Mobility and Sustainability.

As a separate marque within the Volkswagen Group, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) manufactures large saloons plus leisure, commercial and special vehicles in several hundred model versions. About 150,000 vehicles from the T5 and LT ranges come off the production line every year. Apart from the components needed for their own production, the company also manufactures cast aluminium components, coolers for oil, diesel fuel and water plus pressed components for other factories within the group worldwide. In addition to production, the factory, which employs about 13,000 people, has its own service operations such as tool-making, the customer services workshop and factory maintenance. The Protection of the Environment Department (NPU) controls and monitors protection of the environment within the factory. NPU works to make continuous improvements to protection of the environment in the works under the management of the person in charge of protection of the environment, Dirk Stielau, in the technical areas: protection from emissions, protection of water resources and the soil, environmental information system and environmental and waste management.

Environmental Management System
In the year 2000, an environmental management system for long-term and systematic organisation of protection of the environment was introduced which is certified under the EU Eco-Audit regulation and which is checked by independent experts at the annual monitoring audit. Certification in accordance with EMAS means that VWN undertakes voluntarily to make constant improvements to protection of the environment within the works. In addition to ensuring compliance with the stipulations of the environmental legislation, building up the environmental management system is targeted towards collecting data on production cycles systematically, assessing them regularly and objectively and improving them. A range of information and training material, an information platform on the Intranet, competitions and also “information table cards” in the factory restaurant are being used to prepare all the employees for the audits to be undertaken regularly.

Dialogue with the Neighbourhood
Since the works is adjacent to residential areas in the Stöcken part of the city, the fabrication processes cannot be prevented entirely from having effects on the neighbourhood, but these can be reduced. A dialogue with the neighbourhood has taken place in the works twice a year for this purpose since 1998, which is moderated by an independent team. The aim is to provide information on company plans and any changes in addition to discussing and answering questions from the residents and representatives of the authorities, associations and district initiatives. In sofar as possible, suggestions by the neighbours flow into changes at the factory. By informing the residents in good time about current developments, the aim is to achieve transparency and credibility and a basis for reciprocal understanding of interests and motives. As preparation for the dialogue, meetings take place regularly between contact groups of selected representatives of the individual interest groups such as e.g. authorities, associations, churches and schools and representatives of VWN.

Communications
To enable protection of the environment to be developed further at the factory, communications networks which function well are necessary as are informed and motivated employees. To do this, it is essential for the entire workforce to participate in the process involved in improving protection of the environment within the scope of their capabilities. The technical experts on protection of the environment (SfU) take on an important function here. In addition to supporting environmentally orientated system checks and the preparations for regular eco-audits, one important function of the SfU is to inform the employees about topics related to protection of the environment. As a consequence, a number of different activities have been undertaken to train the SfU. These include a regular exchange of experiences which promotes dialogue and the formation of a network to exchange technical knowledge, experience or implementation concepts for measures relating to the environment. A number of different events, the electronic “Environment News” on current environmental topics and activities in the works plus articles in the press and brochures provide information on current developments in protection of the environment.

Environmental Centre
Since 1998, about 200 workshops, forums, information events and training sessions have taken place every year in the works’ own environmental centre on production-related protection of the environment at the factory plus any related topics. The environmental centre also houses a water laboratory for the factory, a heat energy distribution station plus the central building services, which makes it simpler to gain a view of practical protection of the environment.

Water and Energy
A water campaign has been held every year since 2002 with the aim reducing water consumption and avoiding contamination of water by reinforcing consciousness and participation by all the employees. Consumption fell by 15 percent after the first campaign “Make a Mark – Watermark”. This was achieved by so-called “water weeks” in particularly water-intensive areas such as the paint plant. During the latter a deliberate attempt was made to find potential for improvement (e.g. with regard to cooling water systems). One important aspect of the campaign was to make the employees more aware of these matters via an accompanying feature on the Intranet, by constructing a model of the water circulation system, via games for the employee’s children to play on the subject of water to occupy them whilst travelling and a screensaver containing water-saving tips.

In 2003, the campaign was repeated successfully with the slogan “Watermark – keep at it” and in 2004 with the title “Watermark – it’s running”. In addition to the latter, there have been campaigns to encourage the workforce to save energy. The first campaign was started at the end of 1999 with the slogan “the winter-proof factory”. In parallel with this there was an exhibition on the subject of energy in the Environmental Centre. In the campaign “3-2-1-light off” , the workforce were informed about the amount of electricity the bulbs use and the possibilities for influencing the lighting used at their own workplaces.

Protection of the Environment Integrated with Production
The Hanover Works has distinguished itself with projects associated with protection of the environment integrated with production (PIUS). The aim of PIUS is to solve environmental problems by not relying on “End-of-the-Pipe” technology such as e.g. filters to reduce the environmental effects of a production process as an afterthought but rather to avoid or prevent the creation of harmful environmental effects by optimising the production process. In November 2002 the foundry was awarded the environmental prize of the World Foundrymen Organisation (WFO), the worldwide umbrella organisation of the foundry industry. The plant’s activities include a reduction of emissions via ultramodern collection technologies for waste air and the development of low-odour bonding systems, which prevent the creation of odours in the production process. A new process was developed for this based on the inorganic bonding agent magnesium sulphate, which only causes low emissions in core manufacture and the casting process. In addition, neither smoke nor measurable odours are produced. The bonding agent systems will probably be used in mass-production at the beginning of 2006. Other PIUS-projects have been implemented in heat exchanger fabrication. The background to this research project was a group of problems with waste water, the solution to which was to change over from cooling with water to using air and which led to a reduction in the resources required and/or water consumption and costs.

Environmental Protection Included in Training
Together with Volkswagen Coaching GmbH, Hanover Branch, VW Commercial Vehicles has integrated the subject of environmental protection permanently into its training programmes. Since the beginning of 2000, 1,800 young people have received comprehensive basic environmental training as part of their professional training. Their subsequent transfer to an employment relationship has led to ten percent of white-collar and skilled employees at VW Commercial Vehicles already having a thorough knowledge of environmental protection. Two types of measures are undertaken by the “Environmental Protection” work group of Volkswagen Coaching GmbH in collaboration with VW Commercial Vehicles. Firstly there are measures which are permanently included in the training plan. These include tuition in health and safety with reference to environmental protection which takes place regularly or visits to environmentally relevant parts of the production facilities. Secondly, the environmental protection work group co-ordinates project work. This extends from the compilation of a waste guide to practical projects such as the construction of a solar heating system in which trainees with extremely wide-ranging job descriptions are involved. In view of its exemplary activities, the United Nations (UN) designated the work group the “Decade Project” in 2005 for its work on sustainable education.

Meetings During Maternity/Paternity Leave and Family Service
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles ensures that mothers or fathers who are currently on maternity/paternity leave continue to be linked to the works. They are invited to information and qualification events at the works on a regular basis. The parents can talk to each other here, obtain information on current developments within the company and can get advice on returning to work. In addition, the Hanover Plant co-operates with the Family Service. The private trust advises the employees professionally on childcare matters and assists them in actually looking for childcare. Since 2005, this service has also included advice on dependants in need of care.