Dubai, UAE; July 18, 2010: BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH has become the first home appliance manufacturer to bring its most efficient appliances together into a “Super Efficiency Portfolio”.

The super-efficient energy appliances are a perfect fit to the current focus of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Middle East region to promote sustainable development.

Through its super-efficient appliances, the group is making a direct contribution to cutting electricity and water consumption in households, and also to climate change challenges.

“We assume responsibility for the environment and society, and thus also contribute to sustainable development around the world,” said Dr. Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet, Chairman of the Board of BSH.

First and foremost, this embraces the development and production of home appliances that are particularly sparing with energy and water. This reflects the fact that more than 90 per cent of the environmental impact occurring during the product lifecycle arises in the usage phase, that is to say from the energy, water and detergents consumed.

“With our innovative and super-efficient home appliances we can make a decisive contribution to climate and environmental protection,” added Gutberlet.

Ali Borhani, Energy Champion of BSH, said: “The demand for power and water is fast-growing in the Middle East region, led by the growth in population and investments in infrastructure development. The governments are currently focusing on promoting sustainable development initiatives that involve all stakeholders including the public. The use of energy-efficient products will go a long way in meeting the long-term growth goals of the region.”

The appliances sold by BSH in Europe during 2009 will bring a saving of some 1.1 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, calculated over the average duration of use of the appliances. This is equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of more than 300,000 private households in Germany.

These figures have been validated by a firm of auditors, and published in the new BSH sustainability report. In its 18th sustainability report, the home appliance maker sets out how it implements its corporate strategy, with its orientation towards sustainability.

The sustainability report details the company’s progress in relation to the United Nations’ Global Compact, which BSH joined back in 2004, and takes its orientation from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. The sustainability report can be downloaded at www.bsh-group.com

• Zeolite® drying system for dishwashers available in the GCC receives prize for its optimal energy efficiency
• Zeolite® dishwashers save 20% energy in comparison to the up-to-date models in the market
• Bosch and Siemens dishwashers uses only 7 Liters of waters in its latest models whereas hand washing requires 40 Liters for the same wash

Dubai, UAE; April 7, 2010: BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group, the world’s number three and Europe’s number one in the home appliances sector, received the “Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment” from Dr. Norbert Röttgen, German Federal Minister for the Environment, in Berlin, for promoting energy-efficient products.

BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group received the first Innovation Prize for its zeolite® drying system for dishwashers, which considerably reduces the appliances’ energy consumption, and are currently available in the GCC region.

“Over the past 20 years we have halved the energy consumption of our dishwashers. The innovative zeolite® technology has made another enormous leap in efficiency possible. At just 0.83 kilowatt hours per cycle, the new appliances need 20 percent less electricity than the most energy-efficient dishwashers to date,” explained BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group CEO Dr. Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet commenting on the award.

The company doubled the sale of super efficient household appliances within one year. In 2009, the share of these appliances had already reached 15 percent of total sales in Europe and also a significant percentage in GCC.

“Sustainable growth is one of the key development strategies of governments across the Middle East region. By introducing a range of energy and water-use efficient products in the region, we are further partnering in the ‘Green Vision’ of the region,” added Mr. Martin Jaeger, Marketing Director of BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group - UAE.

The award-winning dishwashers feature a special container of zeolite®, a mineral with the ability to store moisture and energy. It dries the dishes after the cleaning cycle by absorbing the moisture from the air in the dishwasher’s interior. During the next cleaning cycle, the zeolite® is heated up and the moisture released so that it is ready for the next drying cycle. Zeolite® speeds up the drying process, considerably reducing cycle times.

Mr. Henning Voss, Chief Executive Officer, BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group - Middle East, Africa and East Asia, said: “BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group strongly believes in the importance of offering environmentally friendly products that support the region’s long-term growth outlook. We constantly strive to produce products and find systems that are both environmentally friendly and energy efficient. We have also rolled out these products across the markets that we are present including the GCC.”

If all the dishwashers in use in households today that are over ten years old and use more than 1.3 kWh of electricity per cycle were to be replaced with highly efficient appliances featuring the zeolite® drying system, over 1.2 million tons of CO₂ - equivalent to the emissions of approximately 600,000 automobiles that drive around 15,000 kilometers a year.

It is the first time that zeolite® – until now only used in industry – is being used in a mass-produced household appliance. This world’s first from Bosch and Siemens, has now been awarded the “Innovation Prize for Climate and Environment” in the category “Product and service innovations for climate protection.”

The prize was jointly presented by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Federation of German Industries (BDI).

A total of 145 applicants submitted their entries for a prize in one of the five categories. The high-ranking jury chaired by Prof. Klaus Töpfer, former director of the UN Environment Programme, based their decisions on a scientific innovation audit carried out by the Fraunhofer Institute. The jury also recommended that the zeolite® drying system be entered into the “European Business Awards for Sustainable Development” competition held by the EU Commission.

The “Innovation Prize for Climate and the Environment” (IKU) is intended to promote German innovations that make a contribution towards climate and/or environment protection and provide answers to one of the greatest challenges of today’s world. The winners of the IKU also receive 25,000 Euros, which BSH will pass on to the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE) to be used for research projects on improving energy efficiency. The zeolite® drying system was developed by BSH engineers together with experts from the ZAE