The GM Environmental Principles, adopted in 1991, outline the company’s approach to environmental responsibility. As a responsible corporate citizen, GM is dedicated to protecting human health, natural resources and the global environment.
The following environmental principles provide guidance to General Motors personnel worldwide in the conduct of their daily business practices.
We are committed to actions to restore and preserve the environment.
We are committed to reducing waste and pollutants, conserving resources, and recycling materials at every stage of the product life cycle.
We will continue to participate actively in educating the public regarding environmental conservation.
We will continue to pursue vigorously the development and implementation of technologies for minimizing pollutant emissions.
We will continue to work with all governmental entities for the development of technically sound and financially responsible environmental laws and regulations.
We will continually assess the impact of our plants and products on the environment and the communities in which we live and operate with a goal of continuous improvement.
GM is committed to promoting sustainable development in China through its leadership in the development of advanced energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.
GM Promises to produce electricity-driven vehicle, in order to realize diversified energy source, reduce emission and improve the fuel economy. The electric vehicle researched and developed by GM includes hybrid, extended-range electric vehicle and fuel cell cars.
Cadillac Escalade Hybrid SUV
The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid is the world’s first fuel-saving hybrid applied to a large luxury SUV. The Escalade Hybrid delivers a fuel economy improvement of 50 percent in city driving. It is powered by GM’s innovative, fuelsaving two-mode hybrid system and offers the same dramaticdesign, luxury and full-size capability that have made the Escalade an icon. It can seat eight luxuriously.
Buick New Regal
The Buick New Regal 2.0 Turbo is GM’s first product built in China that is available with a turbocharged engine. The turbo powertrain offers higher power and fuel efficiency with lower emissions than similar engines. It can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 7.7 seconds.
Chevrolet Volt
The extended-range electric vehicle, which made its global debut during GM’s centennial celebration on Sept. 16, will come to China in 2011, a year after its introduction in the United States.The Volt is a completely new vehicle called an extended-range electric vehicle, ushering in the era of vehicle electrification. The Volt uses electricity to move its wheels. As it enters its second century of doing business, GM is focused on the development of alternative fuels and clean energy vehicles for markets around the globe.
Ecotec Engine Production Revs Up
GM China’s Shanghai GM Dong Yue Automotive Powertrain joint venture in Yantai has begun production of a new series of GM’s famed Ecotec engines. With displacements of 1.6 and 1.8 liters, the engines will power new models built and sold in China by Shang¬hai GM. The Ecotec engines were developed by GM in Europe. The highly efficient four-cylinder powerplants feature advanced technol¬ogy that helps limit emissions and guarantee peak efficiency. The application of Dynamic Variable Valve Timing (DVVT) and a Variable Intake Manifold (VIM) ensures high torque at low rpm and high horsepower per liter. The Ecotec engine program is a component The Ecotec engine program is a component of Shanghai GM’s Drive to Green strategy, which is supporting the sustainable development of China’s automotive industry.
Ecotec 2.0-liter DI Turbo engine
The engine is being introduced in China in the Buick New Regal 2.0T. It is the first turbocharged engine applied in a vehicle manufactured by GM in China. The engine generates 162 kW of power, 350 Nm of torque and 81 kW per liter. It has a maximum speed of 232 km/h. The highly efficient direct 25 injection engine is characterized by technology, performance, environmental friendliness and fuel ef¬ficiency. The New Regal 2.0T can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 7.7 Seconds.
At GM, when we develop new vehicles our designers and engineers work to find ways to improve the impact our products will have on the environment throughout their entire lifecycle. We look at everything from the materials that go into our vehicles and the manufacturing processes used to build them, to energy consumption on the road and the recyclability of our vehicles at the end of their useful life.
Vehicle Design
When designing new vehicles, we use recycled and bio-based materials from renewable resources whenever economically and technically possible. Engineers in our “Design for the Environment” group work with materials and components suppliers to identify opportunities to continually increase the use of these materials. Recycled materials in our products come from a variety of origins – from things like old pop bottles, blue jeans and nylon carpet, to used tires and recycled vehicle bumpers. In fact, we’re even beginning to explore some opportunities to use recycled waste products from our own manufacturing facilities in parts for our new vehicles. This allows for an entire closed loop process where we can divert waste that may otherwise go to landfill butinstead is put to good use as part of a new product.
