Volvo Cars seeks to become climate neutral by 2040

02 / 12 / 2019

By Marwa Nassar - -

Volvo Cars seeks to become climate neutral company by 2040 as it is currently working on reducing its lifecycle carbon footprint per car by 40 percent between 2018 and 2025.

In a press release, the company’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions represents is meant to promote the implementation of the global Paris climate agreement of 2015, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Volvo Cars’ 2040 ambitions go beyond addressing tailpipe emissions through all-out electrification, another area in which the company is at the forefront. It will also tackle carbon emissions in its manufacturing network, its wider operations, its supply chain as well as recycling and reuse of materials.

The company seeks to get its global manufacturing network to be fully climate neutral.

“We are transforming our company through concrete actions, not symbolic pledges,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive. “So at Volvo Cars we will address what we control, which is both our operations and the tailpipe emissions of our cars. And we will address what we can influence, by calling on our suppliers and the energy sector to join us in aiming for a climate neutral future.”

To realize the significant 40 percent reduction of its CO2 footprint per car by 2025, the company has devised a number of ambitions for different parts of its operations. The previously communicated goal of generating 50 percent of global sales from fully electric cars by 2025 is a prominent one, which would result in a 50 percent reduction in tailpipe carbon emissions per car between 2018 and 2025.

Other short-term plans include a 25 percent reduction of CO2 emissions related to its global supply chain by 2025, a 25 percent share of recycled plastics in new Volvo cars by 2025 and a 25 percent reduction of carbon emissions generated by the company’s overall operations, including manufacturing and logistics.

Volvo Cars was the first conventional car maker to commit to all-out electrification and phasing out cars powered only by an internal combustion engine. As of this year, every new Volvo launched will be electrified and the company today also launches its first fully electric car, the XC40 Recharge. Starting with the XC40 Recharge, Volvo Cars will disclose the average lifecycle carbon footprint of each new model.

The XC40 Recharge is the first car in Volvo Cars’ new Recharge car line. Recharge will be the overarching name for all chargeable Volvos with a fully electric and plug-in hybrid powertrain. The Recharge car line aims to further boost sales of Volvo Cars’ electrified cars.