Detroit automaker General Motors Co. has announced the results of its 2016 sustainability report, which reveals the company’s progress toward achieving universal mobility and zero-emissions vehicles.
The company also reported using 199.8 megawatts of renewable energy in 2016, surpassing its 125MW commitment four years early. The company says it saves $5 million per year from these efforts, and is working towards sourcing all electrical power for 350 facilities in 59 countries with renewable energy by 2050.
Sustainable manufacturing progress also reduced energy and carbon intensity by 16 percent, and water intensity by 12 percent, the report says.
During 2016, GM produced 11 vehicle models worldwide with some form of electrification, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which gets an EPA-estimated 238 miles on a full charge. Lightweighting helped improve customers’ fuel efficiency, with 10 vehicles losing a total of 3,600 pounds. The company’s Maven car-sharing service, now in 17 cities, features 100 Bolt EV’s capable driving 250,000 all-electric miles per month.
The company also drove more than 50 autonomous Bolt EV vehicles in San Francisco, Scottsdale, Ariz., and metro Detroit, with the hope that autonomous vehicle technology will reduce traffic fatalities and make transportation more accessible for the elderly and people with disabilities. In addition, GM offers 61 global models with forward collision alert, 58 with lane departure warnings, and 40 with side blind zone alert. More than half the Chevrolet vehicles sold this year will feature GM’s teen driver system, which encourages safe driving practices, according to the report.
With its long-term goals set at zero waste, the company added 23 new landfill-free facilities during 2016, with 152 sites worldwide, exceeding its 2020 landfill-free target. GM also reduced waste by 27 percent since 2010 by managing the Materials Marketplace, a reuse network where businesses can use a software program to buy one another’s scrap.
A full version of the report can be viewed here.
