Volvo Cars is increasing its sustainability technique, setting new formidable targets for 2030 and 2040. The firm can also be boosting its deal with biodiversity, and by 2025 the corporate goals to have 100 per cent of its debt linked to its Green Financing Framework or in a sustainability-linked format.

“Taking actions to combat climate change is non-negotiable and going fully electric is an important step on our pioneering journey,” says Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars. “As we move to further reduce emissions throughout our value chain, we have a responsibility to do more and address our biodiversity footprint as well as help improve people’s lives. Our updated strategy has been designed to help us do just that.”

Volvo Cars’ new sustainability ambitions for 2030 briefly:

1. Reduce its CO₂ emissions per automotive by 75 per cent (in comparison with 2018 ranges)
2. Reduce power utilization in its operations per common automotive by 40 per cent (in comparison with 2018 ranges)
3. Reach 30 per cent common recycled content material throughout its fleet, with new automotive fashions having at the very least 35 per cent recycled content material
4. Reduce water use in its operations by 50 per cent common per automotive (in comparison with 2018 ranges)
5. At least 99 per cent of all waste from its operations to be both reused or recycled

Since the discharge of the sustainability technique in 2019, Volvo Cars has made progress in the direction of its local weather motion targets. For instance, 69 per cent of firm operations are actually powered by climate-neutral power in contrast with 55 per cent in 2019, and 100 per cent climate-neutral electrical energy is now used throughout its manufacturing crops globally in contrast with 80 per cent in 2019. Additionally, Volvo Cars has lowered its CO₂ emissions per automotive by 19 per cent since 2018.

Net zero greenhouse fuel emissions by 2040
Volvo Cars’ purpose now could be to achieve zero greenhouse fuel emissions by 2040. This expands upon our earlier ambitions of being local weather impartial by 2040, and clarifies the corporate’s intention to make use of carbon removals solely to mitigate any unavoidable emissions. The firm’s first precedence stays to cut back actual emissions earlier than turning to carbon removals, and it encourages its suppliers to do the identical.

This shall be underpinned by an ambition to realize 100 per cent inexperienced debt or sustainability-linked financing of property by 2025 – in recognition of the truth that finance performs a vital function in advancing sustainable growth.

2030 is a milestone 12 months for the corporate. By then it plans to be a totally electrical automotive firm whereas additionally aiming to cut back CO₂ emissions per automotive by 75 per cent in contrast with its 2018 baseline. The firm believes that by a mixture of promoting solely absolutely electrical vehicles and lowering emissions by 30 per cent from each its provide chain and operations, it will likely be on observe to fulfill the CO₂ discount targets.

Working in the direction of changing into a round enterprise by 2040
At Volvo Cars, embracing the round financial system has been in focus since 2019. Recycled materials already includes a bigger proportion of supplies in newer Volvo vehicles than ever earlier than. For instance, almost 25 per cent of all aluminium within the Volvo EX30 is recycled, whereas roughly 17 per cent of all metal and plastic within the automotive comes from recycled sources as nicely.

Volvo Cars goals to make use of 30 per cent common recycled content material throughout its fleet by 2030, and for brand spanking new automotive fashions launched from 2030 to comprise at the very least 35 per cent recycled content material. The firm can also be striving to make sure that by 2030, 99 per cent of all its waste is both reused or recycled in contrast with recycling 94 per cent of world manufacturing waste in 2022. 

Striving to be web optimistic and to contribute to a nature optimistic future
Volvo Cars believes in taking an entire worth chain method to its impression on biodiversity. In addition to taking motion to cut back impression, it can additionally pursue restorative actions.

To uncover how Volvo Cars’ actions have an effect on biodiversity, the corporate performed an impression evaluation utilizing manufacturing and gross sales knowledge from 2021 to estimate its annual biodiversity footprint utilizing the ReCiPe mannequin. Using the findings as a baseline, Volvo Cars is now setting a long-term ambition to attempt to be web optimistic throughout its worth chain and to contribute to a nature optimistic future.

This would require a mix of short-term and long-term measures that Volvo Cars is at present creating, akin to avoiding and lowering the impacts of its worth chain, designing a programme for restoration and conservation actions inside ecosystems the place it operates/sources from, and dealing along with provide chain companions to ascertain consciousness on biodiversity points.

Help shield folks’s lives inside and past the worth chain
Volvo Cars needs to have a optimistic impression on society. The firm has, for instance, taken steps to assist shield folks by specializing in its damage price (LTCR). The present damage price (LTCR) is 0.07, an industry-leading effort, however the purpose is to additional scale back the office damage price to 0.02 by 2030. Throughout its worth chain, Volvo Cars can also be working arduous to assist safeguard human rights by risk-based due diligence processes to hint, determine, assess and tackle human rights dangers.

Together with like-minded companions, Volvo Cars appears ahead to unveiling new social and environmental initiatives within the 12 months forward, aimed in the direction of serving to shield folks and the planet.

The small print

• On throughout its fleet by 2030: this refers to all fashions at present being produced at the moment.
• On web optimistic throughout its worth chain: aiming in the direction of web optimistic implies that Volvo Cars will take actions to keep away from and scale back its impacts, in addition to interact in restoration and regeneration of nature to the extent that it positively balances its destructive impacts.
• On nature optimistic: Volvo Cars’ purpose to contribute in the direction of nature optimistic means that it’ll not solely purpose to be web optimistic, but additionally purpose at repeatedly lowering its destructive impression relative to a 2021 baseline. 
• On damage price (LTCR): damage price (LTCR) is outlined because the variety of work and occupational accidents reported with at the very least sooner or later sick depart, divided by hours labored and multiplied by 200,000.
• On risk-based due diligence processes to hint, determine, assess and tackle human rights dangers: risk-based due diligence processes carried out globally to evaluate the potential or precise antagonistic impression and prioritise actions to stop, stop, mitigate and treatment recognized human rights violations. The processes ought to fulfil upcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and its human rights compliance programme. This features a accountable sourcing administration system aiming to introduce a formalised and constant course of to proactively handle human rights and environment-related dangers in Volvo Cars’ provide chains for all its recognized Raw supplies of concern (RMOC).
• On along with like-minded companions: current examples on this area are Volvo Cars’ monetary and in-kind help to Save the Children and UNICEF’s Ukraine response and collaboration with Girls Who Code.