Many automakers have improved their sustainability efforts to help create a better world, become carbon-neutral, and leave the world a better place.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. We see these words in a green triangle on many products we buy, but how often are we throwing recyclable materials in the garbage can? Are your plastic water bottles going in the plastic trash bag instead of in a recycling bin? Individual recycling takes effort; can you imagine the effort it must take for large automotive companies to embrace sustainability and alter production processes to create a more environmentally friendly approach to manufacturing?

Automakers are leading the way

A study conducted by the Capgemini Research Institute confirmed that many automakers are ahead of expected goals with their sustainability efforts. The automotive industry is making huge strides in changing processes and becoming more eco-friendly than ever before. Most of the industry leaders have formed collaborative goals to work toward various sustainability benchmarks. With that in mind, we can take a deeper dive into what a few of the top automakers are doing to make things better and improve their processes.

What is Nissan doing to improve sustainability?

Nissan created a Nissan Green Program 2022 to take positive action against climate change. Their immediate goal is to ensure the company is no longer contributing toward climate change. This means fewer greenhouse gasses and less water use in their manufacturing processes. Nissan’s sustainability plan began aback in 2018 with a plan to create zero-emission vehicles and a zero-fatality society.

Like most automakers, Nissan is only at the starting point and beginning to move efforts forward. Some of Nissan’s long-term sustainability goals include:

• Carbon neutrality – 90% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050
• Zero new material resource use – reduce dependency on new materials by 70%
• Zero impact on air quality
• Zero impact on air quality
• Zero stress on water scarcity
• Zero fatalities
• Sustainable supply chains

These are interesting sustainability goals. The one that caught our attention the most is the zero new material resource use. This could mean future Nissan vehicles are entirely made of recycled materials or reused products. Keep in mind, the zero new material resource could also be an offset between the amount of materials recycled versus the new materials included in vehicles.

Nissan has committed to more than improving their company efforts, but also educating others to do the same in their personal lives. The company has set up a series of educational tools for employees, investors, stakeholders, customers, and communities. These efforts can have a widespread positive impact on the world.

Has General Motors made efforts to reach sustainability goals?

General Motors is the world’s largest automaker and as such, it’s a leader in many ways, including sustainability efforts. The 2019 Sustainability Report shows how GM is acutely aware of its responsibility and can use its efforts to help create a much better future. To this end, GM is committed to helping create a world with zero emissions, zero crashes, and zero traffic congestion.

GM is already in the throws of transitioning to an all-electric lineup, researching technology for autonomous vehicles, and incorporating sustainable practices into its processes. GM has implemented a Global Environmental Policy that works toward:

• Taking care of the planet
• Improving technologies
• Environmentals
• Obeying environmental regulations and policies
• Water conservation and quality
• Responsible sourcing
• Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change
• Energy management
• Waste reduction
• Environmental management systems
• Renewable energy

Leaders, investors, and employees at GM have gotten involved in the sustainability programs being put in place by the company. They are doing this through environmental training, committees, briefings, and new programs. Some of the progress toward the automaker’s sustainability efforts include:

• $2.2 billion investment in the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant
• $20 billion in capital engineering resources to be allocated to EV and AV by 2025
• 5 years that GM has been placed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for North America
• 100% of GM owned facilities source electricity from renewable sources by 2040 globally
• 50% of automotive parts mad of sustainable materials by 2030
• Nine years GM has bee named a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Partner o the Year

Is Ford working toward environmental protection?

Ford is one of the top automakers working toward strong sustainability efforts around the globe. This company is reducing emissions associated with using Ford vehicles while also working on ways to responsibly manage operations to positively contribute to the environment. Ford shows a clear path toward sustainability by using recycled and sustainable materials, investing in technology, scaling up electrification, developing self-driving vehicles, and creating safe, sustainable vehicles.

Some of Ford’s efforts toward sustainability include:

• Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050
• Creating stronger vehicle greenhouse gas standard with California
• Meeting Paris Climate Agreement guidelines for reducing CO2 emissions
• Using 100% locally sourced renewable energy for manufacturing plants globally by 2035
• Achieving true zero waste landfills and eliminating single-use plastics by 2030
• Making zero water withdraws for manufacturing
• Achieving zero air emissions from its facilities
• Using recycled and renewable plastics in vehicles globally

Ford is also pushing toward employee and public programs of education regarding sustainability efforts.

Many automakers take different paths toward similar goals

Most automakers are employing various sustainability efforts to ensure the world of tomorrow is a better one than we have today. The automotive industry has come under fire recently due to the mining processes of materials used in electric vehicle batteries. What critics fail to realize is the simple fact that once an EV is on the road, it becomes much more eco-friendly than gas-powered vehicles.

As automakers work toward reducing greenhouse gases, improving air quality, reducing water and energy depletion, and cutting down on material waste, we can only wonder if each individual person is doing their part toward these same goals. Large companies, such as automakers have a distinct impact on the environment, but every individual also has an impact and improving the world’s environment begins with making the choice to recycle, reduce, or reuse as often as possible.

How do you feel about the efforts automakers are taking to create more sustainable processes? What can you do this week to improve your own recycling efforts?