We’re also beginning to make use of some renewable natural fibers in vehicle parts to make our cars and trucks more sustainable. Right now we are using balsa wood in the floor panel of the Chevrolet Corvette, and kenaf fibers – as a component in the headliner of some vehicles.
Finding New Life for Old Vehicles
When our vehicles reach the end of their useful life for their owners, we want to ensure that what happens to those vehicles is responsible for the environment. To help make this happens, we design our vehicles to be as recyclable and recoverable as is feasible, and we work to implement these designs on our vehicles around the world. We follow industry ISO standards on vehicle recycling and recoverability and we have developed internal global standards as well to gain common benefits across regions. Today, GM vehicles are at least 85 percent recyclable and 95 percent recoverable (by weight). We work directly with the vehicle dismantling industry to help make sure that the majority of material in our vehicles is salvaged and can be recycled or reused in new vehicles or other consumer products.
Greener Manufacturing
Although the vehicle is what most people think of when talking about automakers and the environment, at GM we know it is just as important to continuously improve the sustainability of our manufacturing operations as well. This is part of our commitment to promote environmental responsibility in all aspects of our business – so our customers can be sure that the environmental impact of their vehicles has been considered during all stages of the product lifecycle.
Our Environmental Principles form the foundation for our manufacturing practices and each of our facilities tracks and reports its annual performance on energy use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions and waste. Our commitment to improvement and the innovative practices we’ve employed have helped us to make great strides in these areas.
Energy – GM is one of the leading users of renewable energy in the manufacturing sector. We use energy from solar, hydro and landfill gas resources. And around the globe we have reduced our overall energy usage globally by more than 22 percent between 2005 and 2008. The amount of energy we’ve saved from these reductions is enough to heat and power 700,000 homes.
Emissions – By saving energy and increasing the use of renewable energy sources, we have reduced CO2 emissions from our facilities by 21 percent from 2005 to 2008.
Water – Between 2005 and 2008, we reduced the amount of water used by our worldwide facilities by nearly 22 percent.
Waste – To reduce the waste coming out of our facilities, we focus first on decreasing the amount of waste that is generated by our manufacturing processes to begin with. Then, for waste that cannot be avoided, we work hard to find ways to recycle those materials for use in new products – either in our vehicles or in other consumer products. We currently have 55 facilities around the world which have earned a “landfill-free” certification. This means that these facilities send no waste to landfills – it is either recycled or used to create energy. Our goal is to make half of our manufacturing operations around the world landfill-free by the end of 2010.
Facilities Going Green
At General Motors we strive to make our facilities more environmentally-friendly – from things like building design and maintenance of wildlife habitats on our property, to clean-up and redevelopment of Brownfield sites.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED Certification)
General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant in Michigan has a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The building is the only automotive manufacturing plant in the world – as well as the largest facility and the most complex manufacturing site -- to ever receive any level of LEED certification.
LEED certification is the building industry’s well-respected recognition of superior energy and environmental design and construction. A gold certification recognizes a high level of performance. Over the first ten years of operation, the facility is expected to save over 40 million gallons of water and 30 million kwh of electricity.
Shanghai GM Announces 2011-2015 Green Product Strategy
Aims to Reduce Fuel Consumption 15%, Improve Performance 14%
Shanghai – Shanghai GM’s Drive to Green strategy, which was launched in January 2008, is aimed at introducing products that offer better performance, consume less energy and generate lower emissions than vehicles currently on the road.
The strategy is based on improving and optimizing the performance of traditional internal combustion engines and transmissions, continuing the roll out of hybrids, promoting electric vehicles, and supporting the development of hydrogen and other zero-emission products. Several targets announced in 2008 have already been achieved.
The joint venture’s green product strategy for 2011-2015 will build on that success, further reducing fuel consumption and improving overall performance.
Advanced Powertrains
Shanghai GM will introduce 12 new engines through 2015, including several with small displacements, such as a 1.5-liter VVT engine and 1.4-liter turbocharged engine. Vehicles with engines that have displacements of between 1.4 liters and 2.5 liters will account for 95 percent of Shanghai GM’s total sales in the future. Its goal is to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 15 percent, while enhancing performance by 14 percent by 2015.
