- SEAT GROUP, COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY
- CATALAN GOVERMENT’S DIRECTOR GENERAL FOR ENVIRONMENT AWARDS EUROPEAN STAMP OF APPROVAL
- COMPANY INITIATES SECOND PHASE OF TRAINING CENTRE TODAY
El Prat de Llobregat, 06.09.2012.- Today Gearbox del Prat received the EMAS environmental certificate in recognition of its environmental commitment from Assumpta Farran, the Generalitat – Catalan government’s General Director for Environmental Quality. The award ceremony was also attended by Sergi Alegre, Deputy Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat.
Gearbox thus receives the stamp of approval in European environmental quality after voluntarily adhering to the European regulation that assesses and determines the degree of efficiency of energy processes in companies. The company, wholly owned by SEAT, has been implementing sustainable practices since 2001, when it first established an environmental control system, later gaining the ISO-14001 certificate. The EMAS award marks one step further in the company’s sustainability strategy by recognising the environmental qualities of the procedures it undertakes.
Gearbox director Herbert Steiner highlighted the importance of the attitude of the more than 1,000-strong workforce. “The new WMAS certification is the result of the joint dedication and efforts of all personnel. From the very outset they have been actively involved in the project, and have once more demonstrated their high degree of commitment and awareness, by using more eco-friendly methods in their work routines”.
The assessment process not only raises employee awareness but also provides pointers on measures to reduce risk impact, optimize waste management and reduce costs in the middle and long term.
Gearbox Training Centre
The official award ceremony of the EMAS certificate was held at the same time as the opening of the second phase of Gearbox’s Training Centre. This 490 sq. metre facility provides specialist training for company employees in production systems. The first phase of the project started in October 2011, since when some 500 employees have received training.
One of the several new initiatives undertaken with the opening of the second floor of the Training Centre is the environmental awareness course, to be given to the entire workforce – yet another example of the company’s environmental programme. Other training projects – such as assembly skills or teamwork optimization – will also be started up.
By consolidating and strengthening employees’ techniques, the Training Centre has a two-fold aim – to increase employees’ training and improve production quality.
SEAT is the only company in its sector with the full-range capacity to design, develop, manufacture and market cars in Spain. A member of the Volkswagen Group, the multinational has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona), exporting approximately 80% of its vehicles to 75 countries. In 2011 SEAT had a total turnover of more than 5 billion euros, with overall deliveries amounting to 350,000 units.
SEAT Group employs more than 14,000 professionals at its three production centres in Barcelona – Zona Franca, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where it manufactures the highly successful Ibiza and Leon, amongst other models. Additionally, the company produces the Alhambra in Palmela (Portugal), the Mii in Bratislava (Slovakia) and the new Toledo in Mladá Boleslav (Czech Republic) at Volkswagen Group plants.
The Spanish multinational also has a Technical Center, a ‘knowledge hub’, bringing together more than 900 engineers whose goal is to be the driving force behind innovation for the number one industrial investor in R&D in Spain. In line with its declared commitment to environmental protection, SEAT undertakes and bases its core activity on sustainability, namely reduction of CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, as well as recycling and re-use of resources.
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Text and photograph by: SEAT
