EADS’ environmental policy embraces all phases of the product life cycle, from design, manufacturing, including environmental impact of its sites, operations and maintenance to the end of life. It seeks to ensure that each of its BUs complies with the laws and regulations of each country in which it operates. EADS is subject to numerous international, European, national, and local environmental laws and regulations which concerns emissions into the environment, in particular discharges to surface and sub-surface water, elimination and treatment of waste, consumption of natural resources, soils, noise and other nuisances, landscape, etc. as well as those related to permits to operate.
"Minimizing environmental impacts of EADS’ activities
Taking into account environmental impacts of products along their life cycle
Limiting environmental impacts of operations is strongly driven by the business. The management of environmental aspects of Group operations is, as result the responsibility of the BUs and sites. Moreover, each of EADS’ businesses is strictly controlled and audited by relevant authorities, in respect of manufacturing processes and product certification. Customers, both civil and governments increasingly include environmental criteria in their specifications.
Many EADS Divisions and BUs have successfully implemented environmental management systems and work towards a continuous improvement of their respective products‘ environmental performances.
In addition, some coordination at corporate level is organised in order to implement a periodic follow up on the Group’s environment performance, to promote a cross-fertilisation of best practices and consistently anticipate any new relevant regulatory framework that may apply to the Group.
Currently the environmental reporting at Group level is provided by CQO. It is based on networks that already exist from the founding companies of EADS. In order to enhance effectiveness of the environmental policy, to define guidelines and relevant action plans, as well as to provide visibility, EADS decided to further develop an environmental network coordinated by the Group leading companies in managing environmental matters. Particularly, most of EADS‘ European sites are now ISO 14001 certified, which provide a solid basis for developing an enhanced Group environmental approach.
Within the industry; EADS is already participating in environmental working groups of industry organisations such as the GIFAS in France, BDLI in Germany and the SBAC in the U.K. For example, the Environment Committee of GIFAS is chaired by an Airbus representative. EADS and Eurocopter also participate to this committee. In 2005, the committee defined and implemented a legal and regulatory tracking system to the whole benefit of the sector in France. With the view to improve the sector communication, the committee initiated in 2006 an inventory of the industry best practices in order to promote such practices.
At European level, the Environmental Committee of ASD is chaired by Airbus.
On a worldwide basis, the ASD is the European member ICCAIA (International Coordination Council for Aerospace Industries Association). The vice-chairman of the environmental committee (Aircraft Noise & Engine Emissions) of ICCAIA is an Airbus representative, as per the ICCAIA by-laws, he will automatically become Chairman in 2010.
EADS encourages environmental certification of its industrial sites. As of 31st December 2006, 52 sites (29 as of 31st December 2005) were either ISO 14001 certified or EMAS registered, representing more than 70% of the total workforce of EADS. New certification processes were completed at Airbus but also within EADS Military Aircraft Systems as well as within the Astrium Division. This important increase in the number of certified sites will allow the EADS Group to strengthen its approach to environmental management.
In 2006, Astrium Space Transportation achieved its ISO 14001 certification objectives. The initial certification of the French sites was approved in November 2006 and followed the successful re-certification of the German sites a couple of months earlier. It marks the start of a continuous improvement process to which the Astrium ST management has committed.
After the certification of Hamburg and Toulouse plants in April 2006, Airbus has become the first and only aerospace company world-wide to receive the ISO 14001 environmental certification covering the 16 Airbus production sites, including the Airbus headquarters as well as all products throughout their lifecycle. The ISO14001 corporate certification recognizes that Airbus uses a robust Environmental Management System to continually monitor and minimize the environmental impacts of Airbus production processes and products throughout their life cycle. Environmental innovations in the production process include the pioneering use of a greener, chemical-free milling process for fuselage panels; more environmental friendly painting processes; and steps to minimise energy and water consumption during the production phase. The Airbus Environmental Management System is helping in a new approach to reduce the environmental impact of products and processes throughout the aircraft life cycle. The life cycle covers design, procurement, manufacturing, transport, in service operations including maintenance, aircraft end of life and recycling.
While classical ISO 14001 addresses only SITE-related certification, Airbus has joined forces with several other organisations (Chamber of Commerce, National Trade Associations, EADS Germany) to set the rules for an approach to an innovative environmental certification covering both SITES and PRODUCTS along their lifecycle (production sites being only one aspect of this lifecycle). This integrated approach called SPOEMS (Site and Product Oriented Environmental Management System) will help Airbus, among other organisations, to systematically assess the environmental impact of its products along their entire life, and to target appropriate improvements, in particular from the earliest design stage. SPOEMS was selected by the European Union under its “LIFE” Programme.
While classical ISO 14001 addresses only SITE-related certification, Airbus has joined forces with several other organisations (Chamber of Commerce, National Trade Associations, EADS Germany) to set the rules for an approach to environmental certification of both SITES and PRODUCTS along their lifecycle (production sites being only one aspect of this lifecycle). This approach will help Airbus, among other organisations, to systematically assess the environmental impact of its products along their entire life, and to target improvements at the earliest design stage. SPOEMS was selected by the European Union under its “LIFE” Programme.
Powered by the ISO 14001 certifications, many local initiatives on waste recycling are taken by the BUs, going beyond the regulatory requirements (identification, separation, management of disposal). One example is with Astrium UK: introduction of two recycling waste streams: one for glass and one for paper.
