General Motors Releases Its First Sustainability Report as New Company
General Motors believes that sustainability goals are best achieved when directly integrated into its business model, and the company reinforced this commitment last week with the release of its first global sustainability report since restructuring as a new company.
In particular, I was pleased to see that the report includes the incredibly forward-thinking declaration that what GM needs to grow its business is aligned with the needs of society –namely, energy alternatives and advanced technologies to help reduce dependency on petroleum, improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, as well as bold thinking about personal mobility in the 21st century.
Looking back over the past year, GM says it has made marked progress in water conservation, renewable energy use, wildlife habitat preservation, recycling waste and material repurposing. Plus, the company is expanding its Greening Supply Chain Initiative to additional suppliers and joint ventures in China, its largest national market. In 2010, GM also earned the title clean-tech patent leader by the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index for the advanced technology, fuel efficiency and overall sustainability-related aspects of its products.
Looking ahead to the next decade, GM plans to achieve even more. The company says it will:
- Reduce energy intensity from facilities by 20 percent.
- Promote use of 125MW of renewable energy by 2020.
- Reduce carbon intensity from facilities by 20 percent.
- Reduce volatile organic compound emissions from assembly painting operations by 10 percent kg per vehicle.
- Protect water quality and reduce water intensity by 15 percent.
- Reduce total waste from facilities by 10 percent.
- Promote existing landfill-free facilities while working to achieve 100 landfill-free manufacturing sites and 25 non-manufacturing sites.
- Promote and engage in community outreach on environmental and energy issues by completing one outreach activity per plant on an annual basis.
- Secure Wildlife Habitat Certification (or equivalent) at each GM manufacturing site where feasible by 2020.
“Sustainability feeds our bottom line and sustaining a profitable business is our ultimate responsibility,” said GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “Profits enable reinvestment – in R&D to reimagine a car’s DNA; in cleaner, more fuel-efficient technologies; in plants that better conserve resources; in improved vehicle safety; in job creation and stability; and in the communities in which we live and work.”
More on GM’s environmental commitment, including a topical conversation with GM Vice President of Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs Mike Robinson, can be found here.
