ABB continually strives to minimize the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes, factories and offices, and has a rolling two-year global program to cut energy use by 5 percent per manufactured unit. The Group-wide objectives are: to reduce our use of energy and materials, streamline the means of transporting goods, reduce the impact of business travel, phase out hazardous materials, design eco-efficient and recyclable products, and enhance suppliers’ performance. Much can be achieved through sharing best practice. Water-borne paint systems developed at one factory, for example, have been introduced at similar sites worldwide to reduce emissions of organic solvents.
Improving performance also includes the design phase of new products and processes. Design engineers receive training and tools to carry out Life Cycle Assessments to evaluate a product’s environmental impact throughout its life cycle. Four hundred sustainability officers, many of them based at our factories, implement Group and national objectives at ABB’s 350 sites worldwide. They ensure that all manufacturing facilities comply with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 international standards on the management of environmental and health and safety risks. Close collaboration with external sustainability organizations and universities also helps ABB to establish effective programs to support its improvement initiatives.