Engine technologies such as SIDI and turbocharging, as well as new transmissions such as the S6, will be applied in Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet products offered by Shanghai GM. They will cover all market segments, from compact vehicles to luxury products. Shanghai GM’s current lineup of engines with medium displacements and turbocharging will also be upgraded.
In addition, Shanghai GM will intensify the application of energy-saving technologies in its new models. New products will feature a lower drag coefficient and more aerodynamic design, be lighter in weight, and incorporate automatic start-stop engine technology to further improve fuel efficiency. By 2012, all models sold in China will have the capability of being upgraded to comply with the Euro V (China Phase 5) emission standard.
Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
Additional hybrids and vehicles powered by electricity will be rolled out by Shanghai GM over the next five years. The automaker will show a Chevrolet New Sail electric vehicle prototype this year. In 2011, the new Buick LaCROSSE Hybrid, which will have 20 percent better fuel economy than the standard model, and the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle with extended range capability will be introduced. The Volt will be able to run solely on electricity for up to 60 kilometers. Its 1.4-liter on-board engine will give the Volt a maximum driving range of more than 480 kilometers.
Green Achievements
Since the Drive to Green strategy was initiated, Shanghai GM has recorded many achievements in the development of green products. Between 2008 and 2009, Shanghai GM invested almost US$1.1 billion in powertrain development, launching 10 engines and two hybrid systems, which have been applied in 25 new vehicles. The highly efficient S6 automatic transmission has also been adopted in several premium and luxury models. These green products offer improved fuel efficiency of between 8 percent and 13 percent. The Buick New Regal 2.0L, Buick New Regal 1.6T, Chevrolet New Sail 1.2L and Chevrolet Aveo 1.2L all have class-leading fuel economy.
Shanghai GM also has focused on reducing engine displacement without sacrificing power. The 1.2-liter and 1.4-liter engines in its new Chevrolet products offer power of over 53 kW/L, while the SIDI engines applied in Cadillac and Buick products generate power of more than 62.5 kW/L. The 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged engines that have been adopted in several Buick products generate power of more than 81 kW/L.
Over the past two years, Shanghai GM has also launched two hybrids: the Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid and Cadillac Escalade Hybrid. The fuel efficiency of the Buick hybrid is 15 percent greater than the fuel efficiency of the standard model, while costing only RMB 20,000 more. The LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid is part of the official taxi fleet for World Expo 2010 Shanghai. The Escalade Hybrid SUV is equipped with a two-mode hybrid system that boasts fuel efficiency of 11.1 liters per 100 kilometers. This is 40 percent better than the standard model and equivalent to the fuel efficiency of a sedan equipped with a 2.4-liter engine.
Shanghai GM sold 334,000 “green products” in 2008 and 2009. Assuming each of these vehicles has been driven 20,000 kilometers per year, these vehicles have saved 13,500 tons of fuel over the past two years, which would fill up 310 train cars.
NewsNow! 12 SGM Products Entitled to a RMB 3,000 Energy-Saving Subsidy
China's State Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and Ministry of Finance recently released the catalog for the first 71 energy-saving vehicles. Twelve products from SGM are listed in the catalog, including the Chevrolet New Sail hatchback and sedan series, Chevrolet Lova 1.2L, Chevrolet Aveo 1.2L, Chevrolet Cruze 1.6L MT and Buick New Regal 1.6T.
All of these products are in accordance with motor vehicle fuel consumption polices and have received a China Compulsory Certificate. Their overall fuel consumption is 20 percent lower than the current national standard. As of June 30, consumers can enjoy a RMB 3,000 subsidy when purchasing the above products. SGM accounts for 17 percent of the initial 71 cars in the catalog, making it the top automaker listed.
Since 2008, SGM has invested about US$1.1 billion in the research and development of green powertrains and has introduced more than 10 highly efficient powertrains. New models introduced by SGM over the past two years offer an improvement of 8-13 percent in fuel consumption and carbon emissions and 10 percent in performance compared to their predecessors.
