ContiTech’s Sustainability Drive: PV System Installations and Pilot Plants

From left: Ernesto Flores, Plant Manager Timișoara, Continental CEO Nicolai Setzer, Executive Board member for Human Relations and Sustainability Dr. Ariane Reinhart, Executive Board member and Head of ContiTech Philip Nelles in front of the new photovoltaic system in Timișoara, Romania.

(IN BRIEF) ContiTech, a sector of Continental, is making significant strides toward sustainability by installing a photovoltaic (PV) system at its Timișoara facility in Romania. Seven more locations are set to follow suit in 2024, supporting the company’s goal of green operations. ContiTech has also chosen three pilot plants in China, Canada, and Germany to explore carbon-neutral manufacturing methods, which will serve as a model for other sites. Continental has set ambitious environmental targets for its production sites, aiming for reduced energy consumption, increased recovery rates, and minimized waste and water usage by 2030.

(PRESS RELEASE) FRANKFURT AM MAIN, 5-Jan-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — Continental (ETR: CON), a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company, announces that in line with its commitment to sustainability, the ContiTech sector is taking tangible steps towards transforming its production facilities into sustainable hubs. A notable achievement is the installation of a new photovoltaic (PV) system at its Timișoara facility in Romania, marking a significant move towards greener operations. Additionally, seven other locations have received approval for PV installations in 2024, further bolstering the company’s commitment to clean energy. Moreover, ContiTech has chosen three global production facilities as pilot projects to explore strategies for achieving carbon-neutral operations.

Claus-Peter Spille, Senior Vice President Operations at ContiTech, emphasized the unique challenges faced by each production facility in achieving green operations by 2040, stating, “Each of our production facilities faces their own specific challenges in reaching green operations by 2040 at the latest. With the pilot projects, we provide our locations a comprehensive guidance on how to implement systematic operational environmental management at their site.”

Philip Nelles, Member of Continental’s Executive Board for ContiTech, underlined the importance of sustainability and innovation, stating, “Sustainability is both an enormous opportunity and a decisive driver for innovation. As the first choice for material-driven solutions in a variety of industries, we are dedicated to address the challenges our world is facing. Our recent steps towards greener operations prove that reducing the impact of climate change, together with our partners along the value chain, is a task to which we are strongly committed.”

Expanding Emission-Free Energy Production

The newly installed PV system in Timișoara is anticipated to generate approximately 930 MWh of emission-free electricity annually. In addition to Timișoara, locations in Subotica (Serbia), Szeged (Hungary), Wagrowiec (Poland), Weissbach (Germany), Changzhou (China), Kalyani (India), and Chihuahua (Mexico) have greenlit their own PV projects, with installations scheduled in the coming months. These initiatives are expected to result in an annual electricity generation of 5,900 MWh, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 2,950 households in Germany.

Pilot Plants on a Journey to Carbon Neutrality by 2030

ContiTech has identified three locations – Changzhou (China), Granby (Canada), and Dannenberg (Germany) – as pilot sites for green operations. These facilities will implement specific measures and activities aimed at achieving carbon neutrality in Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2040 at the latest. The success of these pilot projects will provide valuable insights and best practices that can be tailored and rolled out to other ContiTech plants globally. Claus-Peter Spille emphasized the need for customized approaches, stating, “Each plant in each region is operating under very unique conditions, so we cannot expect that a successful approach at one site can simply be copied to another.”

Ambitious Sustainability Goals for Production Sites

Continental has set ambitious targets for operational environmental management at its production facilities worldwide. By 2030, the company aims to reduce energy consumption by 20%, increase the recovery quota to 95%, and reduce waste generation by 2% annually. Continental also intends to decrease water withdrawal by 4% in high-risk water regions and by 2% in moderate-risk water regions, all relative to sales, to make every production facility a green factory.

Media contact:

Wolfgang Reinert
Head of Media & Public Relations
ContiTech
+49 511 938-1304
wolfgang.reinert@contitech.de

SOURCE: Continental AG