EADS BUs were part of the first Emission Trading Scheme set up by the E.U., however EADS operations have a very low impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. In the main, EADS’ energy use results from heating and lighting requirements (offices, administration buildings, production facilities etc), as well as from processes.
A potential risk from climate change to EADS operations comes from the ever-increasing pressure on energy costs. However, both from a cost and an operational efficiency viewpoint the Group recognises that it has a responsibility to reduce energy usage where possible and so EADS views this as an opportunity to make continuous improvements in this area, particularly within environmental management systems that are currently being set up throughout the Group.
In July 2006, Airbus and Eurocopter, together with five other major European aerospace manufacturers signed a letter of intent in a Joint Technology Initiative (“JTI”) that works on the preparation of an innovative “Clean Sky” policy. The Clean Sky JTI will be the largest research project ever set up jointly with the European Commission and would run over a seven year period with a total budget estimated at around 1,7 billion euros. The “Clean Sky” JTI is an innovative, large technological research programme that will radically improve the impact of air transport on the environment and will deliver innovative technologies and solutions enabling step changes in the reduction of noise, emissions and consumption for the next generation of aircraft and associated components and operations.
Its purpose is to demonstrate and validate the technological breakthroughs that are necessary to reach the environmental goals set by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (“ACARE”). ACARE goals to be met by 2020 include a 50% reduction of CO2 emissions through drastic reduction of fuel consumption, an 80% reduction of NOx emissions and a 50% reduction of perceived noise. It also aims for green product life cycle design including manufacturing, maintenance and disposal.
The European RoHS directive restricts the use of six hazardous substances (lead, hexavalent chromium, mercury, cadmium, PBB and PBDE) in electric and electronic applications. The European Commission has confirmed that “equipment containing such targeted substances specifically designed to be installed in airplanes, boats or other means of transport are out of the scope of the RoHS Directive”. The defence products are also out of the scope of the RoHS directive. However, it is expected that the industry will progressively move towards new environmentally friendly alternatives in electric and electronic applications. These substitutions remain highly difficult for aerospace activities due to the length of the aerospace products life cycle and stringent safety requirements: the introduction of substitute alternatives requiring testing and certification before replacement.
In 2004, EADS installed a specific network on the RoHS/Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) issue, managed by CQO. A prior focus of EADS was on the replacement of lead. A position paper was issued in July 2005 and flowed down to the supply chain and to the engineering community. Standards are under preparation to set the rules for the global aerospace industry’s transition to safety/reliability proven solutions.
EADS and many of its BUs (Airbus, MBDA, Defence Electronics, Space Transportation) participate to the LEAP (Lead-free Electronics in Aerospace Project) Consortium which is preparing these standards. Furthermore, EADS and Boeing have decided to team up to address this difficult transition, by jointly defining the technical solutions, the validation tests protocols and the configuration management rules that will be enforced throughout the aerospace Industry and its supply chain in the coming years.
Dedicated IT tools are starting to be deployed to trace and manage hazardous substances, such as lead, from supply to disposal.
In addition, a project partnership has been formed between Airbus, EADS DCS, the EADS Innovation Works, TechCI, a printed circuit board manufacturer and ACTIA, a board assembling firm. These partners won a funding from the EU (through the LIFE programme) to develop technologies for lead substitution under the name Green Electronics in Aeronautical and Military Communication Systems (GEAMCOS). This project aims at allowing EADS BUs to reliably perform 100% lead-free soldering and to obtain 100% lead-free electronics boards in the medium term.
The life span of an aircraft is about thirty years; as a consequence, the first Airbus aircraft models are about to reach their end of life. Approximately 200 planes are expected to be withdrawn from the worldwide market each year for the next 20 years.
So far, old planes were stored in hangars or dismantled in a non-environmentally friendly way. Airbus has created a consortium to improve management of the end of aircraft life, with EADS Innovation Works (former CRC), Sogerma, Sita (a waste management company) and the Préfecture des Hautes-Pyrénées. This €2.4 million project, called PAMELA (Process for Advanced Management of End of Life of Aircraft), was approved in 2005. A special experimental centre has been set up at Tarbes Airport, where procedures for the decommissioning and recycling of aircraft in safe and environmentally responsible conditions are being tested. The aim of this project is to demonstrate that 85 – 95% of aircraft components can be recycled, reused and recovered. It will also position EADS to anticipate further environmental European Regulations on waste recycling. The first aircraft which is currently being dismantled (since March 2006) is an Airbus A300. The experience gained from this project and further dismantling will feed back into new aircraft design to help make future aircraft even easier to recycle.
Further reporting: Airbus publishes an environmental report every two years which is available on its website at www.airbus.com. Airbus’s fourth environmental report was published in 2006.
| 2006 | |
|
ISO 14001 certification/EMAS registration – List of sites covered by a certificate | 52 |
| Number of sites covered by EU-ETS | 12 |
| Total CO2 emissions (in ton) | 330,000 |
| Total CO2 emissions declared under EU ETS (in ton) | 170,000 |
| Direct Energy use segmented by primary source (in MWh) | 2,910,000 |
| Volatile Organic Compound Emissions (in ton) | 3,900 |
| Total water use (in m3) | 5,520,000 |
| Total water discharge volumes (in m3) | 3,050,000 |
| Total hazardous waste production (in ton) | 41,300 |
| Total Non-hazardous waste production (in ton) | 83,000 |
Scope: covering approximately 90% of EADS staff, 2006 figures generated on available material, definitions need harmonisation between the various countries in which EADS operates.
Except for the number of sites, all figures are rounded.
