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Industrial environment
 The car has an influence on the environment at each stage in its life cycle. Reflecting this specific characteristic, the environmental policy of PSA Peugeot Citroën addresses each of these phases. The production stage in particular is essential. Although the automotive industry is not generally considered as being particularly aggressive towards the environment, industrial nuisances rank as a major concern for many members of the public. This concern is expressed on two levels: everyday quality of life around the plants and, more generally, the real or perceived risks of ecological accidents. The industrial plants of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group implement a global policy that seeks both to protect the environment and to safeguard quality of life around the plant.
Safeguarding water resources
Water is an element that requires protection for two reasons: first, because of its scarcity, particularly in certain regions, and second because of its sensitivity to the toxic effluents that can cause serious environmental damage. The industrial plants of PSA Peugeot Citroën are implementing innovative solutions to cut water consumption and improve treatment.
 All Group industrial sites worldwide have reduced their overall water consumption by around 40%. This is equal to a reduction of 60% per vehicle produced over the period 1995/2006. The PSA Peugeot Citroën Group has also made considerable progress in the area of pollutant emissions. General indicators of discharge quality (suspended solids, COD, BOD5) are monitored daily at each site, and the maximum discharge values respected, as defined by local authorities in accordance with the specific characteristics of each region.
At plant level, one of two possible solutions are adopted. Either the plant has its own water treatment facility, as in the case of Rennes, or the plant shares a water treatment facility with the local authorities. This is the case of Sevelnord, which made a financial contribution to the modernisation of the municipal water treatment facility in Roeulx.
Cutting atmospheric emissions
For PSA Peugeot Citroën, efforts to safeguard air quality involve cutting pollutant emissions, notably foundry dust, sulphur dioxide (SO2) from plant boilers and, above all, volatile organic compounds (VOC) produced primarily by paint solvents (primers, lacquers and varnish.
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Volatile organic compounds: most industrial VOC emissions come from the car body paint shops in final assembly plants. A number of solutions have been put in place in order to respect applicable legislation: paints with a low solvent content, recovery of waste cleaning solvents and incineration of the gases produced by the cataphoresis drying oven. It was also necessary to introduce far more intensive industrial processes: use of water-based paints with very low organic solvent content, or a system to treat the air in paint booths, operating at a rate of several hundred thousand m3 per hour. The Group applies the Best Available Technologies (BATs) for its new investments.
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 Water-based paints: conventional paints contain a high percentage of oil-based organic solvents. The proportions are 50% for primers and 75% for paints. In water-based products, solvent content is far lower: between 5% and 8% for primers and 12% for paints. But these products involve redesigning paint facilities. To this end, the Group has invested EUR 176 million in the paintshop at Poissy.
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Treating the air in paint booths: the characteristics of existing installations often make it impossible to use water-based paints. In this case, an air treatment system is implemented to suck out the solvent-impregnated air, condense the solvents and then incinerate them.
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The application of Best Available Technologies at all Group sites made it possible to cut VOC emissions by vehicle from 8.33 kg in 1995 to 4.88 kg in 2006. The Group is pursuing efforts in this area with a view to reaching a target of 4.4 kg/vehicle in the medium term.
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Combustion installations: By gradually modernising its site boiler plants and replacing fuel-oil by gas, the Group cut sulphur dioxide emissions by ten between 1995 and 2006. During the same period, nitrogen oxide emissions fell by 30%.
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Foundry dust: PSA Peugeot Citroën is taking action in two areas: first, by limiting emissions at source through high technology equipment such as the plasma torch, and second by improving the dust removal system, notably by introducing dry filter dust collectors.
96% of production waste is recovered
The Group's assembly plants produce around 700,000 tonnes of metal waste a year.
This waste is re-used in the iron and steel industry or in foundries. The other types of waste produced by the Group totalled 376,000 tonnes in 2006. This waste is highly diverse and disposal therefore requires a wide variety of specific processes. Today, a full 88% of waste is recovered, with just 12% going to landfill. If we include metal waste, the recovery rate is 96%.
 Making industry part of the landscape
PSA Peugeot Citroën devotes particular attention to other factors with a bearing on the environment: the landscaping of industrial plants, lower noise levels and the prevention of soil pollution.
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Part of the landscape: the Sevelnord plant was built in 1992, close to the village of Lieu-Saint-Armand in northern France. The Group asked a landscape architect to draft plans for a 5 km bank to conceal the plant from the nearby village. Overall, on 40 hectares of lawn, Sevelnord has a dense plantation of 6,800 trees and almost 2,200 saplings that are widely spaced to give them room to grow. The Aulnay plant (France) was severely hit by the storm that swept across France in December 1999. Rather than simply replacing the fallen trees, the facility put in place a comprehensive landscaping plan.
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Keeping the noise levels down: noise pollution is treated plant by plant. Action can be taken, for example, by using screw compressors rather than piston compressors, or by adapting existing equipment: placing a cover over the noisiest machine or providing soundproofing.
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Soil pollution: in 1998, expert organisations commissioned by the French ministry of the environment investigated the possible risk of soil pollution at eight plants run by the Group. Results showed that although monitoring was required in certain cases, no major pollution control operations had to be undertaken. This operation has been repeated at other Group sites with no significant results.
The environmental management system
To control the environmental impact of its industrial plants, PSA Peugeot Citroën has put in place a specific organisation with the resources necessary for application.
The Central Department for the Industrial Environment, attached to the Risk Prevention and Management Division, acts as overall coordinator. It runs a legal watch service and provides industrial plants with advice and assistance. It also makes sure that any action taken by plants is consistent with local requirements and with the Group's own environmental policy. Each plant has operational responsibility.
The ISO 14001 standard
Set up in 1996, this standard involves putting in place the resources necessary to monitor, inspect and measure the effects of industrial processes on the environment. To apply this standard, appropriate training must be provided for all members of the workforce. The system was designed to reach the environmental targets set for each site. It is applicable worldwide.
All Group plants are certified. The Trnava site, which came online in 2005, will be certified before the end of 2007.
The certification process is now being extended to design sites (La Garenne, certified in early 2007) and spare parts sites (Vesoul, certified in April 2007). |
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