Porsche 2009 Annual Report Download - page 82

Porsche’s environmental efforts confirmed
Porsche AG’s own environmental targets and
efforts are put into practice throughout the group and
are entrenched in its corporate policy. Accordingly, it
is the company’s declared intention to minimize the
detrimental consequences of all of its activities on the
environment, while supporting international efforts to
solve global environmental problems.
As early as 1996, the Zuffenhausen produc-
tion plant was validated to the Eco-Management and
Audit Scheme (EMAS) which is applied Europe-wide. In
1995, as part of the EMAS validation and certification
process, Porsche had already set up and installed an
environmental management system which is used to
continuously optimize the environmental performance
of the company’s sites. Since 1999, the Zuffenhausen
plant has also been certified to the international DIN
EN ISO 14001 standard, a central element of the up-
dated EMAS III regulation. Environmental documenta-
tion, internal controls in the form of environmental
audits, management of continuous improvement pro-
jects via environmental goals, and employee training
are just some of the instruments used to promote this
long-term corporate strategy. Thanks to the manage-
ment system, Porsche is able to demonstrate that it
is putting the responsibility it has assumed for envi-
ronmental protection into practice.
Since 2002, 2005 and 2008, the Leipzig,
Weissach and Sachsenheim facilities have also been
certified to DIN EN ISO 14001. The environmental
management system is continuously optimized by
means of regular system and process audits. This
involves input from a consultant qualified as an envi-
ronmental auditor. In fiscal 2009/10, audits at all
sites were again positive, ensuring the continued high
quality of environmental management in the future. In
addition, the environmental management system at
the Zuffenhausen plant was again evaluated according
to EMAS III and compliance confirmed. The evaluation
was conducted by an environmental auditor from TÜV.
Environmental management in the
Volkswagen group
Environmentally oriented management is one
of the keystones of the Volkswagen group’s corporate
culture. Any business seeking to engage in sustain-
able development, respect for the environment and
safeguard jobs must necessarily take account of so-
cial, economic and ecological aspects. This is re-
flected in Volkswagen’s Environmental Policy, which is
primarily built on two pillars. First, the group strives
to continuously improve the environmental compatibil-
ity of its products over their entire life cycle. Second
it aims to reduce the use of natural resources, with
due regard for economic aspects. As a multinational
corporation, Volkswagen has pledged to pursue these
goals and has laid down internal specifications for its
products and their production in the group’s Environ-
mental Principles.
Volkswagen is making environmental protec-
tion an increasingly important part of its processes in
an effort to progressively scale back the use of
downstream cleaning plants in the future, although it
cannot abandon them entirely. Since 1995, Volks-
wagen’s German sites have participated voluntarily in
the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS),
while group sites worldwide have participated in envi-
ronmental certification processes in accordance with
the international standard ISO 14001. All environ-
mental management systems are regularly reviewed
and optimized in regular internal and external envi-
ronmental audits. All locations are obliged to inde-
pendently decide on environmental goals and pro-
grams in keeping with minimum group standards and
continuously improve their environmental performance.
In addition, Volkswagen organizes regional confer-
ences at its locations outside Europe and ensures a
uniformly high level of environmental protection in its
operations with the environmental action plans devel-
oped in workshops.
82 Group management report