General Motors’ (GM) sustainability report chronicles efforts by the company’s 216,000 employees to live out GM’s newly defined purpose and values.
These actions – led by chief executive officer Mary Barra – further drive sustainability into the company’s culture through building safer and smarter vehicles with less environmental impact.
“GM will take a leading role in the auto industry’s transformation as it undergoes an unprecedented period of change,” said Bob Ferguson, senior vice president, GM Global Public Policy.
The company believes the future is electric, with billions of investment to support an all-in-house approach to the development and manufacturing of electrified vehicles. It now counts 180,834 on the road in the U.S – up from 153,034 in 2013.
Chevrolet is helping make EVs more mainstream by:
•Expanding sales of the Spark EV to Maryland with a strong infrastructure.
•Committing to produce an electric family vehicle for all 50 states that will go 200 miles on a charge and cost roughly $30,000.
•Designing the second-generation Volt arriving at dealerships this fall with a lower price than the original.
•Announcing a hybrid version of the Malibu that is expected to get a combined 47 city/highway miles per gallon.
Additionally, Cadillac announced plans for a plug-in hybrid of its range-topping Cadillac CT6 and Buick offers e-Assist light electrification technology on its LaCrosse and Regal.
GM’s 122 landfill-free facilities inspired an aspirational goal to become the first automaker with all manufacturing sites sending zero waste to landfill. GM’s recycling and reuse efforts in 2014 – 2.5 million metric tons – avoided more than 10 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions, which more than offset its worldwide manufacturing emissions.
Published in the June 2015 Edition of American Recycler News
