Energy

Energy consumption and the associated CO2 emissions are not only important when our products are on the road, but also during the production process. Taking account of the entire product life cycle, production of a Passat BlueMotion accounts for around 22 percent of total primary energy consumption, assuming a service life of 150,000 km. We therefore take the energy that will be consumed in the production process into account right from the planning and procurement stage. We carry out energy consumption spot-checks on our production equipment and have established an operational energy management system.

Efficient in-house energy supplies
A cornerstone of our energy management system is in-house power generation by Volkswagen Kraftwerk GmbH, which operates a number of power stations at various Group sites. Volkswagen Kraftwerk GmbH's environmental policy focuses on efficient power generation combined with innovative environmental protection. To this end it uses combined heat and power (CHP) technology, which is currently the most efficient way, in both technical and environmental terms, of utilising energy sources.

Refrigeration increases efficiency
At the Wolfsburg plant, Volkswagen Kraftwerk GmbH combines CHP with refrigeration. In the summer, condensation and evaporation processes convert surplus heat into cooling, resulting in even more efficient energy utilisation. AUDI AG also makes use of this highly efficient form of energy supply at its Ingolstadt plant.

Tracking down energy wastage
Turning off equipment which is unnecessarily consuming energy is also part of an efficient energy management system. At present, throughout the Group, there are 240 Energy Officers whose job it is to track down unnecessary use of lighting and air-conditioning systems. Between 2005 and 2006, the Energy Officers were able to bring about energy savings of 4.9 million kWh of electricity on the Wolfsburg plant assembly lines alone.

Regular energy checks
Since 2004, the Group has been carrying out internal energy audits. Standardised criteria are applied to the procedures and practices of the different organisational units, improvement opportunities are highlighted and examples of best practice are identified and shared across the Group.