Bosch in Brits reduces its environmental footprint

With the aim of positively contributing to the environment and improving working conditions of the facility at the Bosch production located in Brits, North West province through the installation of water harvesting systems and Photovoltaic Solar Power System (PV). The resources of water and electricity will be innovatively used in a circular manner to preserve the natural resources of the environment in which the facility operates in.

The manufacturing facility installed 14 water reservoir tanks, each with the capacity to hold over 10,000 litres of water. This will equate to the plant relying less on borehole water currently used by the facility. The rainwater will be harvested via an inlet filter through the gutters, ensuring filtration of unwanted debris. The tanks will be connected to the already existing irrigation system and the water levels will also be monitored in this manner.

In addition to using water in a diligent manner, the plant has installed a PV system. The benefits of PV system include safeguarding uptime during production, cost saving mechanism for the plant and overall reduction of carbon emissions of the plant by a further 1,099 tons of carbon dioxide. 1,110 megawatt hours of electricity annually will be generated through the installation of 1,464 solar panels, covering 3,234 square meters.

Bosch in Africa has a notable presence throughout the African continent since 1906 with the Brits production plant in South Africa established in 1976 being one of the few plants in the Bosch world producing for several automotive product areas. Parts such as Alternators, Starter Motors, Wiper Systems, Electronic Control Units and Callipers are all produced at a world class level by the production facility.

In 2020, Bosch became the first global company to achieve climate neutrality, the Bosch Group with its more than 400 locations worldwide has been climate neutral (scopes 1 and 2) as confirmed by an independent audit group. The goal now is to reduce upstream and downstream emissions (scope 3), which we aim to reduce by 15 percent by the year 2030. Our special focus lies in climate action, circular economy, and the diligent use of water.