In the year under review, total energy consumption increased by 4.8% to 79,714 MWh for the Lighting Segment and by approx. 2.8% to 35,927 MWh for the Components Segment, as a result of the higher volume and greater heating requirements in winter. Energy consumption per 1,000 units produced* amounted to 8.09 MWh (2009/10: 7.90 MWh) in the Lighting Segment, and 0.40 MWh (2009/10: 0.45 MWh) in the Components Segment. 

Even though the lighting sector is not actually an energy-intensive sector compared to other industries, tapping into potential energy savings in order to continuously reduce the amount of energy consumed in production operations is a matter of paramount concern to the Zumtobel Group. Continuously cutting energy consumption per 1.000 manufactured units is the goal in both Segments. Specific measures are taken in the plants in order to achieve this. In the year under review, energy savings were obtained, for example, by modernising heating installations (Usingen), installing a new soldering machine (Dornbirn), improving a compressed-air system (Landskrona, Fürstenfeld) and installing an intelligent lighting concept (Spennymoor, Innsbruck).

Energy consumption of the lighting system at the Lemgo plant was actually cut by 50%. Optimising the lighting installation by cleverly combining daylight and artificial lighting provided the greatest scope to make savings. In addition, the Zumtobel Group made the 5,000 m2 roof of its plant in Lemgo available for installing a photovoltaic system as part of a project carried out in cooperation with the local community and other firms.

Investments in IT also yielded considerable energy savings in the year under review. Deploying virtual servers, for instance, means that just two servers are now needed in Spennymoor rather than the previous ten.