Environment

Climate change is the most significant challenge facing our generation and this urgency adds meaning to our work. For us, protecting the environment is both our passion and our job. Our employees work hard to raise environmental protection to higher levels of excellence – so we can fight the climate crisis effectively. We have installed over 107 GW of wind power globally, which powers more than 98 million European households annually and reduces CO2 emissions by more than 300 million tons per year, which is the equivalent to planting more than 4.8 million trees. Providing affordable and clean energy in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 is fundamental to our culture.

Preserving the environment is one of our guiding principles. Siemens Gamesa has established several policies that outline our obligatory and voluntary commitments to protect and enhance the environment.

These policies address different aspects of environmental protection appropriate to the context of our business, including the nature, scale and environmental impacts of our operations, products and services, in addition to the interests of our stakeholders.

Our policies are regularly reviewed and apply globally, covering our entire operations. They apply to all Siemens Gamesa employees and, furthermore, are relevant to our business partners.

Siemens Gamesa is deeply committed to generating a positive effect on the environment, providing clean solutions to power our homes, schools, hospitals and keeping us moving wherever we are – from the largest cities to the most remote corners of the planet. To this end, the company has outlined our way to contribute a decarbonized economy, with the goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2040. This includes emissions produced by the company’s whole value chain. Previously, the net-zero target was 2050.

Our roadmap involves six emission reduction levers:

Energy reduction and efficiency measures
Electricity supply from renewable sources
Green mobility and fleet plan
Offseting projects for non-avoidable emissions
Employee awareness campaigns and idea management
Increased engagement across the value chain

Siemens Gamesa became carbon neutral in 2019 – five years ahead of schedule. In 2020, the company became powered by 100% renewable energy and had the SBTi (Science Based Targets Initiative) verify that our emission reduction targets until 2025 are meeting the most ambitious 1.5°C scenario. To document our progress, we publish our Greenhouse Gas Emissions report annually which is externally verified according to the requirements described in ISO 14064-1:2018.

Together, our product portfolio and decarbonization strategy represents our biggest contributions to climate change mitigation according to SDG 13. Nevertheless, we work with multiple global communities who share our commitment to climate protection and decarbonization. For example, the Paris Pledge for Action, Caring for Climate and The Science Based Targets Initiative. We are also a CDP A-Lister.

Siemens Gamesa calculates the environmental footprint of wind turbines using Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) – a method that assesses our product’s environmental impact over its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing, through transport, installation and operation, to decommissioning and recycling. We present the LCA results using Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

Our LCAs and EPDs are made in accordance with the ISO 14040, 14021 and 14025 series of standards and applicable Product Category Rules (PCRs). Many of these can be found in The International EPD® System (search for Siemens Gamesa).

Apart from the clear environmental benefits of wind turbines, Siemens Gamesa designs, manufactures and services its products in ways that enhance their environmental performance. In line with SDG 12, we use a life cycle approach so that our wind turbines not only provide clean energy during operation but are also resource efficient and recyclable.

Our most significant efforts include:

Reducing waste, energy and water
Reducing and substituting materials, including chemicals
Optimizing packaging and logistics
Improving capacity factors for higher energy outputs
Applying remote diagnostics to increase availability
Adopting alternative technologies for installation and service vessels
Reducing service time frequencies
Protecting wildlife with integrated SCADA control systems
Offering component upgrades and spare parts to extend turbine lifetime
Repairing and refurbishing components
Designing modular components to optimize dismantling and waste treatment
Seeking alternative materials for high recyclability

We are pursuing an ambitious target to reach net-zero CO2 emissions by 2040. The use of GreenerTowers alone will reduce total CO2 equivalent emissions from the turbine by an impressive 20%. This is the next important milestone on our journey to deliver even more sustainable wind energy.

Ensuring a sustainable production process with less environmental impact will be of great importance, given an expected rise in the number of installations and in the size of the turbines in coming years.

GreenerTower – The next step toward net-zero

Siemens Gamesa’s new GreenerTower focuses on achieving significant CO2 equivalent reductions in the steel plate production for steel towers. Today, the average CO2 equivalent emission on steel is 1.91 tons. For our GreenerTower, a maximum of 0.7t of CO2 equivalent emissions are permitted per ton of steel. This means a CO2 reduction on the tower steel plates of at least 63% compared to conventional steel production.

