SIEMENS

If goods were alive, they would lead a desperate existence. Monitored constantly from the moment of birth, they have to perform perfectly throughout their entire lives. And when they grow old, they are carted away to be cannibalized. But something that sounds like a horror story for humans is actually a desirable goal for products, since only thorough analyses can determine which products need as little energy as possible while resulting in as few harmful by-products as possible. And in the light of climate change, growing environmental awareness, and the focus on energy efficiency, this has now become an important requirement in order to succeed with customers.

Companies are therefore examining the journey their products take from the drawing board to the recycling yard more and more closely. A product’s environmental footprint can be determined using a so-called environmental life cycle assessment. These balance sheets summarize all the environmental impacts that are associated with the creation of a product or service. "This is a holistic approach in which the environmental compatibility of every step of production — from the extraction and processing of raw materials to the disposal of a product — is evaluated," explains Professor Stig Irving Olsen, a sustainability specialist at the Technical University of Denmark (see article "Developing a Holistic Approach to Environmental Impact").

At Siemens Corporate Technology (CT), specialists involved in the detection of environmental changes teamed up with Professor Olsen and other partners in 2008 to examine two complex technologies. In the Corex/Finex process for steel manufacturing, pig iron is generated in a single process step from ore fines. As coking and sintering are no longer needed, resource consumption and investment fall — as do production costs. The exact scale of the environmental benefits, however, was unclear until recently. The scientists therefore compared Corex/ Finex with conventional blast furnaces and documented the impact on air, water, and soil (see article "Products From Dust to Dust").

In this analysis, each step was carefully investigated and evaluated — from extraction and preparation of raw materials to processes such as dedusting, gas cleaning, and desulphurization. "We discovered that the environmental life cycle assessment of Corex/Finex is significantly better than the blast furnace route," says CT materials expert Frank Walachowicz. This was especially true of emissions. The amount of sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, and dust produced is considerably lower with Corex/Finex. Waste water is also significantly less contaminated. "With environmental life cycle assessment, we’ve been able to demonstrate for the first time just how environmentally compatible the process is compared to conventional methods," says Walachowicz.

Saving Energy. Environmental compatibility is also the credo of Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH (BSH), Europe’s biggest white goods manufacturer. For instance, a strict internal guideline at BSH stipulates that every effort must be made to minimize the impact on the environment of the company’s washing machines in all phases of their life cycles. This approach is well-grounded in economics since customers want white goods that consume as little water and power as possible. By 2030, for instance, the market volume for energy-efficient products such as home appliances is set to almost double in the U.S., according to the American Solar Energy Society (see article "The Energy-Efficiency Pay Off"). BSH’s environmental experts have conducted studies of their home appliances to find out how developers can improve their products’ life cycle assessments. These studies show that product use accounts for more than 90 % of environmental impact, while transport and recycling barely register.

In the case of dryers, this figure is 97 %, with water vaporization being especially energy-intensive. This was reason enough for BSH to develop a dryer that puts all other appliances in the shade (see article "Miracle in the Laundry Room"). Developers analyzed dryers of all types, counted screws, weighed components, and tested current consumption and noise. In September 2008 Siemens launched its blueTherm dryer — the result of two years of development and testing. The dryer uses a new type of heat pump and consumes only half as much electricity as an average condenser dryer of efficiency class B. The blueTherm even undercuts the threshold of class A by 40 %. "That makes us the energy-saving world champion," says BSH project manager Kai Nitschmann. Although the dryer is more expensive than its conventional counterparts, it ultimately saves money — given average use and German electricity prices, it consumes just €18 of electricity a year, while the operation of a vented dryer costs around €50.

Cutting Emissions. Siemens subsidiary Osram is also taking a closer look at the life cycle of its products, in this case light bulbs. The company wants to market only bulbs that are more environmentally compatible than their predecessors. The best way of achieving that is to improve their energy efficiency (see article "Let there be Savings!"). "If we can increase our light bulbs’ luminous efficiency by just one to 2 %, we can achieve more than if Osram were to completely cease emitting carbon dioxide generated as a result of the production process," says Christian Merz, a sustainability expert at Osram.

The European Union’s ban on conventional light bulbs is therefore logical. The switch to efficient lighting can help save 900 bn. kWh a year worldwide — or about one third of all the electricity used for lighting, explains Merz. With today’s energy mix, this adds up to a reduction of 450 mill. t per year in CO₂ emissions — almost half of Germany’s total emissions. "You’d have to plant a forest about the size of Sweden to achieve the same effect," says Merz. Osram’s scientists are working on an environmental life cycle assessment for LEDs, which have major green potential. In terms of efficiency, the pinhead-sized lights can already compete with economical fluorescent bulbs — and new materials are set to significantly increase their luminous efficiency.

Energy dieting is also becoming popular among the products from Siemens’ Mobility division, as railways leave behind a sizeable environmental footprint. Trains, streetcars, and subway vehicles therefore need to be as economical as possible and emit as few harmful emissions as possible during use, manufacture, and recycling. The Mobility division is also using life cycle assessments to determine the most environmentally-friendly designs (see article "Timely Trains"). "Customers want a good locomotive that also meets the highest environmental standards," says Martin Leitel, an expert in sustainable approaches at Mobility. "Life cycle analyses are frequently a precondition for participation in tendering processes."