Å kodaAuto ANNUAL REPORT 2006 - Skoda Auto

The Environment
Škoda Auto has a long-term programme of
minimising the impact of its operations on
the environment. In order to protect the
environment in the vehicle development
and production processes, measures are
taken mainly in the following areas:
emissions and noise minimising,
prevention of soil and water pollution, use
of environmentally friendly materials,
recycling and waste utilisation, use of
production techniques that are easy on the
environment and efficient in their use of
natural resources, and products that are
designed to conserve non-renewable
natural resources. Most engines used in
Škoda brand vehicles comply with the strict
emission limits of EU4.
Although vehicle production volume
approximately tripled from 1991 to 2006,
this was accomplished with no absolute
increase in environmental burden. On the
contrary, some indicators, such as air
emissions and water consumption,
have fallen.
In protecting the environment the
Company proceeds in accordance with
applicable legislation and complies with
the conditions set forth in decisions made
by the appropriate authorities, such as
integrated permits issued by regional
government offices. This is demonstrated
by the renewal of our ISO 14001:2004
(Environmental Management System)
certification and by the fact, in the past five
years, that no sanctions have been
imposed on the Company nor has it been
subjected to any administrative
proceedings for correction of environmentrelated
shortcomings or non-compliance.
The Company obtained an integrated
permit for the operation of iron and
aluminium foundries in Mladá Boleslav.
This move assured that all Company
facilities subject to the Act on Integrated
Prevention have obtained the necessary
permits in advance.
Air Protection
In 2006, the Company operated 314 sources
of air pollution, all of which were in
compliance with statutory emission limits.
The largest sources of emissions are the
paint shops and heat plants, which
together generate 94% of the Company’s
total air emissions.
In the past few years, the Company has
succeeded in substantially reducing air
emissions not only per vehicle produced
(see graph), but in absolute terms as well.
From 1997 to 2006, thanks to the
utilisation of modern technologies in
production, emissions have been cut by
over 58%. An expansion of the capacity of
our modern paint shops in Mladá Boleslav
and Kvasiny, which use mostly water-based
paints, made it possible to shut down all
paint shops based on synthetic paint
systems. Upgrades of our heat plant and
foundry operations in Mladá Boleslav
made a considerable contribution toward
reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, particulate pollution,
and carbon monoxide.
Air emissions per vehicle produced, over time (kg)
25
20
15
10
5
0
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
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