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Sustainability

Bosch EHS Awards 2018

Intelligent solutions for safe workplaces and environmental protection

Safety project at Bosch Turkey

Bosch is committed to eco-friendly behavior and a safe workplace. With the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Award, the company honors innovative projects in these areas each year. In 2018, associates submitted 105 projects from 19 countries. The following overview shows what distinguishes the winners in the three categories of CO₂/energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and work safety.

  • Photovoltaics system at Bosch Bidadi, India
    Bosch invests in own renewable energy generation e.g. at its site in Bidadi, India
  • Bosch plant in Blaichach, Germany
    Bosch Blaichach in Germany focuses on smart energy management

Increasing energy efficiency, reducing CO₂ emissions

With systematic energy management and the largest photovoltaic facility in the Indian automotive sector, the Bosch location in Nashik took first prize in the CO₂/energy efficiency category. Among other things, the comprehensive three-pillar model includes the use of energy-saving LED lighting and a smart ventilation system. Over the past three years, the site has saved around 18,700 megawatt hours of energy by the improvement of the energy efficiency.

The Bosch Blaichach location, which placed second, also wants to save energy: an online software solution records the energy consumption of individual machines at the plant and recommends how it can be improved. The aim is to make all systems as efficient as possible. The Bosch Bidadi site took third place in the CO₂/energy efficiency category. Among other things, the project focuses on renewable energies. Thanks to a photovoltaic system with a capacity of 4.7 megawatt peak, Bosch Bidadi covers 30 percent of its energy requirements itself. In addition to this, vegetables for the site’s canteen are grown underneath the 14,000 solar panels.

an online software solution records the energy consumption of individual machines at the plant and recommends how it can be improved. The aim is to make all systems as efficient as possible. The Bosch Bidadi site in India aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. The site took third place in the CO2 /energy efficiency category. Among other things, the project focuses on renewable energies. Thanks to a photovoltaic system with a capacity of 4.7 megawatt peak, Bosch Bidadi covers 30 percent of its energy requirements itself. In addition to this, vegetables for the site’s canteen are grown underneath the 14,000 solar panels.

Bosch EHS Awards Laureates
From left to right: Christoph Kübel (Board of management member, responsible for sustainability), Bernhard Schäfer (Laureate “Resource Efficiency”), Burak Erismis (Laureate “Work Safety”), Rajendra Kodmelwar (Laureate “CO₂/Energy Efficiency”) and Torsten Kallweit (Head of EHS and Sustainability)
“The new award category 'resource efficiency' reflects our comprehensive definition of sustainability.”
Torsten Kallweit, head of EHS and Sustainability

Conserving resources

The Bosch location in Campinas, Brazil, produces a variety of mobility solutions, among them vehicle retrofitting components, as well as power tools. The plant requires almost 360,000 cubic metres of process water each year. To make use of rain water, the site has created a 65,000 cubic metres lake. As a result, the location has reduced its use of drinking water by 90 percent, and produces 43 percent less wastewater through the installation of advanced wastewater treatment plants. The project took first place in the resource efficiency category.

The second-place project from the Reutlingen site in Germany focuses on conserving paper: rather than printing their documents, associates at the paperless warehouse digitize them.

The simple idea has had a major impact: an investment of just 100 euros has led to 3.3 tons less waste.

The Ahemedabad location in India took third place with a measure like the one taken in Campinas: in addition to other water conservation measures, Bosch built a pond at the site to collect rainwater. Thanks to the reservoir with 23 soakaways, the site returns some 81,000 cubic metres of rainwater to the natural cycle each year.

Through the use of rainwater and recycling, we contribute to the conservation of natural resources. The EHS Award is a great possibility to share our knowledge.

Bernhard Schaefer, project manager of the “Self-Sufficiency in Industrial Water Supply” initiative, Campinas, Brazil

Working safely

The Bosch site in Bursa, Turkey, has taken a comprehensive approach to raising awareness about safety among associates: With safety training courses and a competition called “Safety League”, associates learn responsible behavior. Visual instructions at work promote the development of a safety culture. The project reached all associates in Bursa and took first place in the work safety category. The Bosch location in Nuremberg came second with “Find & Fix”, and the name says it all: associates identify hazards in the workplace and eliminate them immediately. They then submit a picture as proof. The “Find & Fixes” photo collection is available to colleagues worldwide.

The Bosch site in Campinas, which took third place, has focused its efforts on a very special safety-related topic. At the Brazilian site, workers come close to vehicles such as forklifts more than 3,700 times each day. To prevent dangerous collisions, new camera software records the movements of people and vehicles and sounds alarms in high-risk situations.

“Safety in the workplace is always first at Bosch, and sensitizing associates to it is a top priority. Basis of our success in work safety is the commitment of the plant management. We are proud of the EHS Award and would like to thank all colleagues who supported and took part in these activities.”
Burak Erişmiş, project manager of the “Maximizing Behavioral Change & Associate Awareness Practices” initiative, Bursa, Turkey

105

projects

19

countries

Conclusion

With the EHS Awards, Bosch has honored innovative projects that contribute to making work more efficient, sustainable, and safer. In 2018, the number of submissions more than doubled compared to the previous year. The growing number of participants demonstrates associates’ commitment as well as their impressive spirit of innovation.

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