Sustainability
OUR ECO-DESIGN APPROACH
Right from the design phase, our engineers seek to minimise vehicle impact on the environment at each stage in the life cycle.
Cutting CO2 emissions is a key requirement. To achieve this aim, we are taking action in several areas including weight control, powertrain technology and aerodynamics. By placing the emphasis on efficient and reliable solutions tailored to each market, we aim to implement a global response to the greenhouse effect.
Technologies of the future
Our engineers are actively working on technological solutions that will bring breakthrough progress in the environmental impact of cars. The deployment of the new-generation Stop & Start system from 2010, hybrid solutions from 2011, and the launch of zero-emission vehicles will enable Citroën to consolidate its position in the segment of vehicles with low CO2 emissions.
Resources and recyclability
As well as limiting fuel consumption and emissions of CO2 and other pollutants, our eco-design policy aims to optimise the use of natural resources by carefully selecting the materials used to manufacture our vehicles. We also aim to reduce the potential impact of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) on the environment by promoting recyclability.
Example: C3 Picasso
Of the170 kg of polymers contained in the new C3 Picasso (excluding tyres), almost 11% are “”green”” materials. This term covers three different types of material:
– recycled materials;
– natural materials, such as wood and vegetable fibre;
– biomaterials, polymers produced with renewable resources rather than by the petrochemical sector.
As an example; natural fibres are used in the manufacture of the parcel shelf, boot lining or door panels. Recycled plastics from the automotive industry are used as a raw material to make mud guards.
ISO 14001 plants
All our production sites have an environmental management system based on ISO 14001. This international standard sets a globally recognised norm for management and organisation.
The certification process was started more than ten years ago and has now reached the maturity stage in all our plants, all of which have been ISO 14001 certified since 2007. This standard, created in 1996, requires manufacturers to put in place measures to track, control and measure the impact of processes on the environment. It therefore involves providing appropriate training for all personnel.
The automotive industry spans a range of activities, such as casting, machining, metal pressing, body assembly, surface treatment, painting and final assembly. Although these facilities do not represent a “”high risk for the environment”” (as set out in the 1996 European so-called Soveso directive), they nevertheless cause a series of environmental impacts that we strive to control.
1) Paint Shops: since 1995, we have more than halved the emissions per vehicle of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by paint solvents.
2) Foundries: by using advanced technology equipment (plasma torch) and developing control systems, we have significantly reduced foundry dust emissions.
3) Water consumption: saving water is a key objective for all our industrial sites. This policy has made it possible to cut water consumption per vehicle produced by a factor of 2.5 since 1995.
4) 94% of production waste recovered: our plants produce around 700,000 tonnes of metal waste per year, recovered for use in steel plants and foundries. Of the other waste, 82% is processed through other recovery channels. The overall recovery rate is 94%.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AT THE HEART OF THE NETWORK
– Sorting, in order to recover and collect automotive waste in the network through approved organisations;
– Regulatory compliance, to ensure that the network complies with national and European regulations;
– Traceability, in order to track waste and ensure that it is correctly recycled.
Awareness and responsibility
At the 2008 Paris Motor Show, Citroën launched ‘GreenPact’. This new environmental approach was set up to help the sales network in France to comply with changing legislation and to better manage its environmental impact (waste management, chemical storage, traceability of end-of-life parts, etc.).
To achieve this, GreenPact uses a wide range of educational tools and promotes contacts between the network and other specialised players, such as organisations that collect and treat coolants.
Collection and management
The Citroën network put in place a structure to collect and process end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) using environmentally responsible methods more than fifteen years ago.
The collection and sorting of maintenance and repair waste is organised in line with the management methods put in place for end-of-life products (ELPs) and deployed in France as part of GreenPact.
Decontamination
The design of each vehicle takes account of the end-of-life decontamination stage and seeks to make this process easier. To take just one example, a mark is placed on the lowest point of the fuel tank to make it easier to empty. At the same time, a dismantling process is developed at an early stage by Citroën engineers for each part that has to be removed as part of the decontamination process.