Corporate Citizenship
Environmental Responsibility
Our production facilities are situated in some of our country’s most famed tourism destinations, and our business takes place in the heart of the communities we invest in.
New Paint Shop
Volkswagen of South Africa’s environmental commitment is shown in its recent investment in a new R750-million paint shop. Some of the benefits of the new Paint Shop include lower emissions values from the use of water-based paint, a reduction in ambient dirt levels due to the advanced multi-story pressurised building, environmentally-friendly heavy metal-free pre-treatment and more efficient paint transfer due to robotic paint application.
Energy Management
Since implementing an energy management programme in 2003, Volkswagen of South Africa has reduced its daily energy consumption by 10 percent. This translates into an annual saving of R1,2 million.
The company aims to cut back its energy usage by up to 15 percent per day by 2010. Volkswagen of South Africa has invested approximately R4 million in its energy management drive to date.
Recycling
Volkswagen of South Africa collects the following types of waste for selling to waste contractors for recycling: scrap metal, cardboard, paper, soft plastic, polypropylene, ferrous and non-ferrous material. Some of our drums are sold back to suppliers and those that are damaged are sold as part of scrap metal.
Used oil is collected from Volkswagen of South Africa’s various plants and workshops by the Rose Oil Foundation. It is refined by the Foundation and resold to the market.
Environmental Awareness
Environmental awareness at Volkswagen of South Africa takes place through various internal campaigns, and also through education and training of employees. Topics that are communicated to employees include Energy Management, Handling, Usage, Storage and Disposal of Chemicals, Waste Management, Water Preservation and the like. A two-day course on Environmental, Health and Safety is offered to supervisors and management and all new employees are required to attend an Environmental Awareness presentation on joining the company.
