Porsche doubles down on its CO2-neutral goals with its Zero Impact Factory

Porsche has a clear commitment to the aims of the Paris Agreement. The sports car manufacturer is working towards a CO2-neutral balance sheet across the entire value chain by 2030. Porsche is implementing a consistent electrification strategy, setting ambitious targets for decarbonisation.

This also applies in comparison with the rest of the sector. The CO₂ emissions of the company and its products are being reduced along the entire life cycle. An important sub-section of the sports car manufacturer’s decarbonisation strategy is the production and the vision its Zero Impact Factory concept, currently implemented in its Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Leipzig plants.

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Porsche has a holistic view on sustainability – economically, ecologically and socially. It is founded upon six fields of activity. Alongside decarbonisation, these also include diversity and transparent supply chains.

An important component is the vision of a Zero Impact Factory – a factory that significantly reduces the ecological footprint. The vision of the Zero Impact Factory in the field of climate protection relates to scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.

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So-called environmental impact points enable the targets to be measured. Based on starting year 2018, Porsche aims to reduce the environmental impact points by 95 percent by 2030 in the factories in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and Leipzig.

To make this vision a reality, Porsche has also defined specific fields of activity here that include resource, materials and energy efficiency, as well as efficient water use. Areas such as technology and processes, as well as logistics, also affect the use of resources at the company.

Porsche has already set down the first milestones on its way towards a Zero Impact Factory. In Zuffenhausen and Leipzig, car production is now completely CO₂-neutral.

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The factory was a trailblazer with the all-electric Taycan in 2019. This was followed by the entire production output in Zuffenhausen in 2020, and the factory in Leipzig and the Weissach Development Centre in 2021.

Since 2014, Porsche has reduced balance sheet CO₂ emissions in its own production by 90 percent for each car. This required a lot of attention to detail. For example, 100 per cent of the electricity used by the company comes from renewable energy, the rail transport for new cars between Zuffenhausen and Bremerhaven is for the most part powered by regenerative green electricity.

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In the Zuffenhausen factory, the sports car manufacturer generates heat with its own combined heat and power plants that are operated CO₂-neutrally with biomethane.

Porsche is convinced that the conservative use of natural resources has a positive effect on the environment while simultaneously lowering costs. This is why the company is continually optimising its processes.

For example, changing the technical procedures in the paint shop enabled the use of chemicals in the body pre-treatment and the water consumption in the waste water treatment to be further reduced. Porsche also lowered the use of structural adhesives in the assembly and body construction areas. This was achieved by shortening the preparation times, which also cut down the amount of waste produced. Information technology enabled the identification and implementation of potential in the media monitoring for powering off drive and ventilation systems according to demand. At the Zuffenhausen factory alone, this saves more than 400,000 kWh of electrical energy per year.

The Zuffenhausen plant is responsible for manufacturing the Porsche 911, Porsche 718 models, and Porsche Taycan. The Leipzig plant, on the other hand, is responsible for the Porsche Panamera, and Porsche Macan. The Porsche Cayenne is manufactured in Slovakia.

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Source: Porsche doubles down on its CO2-neutral goals with its Zero Impact Factory