Grundfos environmental efforts pay off

One of the means to living up to the words stated in Grundfos' vision and company values is environmental management certified according to the ISO 14001 standards. In this, the 3rd, Grundfos Group Environmental Report we offer documentation of the fact that a determined effort can render remarkable results benefiting the global as well as local environments - and which may even benefit the economy.

The greatest reduction altogether derives from the energy consumption of the products during their entire operation in end-user applications. Therefore it is of utmost importance for Grundfos to be able to integrate environmental considerations into our products already in the first stages of development - and Grundfos does that quite successfully. Grundfos has achieved remarkable environmental improvements in newly developed products with energy savings of up to 57 percent and materials reductions of up to 17 percent compared to the products they replace.

In a global perspective this effort has an enormous effect. According to estimates Grundfos pumps in 2001 alone generated energy-savings equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 283,000 households.

Although the energy consumption of products is what makes the heaviest strain on the environment, the production process also has an impact on the immediate environment, including the working environment. Consequently the production processes are constantly optimised - Grundfos specifically aims at cleaner technologies, reducing materials, and recycling. In all these areas the Group has achieved remarkable results. For instance, energy consumption during production in 2001 was reduced by 10 per cent compared to the previous year, whereas water consumption was reduced by 2 per cent.

Industrial accidents and injuries are included in the working environment considerations. Focusing on this issue, a campaign in all Grundfos production companies resulted in an 18.5 percent reduction of the number of accidents and injuries.

CEO and Group President Niels Due Jensen is very pleased with this year's result:

"Customers focus more and more on documentation for environmentally sound behaviour, evaluating the company for its credibility and responsibility by the way companies communicate. This report and the great amount of commitment that we see in the entire Grundfos Group make me look towards the future with great confidence," said Mr. Due Jensen.

Grundfos' efforts to make improvements in environmental matters are based on the Group's fundamental values but, at the same time, it is a fact that environmental considerations pay. Environmental considerations at Grundfos ensured a reduction in electricity, water and heating expenses of DKK 3.1m (approx. € 400.000) in 2001.

About the Grundfos Group

With an annual production of 10 million pump units, Grundfos is one of the world's leading pump manufacturers. Circulator pumps (UP), submersible pumps (SP), and centrifugal pumps (CR) are the three major product groups. Today, Grundfos is the world's largest manufacturer of circulator pumps, covering approximately 50 per cent of the world market.

In addition to pumps, Grundfos manufactures electric motors for the pumps and has a considerable production of electric motors for separate merchandising. Furthermore, Grundfos develops and sells state-of-the-art electronics for controls for pumps and other systems.

Grundfos was established in 1945 by the late Poul Due Jensen. At first he gave his company the name of "Bjerringbro Pressestøberi og Maskinfabrik" (Bjerringbro Die-Casting and Machine Factory) and not until 1967, after several changes of names, did the company get its present name, GRUNDFOS.