The GreenerTower is based on the exact same design as a standard tower. The only difference is within the steel plate production, where CO2 emissions are significantly reduced compared to conventional steelmaking. GreenerTowers will initially be sold as an option for both Offshore and Onshore turbines for projects to be installed from 2024 and onwards.

There are several ways to achieve CO2 reduction in the production of steel, including the following:

Use of less energy intensive steel manufacturing processes.
Increased use of scrap steel.
Increased use of CO2 neutral energy sources.

The first milestone on the GreenerTower journey has already been achieved. By setting an ambitious threshold of 0.7 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per ton of steel and ensuring third party certification, we significantly reduce the footprint of the largest component for a turbine in terms of CO2 equivalent emissions.

While it is critical to hit net-zero targets and provide affordable, clean energy to the world, the rollout of clean energy must be done in a sustainable way, actively avoiding environmental damage and supporting the circular economy with a reduced reliance on resources.

The wind industry is still relatively young and is aware of the responsibility it holds of finding a sustainable way to deal with wind turbine components at the end of their life cycle. Increasing the recyclability of the wind components is high on our agenda, and we are committed to producing 100% recyclable turbines by 2040.

The RecyclableBlade is the first product to offer a comprehensive recyclable solution and is ready for commercial use offshore. These wind turbine blades can now be transformed into other applications across various industries, providing streams of recycled materials for use in different manufacturing processes. A groundbreaking step towards creating a waste-free future for the wind industry.

Our RecyclableBlade is a simple, and robust solution, developed through technological ingenuity. The only change to the blade production process is our new resin. This means that scaling up production and rolling out this recyclable product is not only possible, it is already a reality! The first blades have already been produced in 2021.

Other projects

Siemens Gamesa backs WindEurope’s call for a Europe-wide ban on landfilling turbine blades by 2025. We also advocate for industry wide international standards on product decommissioning and recycling. We are a long-standing leader in numerous industry consortia and research projects to support the development of a circular economy. Some examples of these include DecomBlades, FiberEUse and GenVind.

We focus both on finding ways to demonstrate commercial value chains for thermoset rotor blades that are already installed in our fleet as well as investigating new materials with enhanced circularity for our future blades.

Siemens Gamesa is aware of its interactions, and potential impact, on terrestrial and marine natural ecosystems, habitats, and species where its factories and turbine assets are.

There are various regulatory and voluntary instruments that ensure Siemens Gamesa’s wind projects are constructed and serviced in a way that allows for co-existence, and often a net-positive biodiversity impact. This is in line with SDG 14 and SDG 15, protecting life below water and on land, respectively.

The Siemens Gamesa Corporate Commitment to Biodiversity considers and integrates the main current biodiversity frameworks, initiatives and tendencies at an international level (Nature-Positive Global Goal for Nature). With this commitment, Siemens Gamesa ensures that its biodiversity management and performance will be at the forefront of the group of businesses and organizations that are establishing ambitions and commitments on the topic.

As per the Indian Environmental statutory norms, every organization which generates bio-medical waste data should display its waste disposal data in its company website for public view. This mandate come under the preview of The Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules,2016 & The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. In this context Siemens Gamesa Renewable Power Private Limited, a company registered under the Indian law is manded to display the bio-medical waste disposal data for its manufacturing plants in India.

Journal

Pros and cons of wind energy

As an abundant and inexhaustible natural resource, few question wind power’s status as one of the most sustainable ways to generate electricity. Yet the environmental impact associated with the industry remains a point of debate – especially the CO2 emissions released during the extraction of raw material and turbine disposal. Siemens Gamesa focuses on all the pros and cons of wind energy – and works on the cons: Improving the environmental performance of products and their impact throughout their entire life cycle is one of Siemens Gamesa’s main drivers.

Journal

Animal muse

Nature is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and a true example of adaptation to the most extreme environments. The silent flight of nocturnal birds of prey and the bioluminescence of fireflies are amazing examples that humans have copied in technology. Millions of years of natural trial and error have served as a model for numerous advances in science and engineering.

Journal

Regenerating our climate and communities

The fight against climate change requires bold and imaginative ideas to reduce our collective impact on the environment. Each of us has a responsibility to do what we can. Policy-makers can legislate to enshrine ambitious climate targets and encourage investment; companies can use their immense power to reduce emissions in their supply chain and embrace circular economy thinking; and citizens can reduce waste and make informed choices about how and what to consume.

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