the product category,
the usage phase of the appliances currently
in our households accounts for
80 to 95 percent of their environmental
impact. That is why it is so important
to replace outdated models with new,
energy-efficient models as quickly as possible,
because dealing with our resources
in a responsible manner is everyone’s
task. “I cannot understand why energy
efficiency doesn’t play a greater role in
public policies,” says Dr. Kurt-Ludwig
Gutberlet, CEO of BSH. He therefore
appeals to government and politicians
to address consumers more strongly
with regard to energy efficiency. “In
terms of energy and climate policies,
it would be desirable if government
were to promote the sale of particularly
energy-efficient appliances with special
incentive programs,” adds Gutberlet,
“because the best energy is the energy
that isn’t being consumed!”
Super Efficiency
Super-efficient household appliances make a significant contribution toward
reducing the consumption of energy and resources in private households. Consuming
up to 73 percent less electricity than comparable appliances from 15
years ago, modern household appliances offer an enormous potential in reducing
energy consumption and CO 2
emissions. As the first manufacturer of household
appliances, BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH combined its most economical
appliances in a Super Efficiency Portfolio and has continued to expand
this over the past two years. The super-efficient appliances alone, which were
sold by BSH in 2010 throughout Europe, led to electricity savings of 1.9 billion
kWh. “With our super-efficient household appliances, we make a measurable
contribution to climate protection,” says BSH CEO Dr. Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet.
“Energy-efficient household appliances have an enormous potential for climate
protection, without requiring consumers to forego comfort at the same time.”
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