Salcomp aims to develop both its products and operations to be safe and as high-quality and environmentally friendly as possible. Operations are based on quality and environmental policies. In 2009, the focus was to decrease the carbon footprint and electricity consumption, as well as to improve product quality.
Key principles:
- We maintain an open, active and ethical approach to quality and environmental issues.
- Successful business operations require sustainable quality and environmental activities, which take into account the entire life cycle of a product.
- We are committed to complying with the laws and regulations governing quality and environmental issues.
- We aim to continuously improve our quality and environmental activities by regularly setting new goals according to the principles of sustainable development.
- We also apply our quality and environmental policies and rules tothe processes of our subcontractors and suppliers.
Salcomp’s products are energy-efficient, and the use of materials is tightly controlled. Quality and environmental thinking has been extended to cover the entire life cycle of the products, also to the product design and development stages.
Salcomp’s production processes are efficient and ensure high-quality end products and the lowest possible environmental load per unit produced. Development is monitored on a monthly basis, both at the Group level and locally, through various quality and environment indicators. The most significant quality and environmental considerations relate to customer returns, quality generation ability in production, energy consumption, the use of materials and raw materials, as well as the generation of waste.
ISO certifications cover all functions
The company’s production plants in China, Brazil and India are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified, as are its R&D and sales and marketing globally. Many customers require a stricter application of environmental criteria than the official regulations and ISO standards. Salcomp requires that its material and service suppliers commit to the same philosophy.
Salcomp’s chargers are entitled to use the international ENERGY STAR energy-efficiency label, and Salcomp is also committed to the European Code of Conduct on Efficiency of External Power Supplies (CoC) standard.
Salcomp complies in the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions with the levels 1 and 2 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This means that Salcomp reports all directly generated greenhouse gas, as well as the greenhouse gas generated in the production of the electricity, gas and heating purchased by it.
Key priority areas in 2009: Electricit y consumption and quality of products and operations
In 2009, much attention was paid to reducing the electricity consumption at production plants, and to product quality development projects. The objective of the quality development projects was particularly to improve product quality and thereby to decrease customer risks.
Several different projects contributed to the improvement of product quality in Salcomp’s manufacturing processes, and these efforts were rewarded with customers’ quality awards.
One of the most significant development areas in the quality system was the global roll-out of the quality section of Salcomp’s Agile-based project management system. All global product- or process-related reporting and information dissemination now takes place within the system, which improves risk management and seamless product quality development between different business locations.
Key environmental considerations included improving production process efficiency and reducing electricity consumption. One of the most important power-saving measures was the replacement of fluorescent tubes to LED-based lighting system at the Shenzhen plant in China. This is expected to generate electricity savings of some 300,000 kilowatt hours in 2010 at the Shenzhen plant alone.
Other measures also helped reduce the electricity consumption, but at the same time the growth in Salcomp’s own component manufacture increased the total electricity consumption in 2009. As a result, the amount of electricity used per one charger remained at the 2008 level.
Other electricity-saving measures, in addition to the fluorescent tube replacement, included issuing more detailed instructions on electricity consumption globally, such as instruction on turning off lights and machinery.
Salcomp’s carbon footprint calculated in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas protocol was 83 grams per charger. One of the most significant individual factors contributing to a smaller carbon footprint compared to 2008 was the smaller need for the standby diesel generators at the production plants.
Focus on electricit y savings in 2010
The replacement of fluorescent tubes with energy-saving LED lighting systems at the Chinese plant will continue in 2010, and the project will be extended to cover other Salcomp plants too.
In addition, the efficiency of the diesel generator will be enhanced at the Chinese plant, and the water heating system at the personnel dormitory will be changed from a diesel-powered system to a heat pump system. These measures are expected to save about 120,000 liters of diesel oil after 2010.
Product and operational quality improvement is sought through various development projects and improvements in the quality and environmental systems. Product quality development will be increasingly assessed against the cost savings achieved. A special team is responsible for the improvements in the quality and environmental systems, and its duties will be extended to cover global process auditing.