Facing an automotive industry that is unsustainable in its current form, General Motors says it is restructuring its global vehicle portfolio, rethinking manufacturing and collaborating with unlikely partners to advance the industry.
22 May 2014 | 3501 Views | By Autocar Pro News Desk
Facing an automotive industry that is unsustainable in its current form, General Motors says it is restructuring its global vehicle portfolio, rethinking manufacturing and collaborating with unlikely partners to advance the industry. The company has described its efforts in its latest sustainability report.
“Our customer focus underscores why sustainability ...
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Facing an automotive industry that is unsustainable in its current form, General Motors says it is restructuring its global vehicle portfolio, rethinking manufacturing and collaborating with unlikely partners to advance the industry. The company has described its efforts in its latest sustainability report.
“Our customer focus underscores why sustainability is and will continue to be a core strategy for GM,” said GM CEO Mary Barra. “People care about more than the cars. They care how we build them, and how we engage with the world around us. This knowledge, and the discipline that flows from it, is transforming our approach to product design, manufacturing, safety, quality, the environment, customer care and a host of other areas at a remarkable pace.”
From smaller and cleaner high-performing engines to mass reduction and improved aerodynamics, vehicle efficiency efforts will reduce carbon emissions and increase fuel economy while meeting a variety of customer needs. The company now has five models achieving more than 40 miles per gallon/17 kilometres per litre.
GM says it has progressed in all four of its product commitments in fuel economy, electrification and emissions reduction, and added another to tackle its biggest market. It has committed to reducing the average carbon emissions of its China fleet by 28 percent by 2020, which could result in an annual reduction of 2 million metric tons of CO2 and a billion litres of petrol. As of 2013, the carmaker has 153,034 electrified vehicles on the road and aims to cross the 500,000 mark by 2017.
“Climate change, energy security, and congestion challenge our environment and our industry, but we see value in the disruption,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice-president, Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs. “We are reimagining transportation using a long-term, customer-centric approach.”
As more people expect their cars to have the technology they use everywhere else in their lives, the company’s OnStar program helps customers with service’s route optimisation to find ways around congestion and receive real-time feedback on how to drive more efficiently. According to GM, it is also working toward a vision for connected vehicles that share information with each other and their infrastructure to help anticipate and avoid crashes.
On methods to reduce the industry’s environmental footprint, GM says it is working to better understand the greenhouse gas impacts of its products throughout the supply chain so it can make broader improvements.
GM remains the only automaker signatory of the Climate Declaration, which asserts there is economic opportunity in addressing climate change. Last year, the automaker met the voluntary ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry criteria at nine additional plants for an industry-leading total of 63 facilities worldwide (including seven in China), saving $162 million (Rs 948 crore) in combined energy costs. From removing coal-fired boilers at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to saving $10 million (Rs 58 crore) in annual energy costs by using more landfill gas at its Fort Wayne and Orion assembly plants, GM is successfully reducing its global carbon footprint, plant by plant.
It also benefits from ongoing energy, water and waste reduction. Seven years ahead of schedule, the company met its commitments to reduce total waste and volatile organic compound emissions by 10 percent each and to establish 25 non-manufacturing landfill-free facilities. It will now set new targets.
In China, GM currently has 10 landfill-free facilities. Seven are operated by Shanghai GM and three by SAIC-GM-Wuling. These facilities – which include stamping, assembly and casting operations – reuse, recycle or convert to energy all manufacturing waste from their daily operations.
GM is improving the sustainability of its plants across China. For example, at an SGMW plant in Liuzhou they use no heating in winter other than in the paint shop to meet paint booth temperature and humidity requirements. Natural ventilation and harvested daylight make this one of the lowest energy plants in the world.
GM’s global manufacturing progress against other 2020 global manufacturing commitments with a 2010 baseline includes:
“We like the results we are seeing, but we fully recognize we have a tremendous amount of work to do,” Barra said.
Industry transformation will not come from one company’s actions alone. GM also collaborates with unlikely partners, including competitors such as Honda to develop fuel cell systems and technology, and such non-governmental organisations as the BlueGreen Alliance, Union of Concerned Scientists, World Wildlife Fund and Ceres to create a greener economy and conserve the resources vital to the industry.