Volkswagen receives ISO certification for energy management

Nico Serfontein and Zelda Lourens Strydom

VWSA is the first automotive manufacturing company in South Africa to achieve this certification.

This certification is evident of the VWSA philosophy of continual improvement and is a huge milestone, as only a few South African companies have achieved this since the standard was first published in 2011.

The purpose of subscribing to the international standard is to enable VWSA to establish improved systems and processes necessary to enhance its energy performance, including energy efficiency and consumption.

"Through the systematic management of energy, we have reaped the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other related environmental impacts and energy costs," explained Zelda Lourens-Strydom, VWSA Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental manager.

Recipe for success

She further added that successful implementation depends on commitment from all levels and functions of the organisation and this has been the recipe for VWSA's success. VWSA has put great effort into implementing this system and the solid foundation laid by the various Think Blue.Factory strategy initiatives implemented since 2010, has assisted the process.

"Since 2010, VWSA has reduced its total annual energy consumption by 31% and the energy usage per vehicle produced by 23%. Also the CO2 emissions have been reduced by 19% and other environmental initiatives resulted in a 52% improvement in waste, 41% reduction in water usage and 22% improvement in solvent emissions," said Nico Serfontein, VWSA Paint Shop Division head and Think Blue.Factory champion.

"By adhering to this international standard, we demonstrate that we take the protection of our environment, the conservation of natural resources and best practice very seriously," said David Powels, VWSA managing director. "We aim to implement improvement activities in production and non-production areas on a continual basis towards improving our energy performance and carbon footprint."