Siemens Fürth receives Sustainability Lighthouse Award

The World Economic Forum (WEF) honours organizations, projects and production ecosystems that have made a decisive contribution to achieving net zero targets, decarbonization and the circular economy through technology-based energy, emissions, water and waste reductions. According to the WEF, the Sustainability Lighthouse network shows that productivity and sustainability are no longer a contradiction in terms.

"The Sustainability Lighthouse Award recognizes the outstanding work of our team in Fürth. By introducing our intelligent energy system, we have reduced energy consumption by 64% and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 72% per throughput. In addition, we have increased production by 145 percent, demonstrating that sustainability and productivity can go hand in hand," said Cedrik Neike, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens and CEO Digital Industries.

In Fürth, the company develops and manufactures innovative products for industrial automation that contribute to digitalization and increased efficiency in various industries. Among other things, it produces human-machine interface (HMI) panels, which are used as operating panels in production facilities where people work with or on machines and systems. The Fürth site is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2026.

Energy efficiency in production and buildings

At the heart of the sustainability measures in Fürth is a holistic energy system for production and buildings. Several systems that communicate with each other are used here. More than 350 energy meters on site link all energy data and enable a targeted reduction in energy consumption as well as a precise calculation of the products' carbon footprint (PCF). The system independently suggests specific improvements and has already realized significant savings potential, for example in lighting with 952 megawatt hours per year and building automation with 103 megawatt hours per year. This could supply around 2,000 households with electricity in the same period. The results are also incorporated into local E2E-PFC management (end-to-end product carbon footprint management), which monitors the carbon footprint of products.

Reduced power consumption, extended product life cycle

An electromagnetic filter system introduced together with a partner minimizes energy losses due to grid disturbances. This led to a 3.8% reduction in total electricity consumption during the period under review from 2019 to 2023 and stabilized power distribution, reducing the risk of machine downtime. The site also introduced a circular economy to reduce industrial waste and extend the service life of products. Fürth benefits from an existing repair center on site, which offers an extended life repair service for selected products. There are currently already 310 products whose life cycle is being extended, and this figure is set to rise to 2,000 products by 2026.

Focus on resource utilization

In autumn 2023, a photovoltaic system with 460 kilowatt peak output was installed on the roof of the 3,300 square meter parking lot; nitrogen for welding processes is also produced internally. In 2024, a plant was built to produce its own nitrogen. In addition, waste heat from industrial processes is to be used to heat the site. These projects not only help to reduce emissions, but also enable a more efficient use of resources.