Siemens AG will distribute funds totaling US$100 million, over 15 years, to nonprofit organizations worldwide that promote business integrity and fight corruption. Applications for support from the Siemens Integrity Initiative can be submitted as of today. “Siemens stands for clean and sustainable business,” said Peter Y. Solmssen, Member of the Managing Board and General Counsel of Siemens AG. “This initiative will boost our efforts for more business integrity and fair market conditions globally. We are looking forward to making this a joint success with the World Bank and other partners.”
Copenhagen is the “greenest” major city in Europe, followed by Stockholm, Oslo, Vienna, and Amsterdam. This is the conclusion reached by a unique study of the environmental sustainability of 30 major cities in 30 European countries that Siemens presented during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. In addition to analyzing these cities’ achievements and objectives in the area of environmental and climate protection, the European Green City Index makes the differences transparent. The study evaluates the 30 cities in eight categories: CO2 emissions; energy; buildings; transportation; water; air quality; waste and land use; and environmental governance. “We support the cities’ efforts to achieve efficient climate protection by providing them with comprehensive standardized data,” said Dr. Reinhold Achatz, head of Corporate Research and Technologies, the central research unit of Siemens AG. “Cities can use this study to prioritize their actions in reducing their carbon footprint.”
We released our figures for fiscal year 2009 on December 3, 2009.
"In a very difficult environment, Siemens has performed very well in 2009 compared to its key competitors. Supported by our Energy and Healthcare Sectors, we can look back with pride on our stable revenue development and our robust profit on a operational basis. With new energy we started in fiscal 2010 and have strengthened our portfolio by the addition of Solel. We see substantial further potential worldwide in the area of environmental technology. To ensure the sustainable viability of businesses that have been particularly affected by the crisis we are continuing to rigorously implement all necessary measures. The overall market environment will remain challenging in 2010."
Siemens AG is reckoning with much higher savings from more efficient real estate management than previously expected. By bundling the worldwide responsibility for all real estate activities under the roof of the internal real estate specialist Siemens Real Estate (SRE), the annual costs are to be reduced by over €250 million from 2011 and by up to €400 million from 2014 by comparison with the level of 2008. “We have been very successful with our program to optimize administration costs and now want to increase the efficiency of our real estate management. We will achieve this by significantly improving surface area productivity and coordinating the infrastructure services,” said Joe Kaeser, Siemens CFO. The implementation of the program for bundling the real estate activities will at first entail costs totaling an estimated €300 million by fiscal 2013 due to the reduction of unused spaces and the consolidation of real estate.
Siemens demonstrated operational strength in a difficult economic environment in fiscal 2009. Growth and profit targets were met and, in part, substantially exceeded. The company continued to push its focus on its core businesses, and further expanded its Environmental Portfolio, one of the important growth drivers at Siemens. The procurement initiative and the program to reduce selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses further strengthened Siemens’ competitiveness. “In a very difficult environment, Siemens has performed very well in 2009 compared to its key competitors. Supported by our Energy and Healthcare Sectors, we can look back with pride on our stable revenue development and our robust profit on an operational basis,” said Peter Löscher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG. “With new energy we started in fiscal 2010 and have strengthened our portfolio by the addition of Solel. We see substantial further potential worldwide in the area of environmental technology. To ensure the sustainable viability of businesses that have been particularly affected by the crisis, we are continuing to rigorously implement all necessary measures. The overall market environment will remain challenging in 2010.”
Siemens AG has come to an agreement about settlements with six further former Board members against whom damages were claimed in connection with past cases of corruption in the company. Corresponding agreements have been reached with former Managing Board members Johannes Feldmayer, Klaus Kleinfeld, Jürgen Radomski and Uriel Sharef, the former Chairman of the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board Heinrich von Pierer, and the former Chairman of the Supervisory Board Karl Hermann Baumann. Agreement had already been achieved prior to this with the three former Managing Board members Edward G. Krubasik, Rudi Lamprecht and Klaus Wucherer. No agreement has been reached with the former Managing Board members Thomas Ganswindt and Heinz-Joachim Neubürger, against whom criminal investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office Munich are pending. The current nine settlement agreements must be finally decided on by the Siemens Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on January 26, 2010.
Siemens AG anticipates massive investments will be made in infrastructure in major cities throughout the world in the coming years. The largest part of the funds will be invested in ecofriendly solutions. “Cities are the growth drivers of the future, yet also account for the biggest share of CO2 emissions. Cities worldwide are the decisive factor for our climate. With our unique Environmental Portfolio, Siemens is the perfect partner for sustainable urban development,” said Siemens President and CEO Peter Löscher.
Fitting a towering wind turbine with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and creating a highly visible symbol for climate protection and sustainability – Siemens has achieved a unique and pioneering technical project in the world. The concept was implemented together with Munich multimedia artist Michael Pendry after more than twelve months of intensive preparations. Now the moment is about to arrive when around 9,000 LEDs brilliantly light up the wind turbine from the 1st Advent Sunday until December 31, 2009.
Siemens’ innovative strength continues unabated: The company currently owns over 56,000 patents — 1,000 more than in fiscal year 2008. Siemens applied for around 4,200 patents in fiscal year 2009, the result of approximately 7,700 inventions reported worldwide by the company’s 32,500 researchers and developers — which is equivalent of 35 inventions per day of work. At a ceremony in Munich on November 23, Siemens CEO Peter Löscher honored 13 of the company’s most outstanding inventors. The award-winning research ranges from an infrared camera system that makes it possible to look into the white-hot interiors of gas turbines, to environmentally friendly “green ship” technology and a new 3D X-ray diagnostic system for detecting cancer. Altogether the 13 inventors hold about 1,000 individual patents.