Sustainable Business

Case study Volkswagen 2/4 Guenther Scherelis, communications general manager for VW's operations at Chattanooga, Tennessee, says: "Our company rests on three pillars – team spirit, passion for detail and Think Blue. Factory, which is about being environmentally sound and very aware of the impacts of our operations." VW's factory at Chattanooga, which only opened in April 2011, has the company's environmental principles built into every part of the building – insulation is of a higher standard than required by regulation for example – and every step of the manufacturing process. The latest initiative was the unveiling of a 9.5 megawatt photovoltaic generation farm, the largest operated by a vehicle manufacturer in the US but only the second largest (after its facility in the Navarra region of Spain) within VW Group itself. Alongside this commitment to reducing emissions through renewable energy, a number of other technologies are being utilised to improve environmental performance, including rainwater harvesting and an innovative dry scrubber system installed in the factory's paintshop. These and other initiatives have earned the facility recognition from the US Green Volkswagen Chattanooga • Investmentinthemanufacturingfacilityof around$1bn(£631m) • Some5,000jobscreatedintheregionso far,expectedtoriseto9,500 • Morethan3,000peopledirectlyemployed attheplant • Independentstudiessuggesttheplantwill bring$12bntothelocaleconomy • CertifiedwithboththeISO14001environmental management system and ISO 50001 energymanagementsystem • Thesolarfacilitycovers33acres • Itismadeupof33,600crystalsolarmodules and produces about 13,100 megawatt-hours peryear,withapeakoutputof9.5megawatts Building Council, which has awarded VW Chattanooga its top – platinum – ranking under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification scheme, making it the only vehicle manufacturing plant in the world to have achieved the highest level. Scherelis says optimum environmental performance was planned for the site from the outset, as part of Think Blue. Factory philosophy, which he describes as "a long term world- and brand-wide programme to make production more energy and environmentally efficient". A consulting firm engaged during the construction phase of the site's development made VW aware of the LEED programme, and a decision was made to get involved. Scherelis says: "When we learnt about the certification scheme we realised what we were already doing to meet our normal guidelines was sufficient to earn us a silver or gold rating. "By modifying our plans and incorporating further environmental elements to the site design we were able to gain platinum certification. For example, we have efficient insulation, LED lighting so the plant doesn't cause light pollution at night, preferential parking for low emission vehicles, and have installed efficient motors on the engines we use in our production processes." Then there is the new solar facility, which produces sufficient green energy to provide 12.5% of the site's needs during operations and 100% of electricity required at weekends when no cars are being built. And installing the facility didn't cost

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