Community | September 18, 2011 | 6 comments

Siemens to quit nuclear industry

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14963575

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Wetdog
German industrial and engineering conglomerate Siemens is to withdraw entirely from the nuclear industry.

The move is a response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan in March, chief executive Peter Loescher said.

He told Spiegel magazine it was the firm's answer to "the clear positioning of German society and politics for a pullout from nuclear energy".

"The chapter for us is closed," he said, announcing that the firm will no longer build nuclear power stations.

Mr Loescher also gave his backing to the German government's planned switch to renewable energy sources, calling it a "project of the century" and claiming Berlin's target of reaching 35% renewable energy by 2020 was achievable.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced at the end of May that all of the country's 17 nuclear reactors would be shut down by 2022.

Prior to the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power accounted for 23% of electricity production in Germany.

The decision marked a complete U-turn by the chancellor, who only in September 2010 had announced that the life of existing nuclear plants would be extended by an average of 12 years.
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6 comments // Siemens to quit nuclear industry

  • JanforGore
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  
    • JanforGore:

      Jan----here is a wiki article on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and how it works.

      (note that the lists are simply lists of participating companies, not rankings)

      Companies are rated yearly in various catagories relating to economic performance, social and economic values. It is further broken down into regional lists that reflect greater concern for regional specific problems.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Sustainability_Index

      DJSI is meant as an investor tool to help investors find information and rankings concerning social, political, and environmental problems in the areas in which they do business.

      It reflects the attitude of the business management at resolving problems related to how to best manage their business and resources to take into account social and environmental problems.

      I think it is a very good thing and deserves wider acknowledgement and support.

      Participation by companies is voluntary and it seems to me that the fact that companies even participate indicates real motivation on their part.

    • 8 months ago
  • kennymotown
  • QuietPlease
  • Wetdog
    • +2
      Wetdog  
    • QuietPlease:

      Siemens is one of the largest corporations in the world, with assets of over $100 billion, and 461,000 employees worldwide.

      Siemens has been rated #1 on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index four years in a row---with a score last year of 90%, an increase over its 87% the previous year.

      It appears to me that at Siemens, putting people and earth as a priority and still making a profit is just business as usual.

      There is nothing wrong with that if you ask me.

    • 8 months ago
  • artemis6
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