KION endeavours to achieve a balance between environmental, economic and social considerations in its business activities. This focus on sustainability is reflected in the development of eco-friendly and safe products that help customers to conserve energy, reduce emissions and comply with strict workplace safety standards (see Research and development section).
Furthermore KION designs the production processes in its plants around the globe to have as minimal an impact on the environment as possible. The corporate policy on health, safety and the environment, which was issued in November 2011, defines a number of requirements for the KION companies, including:
- avoiding the release of pollutants, discharge and emissions into the environment as far as possible;
- reducing the volume of waste by making better use of raw materials and using recyclable materials;
- using materials, products and processes that comply with best environmental practice; and
- using resources, energy and raw materials efficiently.
All plants capture data about their energy consumption, volumes of waste and recycling, water consumption, CO2 emissions and volatile organic compounds (VOC). This data is included in an annual internal environmental report. Data for 2012 was not available at the time this group management report was compiled.
According to the 2011 environmental report, energy consumption had declined slightly compared with 2010 despite the increased volume of production. As in 2010 around 50 per cent of the energy consumed was electricity and just under 30 per cent was gas. Approximately 92.5 per cent of waste was recycled, resulting in a further year-on-year decrease in the volume of waste. Water consumption rose slightly, VOC emissions declined significantly and CO2 emissions were slightly higher compared with 2010.
The Aschaffenburg site took significant steps in the year under review to ensure environmentally-friendly production by participating in a climate change project in the Lower Main region of Bavaria and by implementing a heat recovery system in its foundry.
LMH and STILL also took part in the Blue Competence sustainability initiative launched by the VDMA, in which participating companies from the plant and mechanical engineering sectors present examples of solutions that protect the environment and conserve resources.
