Sustainability, green, carbon footprint — these terms have come to define a growing movement in our nation, but their definitions remain general. By asking component suppliers, OEMs and associations what sustainability means to them, we found each response to hold a unique and personal definition.

The following three questions were asked to better frame and define each company's involvement and motivations behind the 'Green Movement':

Define the word sustainability as it applies to your company/association and particular niche in the mobile off-highway industry.

In what ways is your company working to improve its carbon footprint? What is your motivation?

What are you doing to ensure each product you produce is better for both the consumer and the environment?

Bosch Rexroth - North America

Berend Bracht, President and CEO

If you searched the word "sustainability" on the Internet, you'd find about 28.5 million related websites. Many people loosely define sustainability as being able to meet the needs of today without jeopardizing resources or the ability to meet the needs of the future. This translates into making the most with what you have, whether it's energy, materials, time or productivity. There's no doubt sustainability is a popular topic, but it is not a new concept for Bosch Rexroth or for our parent company, Bosch.

Bosch's achievements include pioneering efforts to help the automotive industry achieve greater fuel efficiency, including the development of electric and hydraulic hybrid drive technology. Globally, Bosch Rexroth is involved in wind, wave and solar energy, as well as the development of hydrostatic regenerative braking systems (HRB) for recovering energy used in braking of vehicles.

Sustainability for a company like Bosch Rexroth means a continual process of engineering our products to make them as energy efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly as possible. And it means constantly reengineering our own processes and systems to reduce waste, improve efficiency, and reduce our impact on the environment.

We believe the challenge of sustainability can best be addressed by design and manufacturing engineers. It is engineers who design the products that will make sustainable living a reality, and it is engineers who develop sustainable manufacturing technology to create those products.

Like our customers, Bosch Rexroth is a manufacturer, and we've taken a number of steps to reduce our carbon footprint. We've eliminated petroleum-based paint in our products and minimized our use of packaging material. We're using low-emission process chemicals for windings. All of our production facilities in North America meet ISO:14001 standards. We're doing everything we can to reduce transport costs, and we're sharing those ideas with our customers.

We are also applying our own Bosch Production System (BPS) to systematically eliminate waste throughout our manufacturing, evaluating the advantages of manual and automated processes. We are marketing our lean manufacturing expertise to allow our customers achieve those benefits, too.

We've joined the Chicago Climate Exchange, the world's first — and North America's only — voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, registry and trading program. In joining, Bosch has committed to achieve a 6% reduction in GHG emissions at its U.S. operations by 2010, from a baseline of the company's average GHG emissions in the year 2000.

Forklift truck manufacturers are cutting energy costs and improving performance with our load-sensing systems. Self-propelled harvesting machines using our hydrostatic drives have greater stability, increased operator comfort and safety, and reduced energy costs. Backhoe manufacturers can reduce energy requirements and pollution using Rexroth variable displacement pumps. Tracked vehicle manufacturers are reporting reduced energy consumption and total cost of ownership using our high performance hydraulic drive concepts.