Green Future
GO TO ZERO VRCHLABÍ
Podkrkonošský závod docílí CO2 neutrality
‘Green’ electricity
Any electricity purchases in the Czech Republic come from renewable sources.
Solar energy
In India, the carmaker is building solar power plants.
Bioheating
The ŠKO-ENERGO heating plant has increased the biomass share to 30 percent.
Consumption reduction
The energy-saving programme already includes almost 1,000 measures.
Solar energy
Solar power plants on the roofs of the plants based in Mladá Boleslav or in India generate up to 37 MWh.
Transition to biomass
Today, 30 percent of the volume burnt by the Mladá Boleslav heating plant comes from biomass (95,000 tonnes of pellets); in the future, this share will increase to 100 percent.
Ecological energy sources
We use the gradual biomethane introduction to focus on purchasing energy from renewable sources for our plants.
n the second half of the decade, the plant in Vrchlabí will become the first to meet the carmaker’s long-term goal of achieving full carbon neutrality. The vast majority of the (originally approximately 45,000 tonnes of) carbon dioxide emissions emitted by the plant every year have already been reduced, mainly by purchasing electricity from renewable sources. Consequently, the current plan is to focus on the remaining roughly 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions that have not yet been “neutralised”.
CO₂ neutrality at the Vrchlabí plant will form the first peak in the carmaker's efforts within the Go to ZERO project.
Three steps to primacy
In order to achieve the goal, the carmaker is building on three pillars in Vrchlabí. “The first is to reduce energy consumption in operations. The less primary energy you consume, the less CO2 you have to deal with overall”, explains David Harazim from PSU – Ecology and Occupational Safety. Therefore, the plant became part of an intensive energy-saving programme at the beginning of the year. The second step is to use renewable sources, thanks to which the plant already covers the vast majority of its electricity needs. “All we have to do is to satisfy the remaining energy needs, which we do by burning natural gas”, adds Milan Poddaný from the ŠKO-ENERGO Energy Services department. The third step is to purchase carbon credits or offsets. In 2020, ŠKODA AUTO will support projects that almost entirely neutralise carbon dioxide emissions. “These include supporting renewable energy production in India, protecting rain forests and other similar activities”, says Harazim. From 2021 onwards, the plan is to use only biomethane in Vrchlabí instead of burning natural gas, and in the following years, ŠKODA AUTO will focus on CO2 neutrality at other Czech plants, too. Luděk Vokáč
The Vrchlabí path
The Go to Zero group mission focuses on CO2 neutrality and ŠKODA AUTO is gradually introducing it on a worldwide scale.
Consumption reduction
Reconstructing the heating equipment from 2012–2013 saved up to 6,700 MWh per year.
Use of "green” electricity
Thus, 41,500 MWh of electricity cover the vast majority out of the 47,000 total annual amount.
Biomethane combustion
Exchanging natural gas for biomethane, the Vrchlabí plant will become CO2 neutral since 2021.
The third pillar
Vrchlabí plant approaches CO2 neutrality after planting 39,000 trees
According to the carbon credit policies, the plant in Vrchlabí is supporting several projects that not only contribute to lowering carbon emissions but will also help the region. In collaboration with the Krkonoše Mountains National Park, a few sites have been chosen where silver birch trees are to be planted to revitalise the area. On 21 May, 29 workers from the factory, along with director Ivan Slimák, met between Martinova bouda and Medvědí bouda (close to Špindlerův Mlýn) to plant some 2,000 new seedlings. The goal is to continue planting a total of 40,000 in the future. RED
Now only ecological suppliers
Last August, ŠKODA AUTO integrated sustainability assessment into its purchasing process
he new practice builds on a Group-wide strategy that applies to all brands and whose aim is to provide the carmaker with information about the extent to which its suppliers are meeting the S-Rating (sustainability rating). A positive result in this evaluation has become one of the carmaker’s conditions for awarding contracts and approving suppliers. Mutual cooperation without benefits is impossible. At first, the process referred only to production material suppliers, but at the end of last year, providers of services and non-production material were added to this group. This year and next, their volume will further expand; only micro-suppliers (with fewer than 10 employees) will not have to go through the S-Rating, provided they get specific approval.
Based on a self-assessment questionnaire, the supplier rating evaluates how the potential suppliers respond to environmental challenges or which measures they adopt to take an environmentally responsible approach. As far as suppliers are concerned, they have to assess whether they take energy and raw material savings into account, minimise greenhouse gas emissions, use renewable resources and minimise damage to the environment and health when developing, manufacturing and using products. After a successful evaluation, the selected supplier will receive the corresponding S-Rating, or the Purchasing staff will recommend an additional audit. Irena Zeggel, ŠÁRKA FILIPOVÁ