Chevrolet
RATING
SECTOR
Automotive
WEBSITE
CONTACT
300 Renaissance Center,
Detroit MI 48265, USA
Tel: 1-800-222-1020
STOCK EXCHANGE
LISTING
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index for North America and the third time named to the DJSI World Index
- S&P 500 ESG Index
- Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index
EMPLOYEES
180,000
CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
AWARDS
- 2019 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- GM was awarded the 2020 Energy Star® Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Award
- No. #1 manufacturer in the 2019 IHS Markit Automotive Loyalty Awards
CONTENT SOURCE
FURTHER READING
Chevrolet
SECTIONS : Sustainability • Evaluation • Progress • Watch • Overview
Company Activity
Chevrolet is dedicated to challenging the limits of what’s possible in automotive design and engineering today, tomorrow, and for years to come.
Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors. Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year.
Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, a design that makes the heartbeat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value.
With manufacturing, design, and technical research facilities situated around the globe, including the GM DAT facility in Incheon South Korea, General Motors has wide-ranging access to a global pool of resources. This enables the company to tailor products for international markets rather than adapt its North American range for global requirements.
Company Sustainability Activity
As a subsidiary to General Motors, Chevrolet’s stance on incorporating sustainability into their business model is that of their parent company.
General Motors is aware of the responsibility and opportunity to use its scale and resources to drive a better, more inclusive future for all. Their vision is one with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. Their sights are set on the many ways they can drive sustainable value for each and every one of their stakeholders.
Highlights
- Production volume in 2019 was 13% lower than in 2018 due to market conditions and work stoppage in the U.S. Although energy conservation continued at the same pace, the intensity increased by 5%. GM doubled its Energy Performance Contracting development in 2019 to maximize absolute energy reductions and will continue in 2020.
- CO2e from operations reduced on an absolute basis in 2019 by 6% due to increased energy reduction, renewable energy, and lower production.
Targets
Energy
- GM committed to sourcing 100% of its global electricity demand from renewable sources by 2050
- Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG (CO2e) emissions by 31% by 2030 compared to a 2010 baseline
Water
- GM has committed to reducing the water intensity of its operations by 15% compared to a 2010 baseline
Progress
Waste
- Using sustainable materials, such as those with recycled, bio-based or renewable content as inputs into their products.
- Reducing, reusing and recycling the resources used to manufacture their vehicles.
- Ensuring those resources can be further repurposed at the end of a process or a vehicle’s usable life.
- In 2019, GM recycled about 14 million kilograms of concrete and uncontaminated asphalt, 27.5 million kilograms of metal scrap and 216,000 kilograms of plastic generated during construction.
- GM kept water intensity increase to less than 1% in 2019 compared to 2018 with extreme water conservation and began Water Treasure Hunts to find more opportunities. GM plans to use Water Performance Contracting in 2020.
Energy
- GM finished 2019 with 23 sites completely powered by renewable energy, including their Arlington, Texas, assembly plant that is completely powered by wind energy.
- In 2019, 27 GM U.S. manufacturing facilities, or more than 90% of U.S. manufacturing footprint, implemented the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 50001 Ready program
- Progress has included meeting their initial goal to increase renewable energy to 125 MW four years early and continuing to grow renewable energy capacity to more than 424 MW as of the end of 2019. In the past nine years, GM also has reduced energy intensity by 8%; water intensity by 14% and waste intensity by 28% — all against the 2010 baseline.
Certificates
- ISO 14001
- ISO 50001
- ISO 45001
- ISO 9000
- ISO 14065
- ISO 14064
UN Sustainable Development Goals
UN SDGs Compliance
This analysis is based on Chevrolet’s parent company, General Motors.
SDG 3
- By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
- By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
SDG 4
- By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
- By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
SDG 7
- By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
- By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
- By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
SDG8
- Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors
- Improve progressively, through 2030, global resource efficiency in consumption and production and endeavor to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the 10-year framework of programms on sustainable consumption and production, with developed countries taking the lead
- By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value
SDG9
- By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities
- Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending
SDG11
- By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
- By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries
- By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management
SDG15
- By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
- Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
- Integrating Environmental Sustainability in GM Supply Chain Function, Raw Materials Sourcing
SDG17
- Reducing Carbon Impact — Regulatory Engagement, Operational Emissions
- Electric Vehicle/Zero Emissions Vehicle Market Development
- Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
- Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favorable terms, including non-concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
Secondary SDGs: 5, 12, 13, 16
Evaluation
Chevrolet’s has not set clear goals with regards to sustainability. Their current progress towards reaching their 2030 goals remains unclear.
However, General Motors’ goal of transitioning to an all-electric, zero-emissions future is promising.
Recently, General Motors announced a new power purchase agreement for a 180-megawatt solar project, the equivalent of about 47,882 U.S. homes’ electricity use for one year.
As General Motors works to meet its 100% renewable energy goal in the U.S., it should continue its strategy to focus on market solutions to help reduce emissions near the communities where GM operates. How it sources the energy to power its facilities and products are essential to the company’s zero-emissions, all-electric vision.
Chevrolet has no sustainability reports, reporting through General Motors lacks transparency and has been rated a C.
Analyst Outlook: Neutral
Although GM has some awards, is listed in indexes like the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and has a lot of certificates, the lack of transparency throughout their brands remains to be a setback in their activities.
Key Points
- Since GM is responsible for producing sustainability reports and targets, Chevrolet has no sustainability reporting as its own brand. This doesn’t provide an accurate depiction of Chevrolet’s true impact on the environment.