Situation

The Georges Besse plant is located in a semi-urban industrial area. It covers a total area of 350 ha spanning the municipal districts of Brebières, Cuincy, Lambres-lez-Douai and Quiery La Motte. The nearest homes are 250 m to the north of the plant boundaries, and the nearest schools are in Cuincy, 2 km north-east of the plant. The buildings occupy a total area of 350 ha, of which 115 ha is covered and 45 ha occupied by buildings.

First ISO 14001 certification obtained in 1999.
ISO 14001 certification was obtained in August 1999 and has been renewed every year following audits. This clearly reflects the commitment made by the Georges Besse plant to environmental protection. The ISO 14001 standard is based on two fundamental principles: regulatory compliance and continuous improvement. The site's environmental policy is focused on analysis and information, so that it can certify the application of sound ecological practices at any time.

Download :

 Environmental Statement 2006 (French/English)

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Water consumption

Water consumption per vehicle produced dropped from 4.2 m3/vehicle in 1996 to  2.85 m3/vehicle in 2006. The volume of water taken from the Scarpe river and drinking water fell by 9% in 2006.

In 10 years, the plant has reduced its water consumption by 30%. 

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Water-borne effluents

In 2002, the plant set up a lead-free electrocoating process. The biological treatment plant was extended in order to make its discharges compatible with quality level 2 of the Scarpe river (“bathing water” quality).  Daily flows of Suspended Solids (SS) and Organic Matter (OM) in the water have dropped sharply thanks to optimised functioning of an innovative technology: water treatment by ultra-filtration called "membrane bioreactor".

In 2005 the plant built a holding basin for stormwater and accidental spillages to improve pollution prevention.

In 2006 the plant launched ultrafiltration of surface treatment dips. This process extends the life of treatment dips and further improves the quality of liquid effluents. 

Over five years, the plant has invested €4 million, partly subsidized by the water board, in water protection. COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) in discharges from the plant has been reduced by more than 60%.

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SO2 and greenhouse gas emissions

Atmospheric emissions were down 18% in 2006. Use of natural gas as the main energy source since 2002 has reduced SO2 emissions.

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Volatile organic compounds emissions from paint process

VOC emissions per vehicle have fallen as a result of efforts made at each stage of the bodywork paint application process, and through use of water-based paints.  In addition, energy recovery incinerators have been installed for the VOCs produced by mastics and electrocoating.

The reduction of VOCs is due to the improvement in paint batches and optimisation of recovery of painting machine purges. In 2006 the plant invested in varnish robotisation to improve application efficiency and thereby reduce VOC.
In ten years the Douai plant has reduced its VOC emissions by two thirds and is now leads the group in this field.

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Waste

Tonnages of Ordinary Industrial Waste (OIW) and Hazardous Industrial Waste (HIW) fell 17% in 2006. Fundamental actions have been taken to:

• deployment of sustainable packaging,
• optimisation of waste sorting at source,  
• behavioural changes in the plant’s 6,000 workers.  
  

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Energy

The plant implemented an energy performance management plan. Energy consumption fell 18 % between 2005 and 2006.

The following reduction actions were implemented:

• priority action plans in each sector to reduce the threshold electricity consumption value,
• regular weekend inspections of facilities, 
• reduction of air leakage.

In ten years the Douai plant has reduced its consumption per vehicle manufactured by 30%.

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Highlights

 

• Management

In 2005 and 2006, more than 9,000 people from the region learnt all about the Plant’s Environmental actions during Open Days.

The plant organized the 5, 10 and 20 km event on the theme of the environment.  An environmental quiz was organized for the occasion and Renault "I love the environment" tee-shirts were given to participants.