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Press Release08 December 2009Siemens AGCopenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen — the greenest major city in Europe
“Our analysis indicates that European cities are leaders in environmental performance. In particular, almost all of the 30 cities — which are home to a total of nearly 75 million inhabitants — average lower per capita CO2 emissions than EU countries,” said James Watson, managing editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit and the editor of the study. The best city in this category, Oslo, emits only 2.5 tons of CO2 per capita and per year, far less than the EU average of 8.5 tons. What’s more, almost all of the cities have already developed and partially implemented an environmental strategy. “All of the cities face formidable challenges, however. For example, renewable sources of energy currently account for only around seven percent of these cities’ energy supply, which is significantly under the target of 20 percent set by the EU for 2020,” said Watson. Furthermore, the average share of waste that is recycled is less than 20 percent, while one in four liters of water is wasted through leakage.
Scandinavian cities generally achieve high scores. Awareness of environmental protection in these cities has been strong for years, which is reflected in the cities’ ambitious climate targets. Copenhagen, for example, aims to be carbon free by 2025. In Scandinavian countries, GDP per capita income is above average, and these wealthy countries have invested substantially in environmental protection. So far, Eastern European cities generally rank lower. This is largely due to a comparatively low gross domestic product and historic burdens, including the lack of attention paid to environmental protection in previous decades. In particular, high energy consumption in buildings and outdated infrastructures reflect this. In the area of public transportation, however, Eastern European cities often score above average: Kiev, which is ranked 30th overall, is estimated to have the highest percentage of people using public transportation to commute.
The scope of the European Green City Index is unique. The eight categories are based on 30 individual indicators — 16 of which are quantitative (e.g. consumption of water and energy per capita, recycling rate, and use of public transportation) and 14 qualitative (e.g. CO2 reduction targets, efficiency standards for buildings, and support for environmental protection measures). The Economist Intelligence Unit developed the index and wrote the report in cooperation with Siemens. “As far as possible, the research is based on data from official sources, such as municipal statistics departments and city governments,” said Watson. The study also includes in-depth city portraits that reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each urban center, while also highlighting initiatives and projects from which other cities can learn. “A key element of the study is the comparability of the results from each city — within both the individual categories and in the overall evaluation,” added Watson.
The European Green City Index is the third Siemens study to date in the Sustainable Urban Infrastructures series — after sustainability reports on London and Munich. “With this analysis we are once again underscoring our commitment to helping cities with their climate protection measures,” said Achatz. “After all, they play a key role, given that they are responsible for 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions and that more than half of the world’s population lives in cities today.” Siemens’ environmental portfolio makes it an ideal partner for the implementation of climate-friendly infrastructure solutions. In fiscal 2009, the company generated about €23 billion in revenue with the products and solutions of its environmental portfolio. That is approximately 30 percent of its total annual revenue.
The ranking results of the European Green City Index:
Notice: The press conference in Copenhagen will be broadcast live in the Internet beginning at 10.30 a.m. (CET) at: www.siemens.com/press/greencityindex. You can ask questions via e-mail to pressconference@siemens.com
For this press release
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the industry, energy and healthcare sectors. For over 160 years, Siemens has stood for technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. The company is the world’s largest provider of environmental technologies, generating €23 billion – nearly one-third of its total revenue – from green products and solutions. In fiscal 2009, which ended on September 30, 2009, revenue totaled €76.7 billion and net income €2.5 billion. At the end of September 2009, Siemens had around 405,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at: www.siemens.com.
This document contains forward-looking statements and information – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. These statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “looks forward to,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will,” “project” or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Siemens’ management, and are, therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond Siemens’ control, affect Siemens’ operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Siemens to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For Siemens, particular uncertainties arise, among others, from changes in general economic and business conditions (including margin developments in major business areas and recessionary trends); the possibility that customers may delay the conversion of booked orders into revenue or that prices will decline as a result of continued adverse market conditions to a greater extent than currently anticipated by Siemens’ management; developments in the financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices, debt prices (credit spreads) and financial assets generally; continued volatility and a further deterioration of the capital markets; a worsening in the conditions of the credit business and, in particular, additional uncertainties arising out of the subprime, financial market and liquidity crises; future financial performance of major industries that Siemens serves, including, without limitation, the Sectors Industry, Energy and Healthcare; the challenges of integrating major acquisitions and implementing joint ventures and other significant portfolio measures; the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies; a lack of acceptance of new products or services by customers targeted by Siemens; changes in business strategy; the outcome of pending investigations and legal proceedings and actions resulting from the findings of these investigations; the potential impact of such investigations and proceedings on Siemens’ ongoing business including its relationships with governments and other customers; the potential impact of such matters on Siemens’ financial statements; as well as various other factors. More detailed information about certain of the risk factors affecting Siemens is contained throughout this report and in Siemens’ other filings with the SEC, which are available on the Siemens website, www.siemens.com, and on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the relevant forward-looking statement as expected, anticipated, intended, planned, believed, sought, estimated or projected. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.
This document contains forward-looking statements and information – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. These statements may be identified by words such as “expects,” “looks forward to,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “will,” “project” or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Siemens’ management, and are, therefore, subject to certain risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond Siemens’ control, affect Siemens’ operations, performance, business strategy and results and could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Siemens to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For Siemens, particular uncertainties arise, among others, from changes in general economic and business conditions (including margin developments in major business areas and recessionary trends); the possibility that customers may delay the conversion of booked orders into revenue or that prices will decline as a result of continued adverse market conditions to a greater extent than currently anticipated by Siemens’ management; developments in the financial markets, including fluctuations in interest and exchange rates, commodity and equity prices, debt prices (credit spreads) and financial assets generally; continued volatility and a further deterioration of the capital markets; a worsening in the conditions of the credit business and, in particular, additional uncertainties arising out of the subprime, financial market and liquidity crises; future financial performance of major industries that Siemens serves, including, without limitation, the Sectors Industry, Energy and Healthcare; the challenges of integrating major acquisitions and implementing joint ventures and other significant portfolio measures; the introduction of competing products or technologies by other companies; a lack of acceptance of new products or services by customers targeted by Siemens; changes in business strategy; the outcome of pending investigations and legal proceedings and actions resulting from the findings of these investigations; the potential impact of such investigations and proceedings on Siemens’ ongoing business including its relationships with governments and other customers; the potential impact of such matters on Siemens’ financial statements; as well as various other factors. More detailed information about certain of the risk factors affecting Siemens is contained throughout this report and in Siemens’ other filings with the SEC, which are available on the Siemens website, www.siemens.com, and on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the relevant forward-looking statement as expected, anticipated, intended, planned, believed, sought, estimated or projected. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.
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