ArcelorMittal Belval & Differdange introduces electrical motor cars
June 9, 2016 - The ArcelorMittal Belval & Differdange sites, which produce internationally renown sheetpiles and beams, have equipped their environment, technical development and post services with four electrical vehicles. This initiative favoring sustainable development symbolises both the Group commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and also its ambition to raise employees‘ awareness on different forms of transport.
The International Environment day
The small vans and cars were introduced right after the International Environment day on June 5. This implementation is the fruit of two years of coordinated study by the environment and the purchasing teams to set up an action favoring CO2 emission reduction.
Supporting services: environment, technical development and post, crisscross the country every week between the long products sites of ArcelorMittal, from Belval to Rodange and Differdange. As they do daily short trips, the teams have been convinced by the multiple advantages of electric compared to diesel which is much more energy-consuming for stop-and-start journeys and less suitable to their needs. With an average of 70 km a day, the use of electrical motor is also more convenient thanks to the implementation of terminal in the sites of Belval and Differdange.
“The vehicles were presented to employees for the first time at the Health & Safety day in April. We were surprisingly pleased about the interest shown in the brand-new cars; beyond simple curiosity,” explains Lucie Gall, environment engineer and the project’s initiator. “If tests prove successful, electric motor cars will be systematically favored to replace the current automobile fleet to reach a 100% cover rate. Electric cars are a future-oriented solution in terms of environment whereas petrol power has been shown to be reaching its limits.”
Small gesture, big impact
In addition to fieldwork actions conducted by the environment team on energy management and waste treatment, employees of the ArcelorMittal group in Luxembourg are regularly informed and kept up to date about sustainable development issues. Last autumn, healthy breakfasts were given to employee based in the headquarters who came to work by choosing ‘soft mobility methods’ on the International car-free day. Furthermore, a communication campaign called ECO-gest’, was organized to present, over 12 months, a full range of small daily gestures reachable by everyone to offer a positive impact in favor of the environment. This campaign also addressed actions implemented by the ArcelorMittal group as an industrial company in Luxembourg.