Siemens targets corruption and efficiency

Industry giant Siemens says it can help Russia reach its ambitious energy goals, after President Dmitry Medvedev targeted 40% cuts in energy use within a decade.

Dr Dietrich Muller, Siemens President, Russia and Central Asia says Europe’s top engineering group has also declared war on corruption in the company after it was convicted of paying bribes for contracts in Russia three years ago.

“We’re living in a high-risk country, with not only corruption but several risks for our business. We started the Russian corporate ethics initiative. More than 80 companies signed a code of conduct to make only clean business in Russia.”

RT: German business leaders here said the crisis is over in their country, what about Russia and CIS?

“The times between 2005 and 2008 are definitely over, when we had tremendous growth in Russia, so we are returning to I would say normal times. But hopefully next year overall investment in industry and infrastructure will come back to the 2008 level.”

RT: What savings can Russia make in energy efficiency if it moves to Siemens products?

“We made a study here in Ekaterinburg analysing power generation, distribution, and consumption in transport, in private use and in the city itself. We found that if we apply the existing technologies from Siemens and other companies, we can reduce energy consumption by 44%, and if new technology like smart grids are used, to 2020 we expect to reduce by 79%.”