CHENGDU - A new plant by Volkswagen's joint venture with FAW Group went into operation last month, providing not just more capacity, but also a another step in its journey to "green" production.

Across the world, Volkswagen Group has been striving to improve resource utilization and environmental conservation in its production processes.

The effort includes control measures before, during and after production using 22 standardized guidelines designed to minimize environmental impacts.

Joining a Chattanooga facility in the US, a plant in Pune, India and the Kaluga plant in Russia, the new Chengdu plant uses Volkswagen's state-of-the-art measures for sustainable development.

All links in the production chain better use energy and resources.

Waste aluminum sheets from the press shop are completely recycled and reused. In the welding shop, advanced machinery provides a 50 percent saving in electricity. At the general assembly line, a closed water cycle is used to test car seals and the latest conveyance machinery operates with low resistance.

The paint shop features "eco-dry scrubber" technology, which reduces by 90 percent the amount of water used on the paint line. It also reduces CO2 emissions from the final paint line by nearly 10,000 tons, or 19.6 percent.

Initially the plant will have a yearly output of 350,000 cars, which will be increased to 450,000 cars after it is fully completed in 2013. The joint venture's new Jetta and new Sagitar will be built at the site.

As a long-standing, reliable partner in China's automotive industry, in the past three decades Volkswagen has not only advanced the sector, but also notched up achievements in environmental protection, talent training and technological research, said Karl-Thomas Neumann, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.

All Volkswagen vehicles and component factories in China have passed ISO14001 environment system certification, the company said.

"The new Chengdu plant has world-class environmental technology and it is a milestone in Volkswagen's efforts for sustainable development in China," Neumann said.

The company said that it will implement green manufacturing standards on factories in Foshan of Guangdong province and Yizheng in Jiangsu province that will be put into operation around 2013.

Volkswagen has also extended its green efforts outside the industry. Since 2007, the automaker has carried out an education program nationwide to improve children's awareness of protecting the environment.

Now in its fifth year, Volkswagen's Green Future Environmental Education Initiative has been to more than 30 schools in 20 provinces, with over 20,000 students participating in lectures and activities on topics like global warming, wetland protection, biodiversity and trash classification.

Last week the automaker came to its last stop of the education tour this year - Chengdu. Invited lecturers were famed wildlife photographer Xi Zhinong and environment education expert Han Jing.