"Sustainability is the sum of many individual elements," says Albrecht Reimold, Production and Logistics Board Member at Porsche AG. "At the Zuffenhausen site, we produce the Taycan from the outset CO₂-neutral. Our goal, however, is to avoid any environmental footprint in the sense of a Zero Impact Factory." Since 2014, Porsche has already reduced vehicle- specific CO₂ emissions from production by more than 75 percent. The sports car manufacturer reduced the energy consumption per manufactured vehicle by more than 30 percent in its plants, and the water consumption by almost 20 percent. The use of solvents decreased by a third over the same period. "We are committed to the climate goals agreed on in Paris in December 2015 and clearly have a responsibility to reduce polluting emissions. Our commitment to sustainability goes well beyond decarbonization", says Albrecht Reimold. All in all, twelve fields of action must be considered for the "Zero Impact Factory".
Action fields of the "Zero-Impact-Factory"
Environmental management / Organization
This field of action combines external and internal certification procedures and corporate guidelines that provide a framework for organizational measures and environmental management. This is an important step in identifying and preventing negative effects in all spatial forms.
Technology & Processes
This field of action includes the technical facilities of production as well as the production supporting devices. An important aspect is the flexibility of the production system, which should allow adaptation to changing requirements and improved production technologies. This includes the digital infrastructure.
Perception of the factory
The perception of a factory takes place in several dimensions and includes both the visual appearance as well as the social environment and ecological parameters.
Efficient water use
The factory is part of the local water cycle and influences the available water resources through water abstraction, cleaning and pollution.
Planning
The requirements placed on the factory during the planning phase and its operation influence the effects over the entire life cycle. Important parameters can be already determined here, which enable a production without negative effects on the environment.
Energy efficiency and climate protection
Efficient use of energy in production enables cost savings and avoidance of environmental impacts while maintaining or increasing production output. Reduced energy demand can reduce the negative effects associated with energy provisioning.
Resource / material efficiency
Resource efficiency requires the careful and efficient use of resources such as materials, water or energy. Increasing resource efficiency can reduce negative environmental impacts and save resources. Important parts of this field of action are waste prevention and recycling.
Pollutants
Pollutants exert negative effects on ecosystems and their elements, such as plants and living things. The release of such harmful substances should be avoided in order to prevent negative effects.
Soil
Soil is a valuable resource for humans and the environment, while being a naturally limited commodity. The soil use of a factory should be in line with the area requirements of the environment and should not cause any negative effects due to competitive situations around areas.
Logistics
The need of a factory is ensured by the logistics. With the initiative "Green Logistics" as well as measures such as parking management and the fine dust ticket, Porsche bundles the traffic volume to counteract the burden on the infrastructure.
Biodiversity
Biological diversity describes the diversity of species, ecosystems, genetic diversity, the function of ecosystems and the natural resources within individual animal and plant species. The aim is the protection of wild animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms as well as their habitats and their functions.
Operational disruptions
Operating faults and faults in a factory can lead to uncontrolled and undesired effects on the immediate environment. Therefore, it is important to prevent them.
