First of all, Renault identifies risk areas and makes a diagnostic of pollution sources. This process includes:

• studying the appropriate literature and making field investigations for each industrial site,
•  monitoring and updating compiled information as part of a national “risk approach” policy.

After the diagnostic, Renault rehabilitates sites and considerably reduces pollution by:

•  taking measures to prevent soil pollution and rehabilitating industrial sites,
• making transparent disclosures with appropriate government bodies, 
• reducing water consumption per vehicle produced.

Renault has adopted the so-called “risk approach” method for protecting natural habitats. This involves deciding on measures on a case-by-case basis, according to the site's environmental fragility, surrounding area and pollution level.

Sites use specific guidelines to measure their current level of soil pollution prevention and rank measures to be taken. This method is applied at all Renault industrial sites worldwide.

Flagship rehabilitation: the Pitesti site obtains ISO 14001 certification

Renault took innumerable measures to improve the Romanian site’s environmental performance, cleaning up the soil, modernizing used water treatment facilities, installing waste processing and an ultra-filtration station for recovering oil emulsions generated from engine machining.

Objectives:

• reduce water taken from natural habitat by 15% between 2007 and 2012 and reduce liquid effluents at industrial sites;
• develop a new plant with zero industrial water and cut biological waste by 70% by 2012.

The Renault group consumed 10.7 million m3 of water in 2009, representing an average of 4.85 m3 of water consumed per vehicle produced.

Roughly 80% of the Group’s water needs result from industrial processes, with the remaining 20% required for domestic uses (sanitary, showers, catering, etc.) at industrial and support service sites.
 
To continue its reduction policy, Renault is implementing five key actions to minimize the use of natural resources and control and reduce discharges to water:

• Reduce (R1): reduce consumption at the source and discharges to water through adapted processes and management. Example: monitor water consumption, identify drift, and take corrective action as quickly as possible.
• Reuse (R2): reuse effluents in the same, original process. Example: closed-circuit management of end-of-line sealing booths.
• Recycle (R3): recycle effluents for use in other, non-original processes. Example: recycle storm water for use in processes (Maubeuge site) or for green space maintenance (Technocentre and Aubevoye).
• Minimize the impact of residual effluents on the natural habitat through high-performance, controlled treatment.
• Control the risks of accidental pollution of water resources by rolling out methods for confining accidental spillage and fire extinction water.

Renault is pursuing its policy on reducing the impacts of the effluents it releases into the natural habitat, aiming for zero industrial liquid discharge at its powertrain plants and for all new powertrain projects. To that end, the sites are:

• reducing and optimizing water consumption and discharge to water for processes (applying the principles of reducing at source and reusing effluents for the same process);
• implementing residual effluent treatment via a vacuum evaporation system and by recycling waste in processes.

Like the powertrain facilities, the body assembly plants are working to reduce at source the impact of discharges to water, by favoring “clean” technological solutions implemented as close as possible to the processes themselves (R1 and R2), by reviewing the recycling possibilities offered by industrial processes (R3), and by continuing to improve and optimize internal effluent treatment equipment and the control of accidental pollution (points 4 and 5). Lastly, the future body assembly plant in Tangiers, Morocco will be zero industrial waste right from opening in 2012.