While Swedish electric vehicle maker Polestar
isn’t anywhere near the top of the chain in terms of sales volume, the
Chinese-owned Volvo subsidiary is among the leaders — if not taking
the lead — when it comes to industry transparency.
The latest evidence comes in the form of the company’s updated Lifecycle
Assessments
(LCA)
for the Polestar 2 — the company’s
flagship sedan. The report shows the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
emissions/footprint for each aspect of the Chinese-produced Polestar 2, along
with a traditional, gas-powered Volvo XC40. The new LCA also details how
those footprints change when the Polestar 2 is charged through renewable
sources.
“How you charge a car has a massive impact,” says Polestar Head of Brand
Partnerships and Culture Magnus Brodd told Sustainable Brands™.
He concedes that outside of Sweden, it’s largely impossible to track where
electricity comes from at public charging
stations;
and that’s a big problem when it comes to reducing the overall impact of an EV.
In the US, especially, there is almost no traceability. Brodd added:
“Looking at this situation from a brand perspective, we think consumers have a
right to know and make educated, informed decisions. There’s been a lack of
transparency in the car industry; and someone needs to be ruthlessly
transparent.”
As with most consumer-product industries, car buyers are asking for more
transparency and clearer sourcing from the brands they support. However, it
remains to be seen if a factory report showing the significant emission
reductions between the “global electricity mix” and, for example, wind power
will sway buyers towards Polestar.
It is part of the company’s broader effort to release a completely
carbon-neutral car by 2030 with “true neutrality” (which means no offsets and a
full transition to renewable energy across all aspects of manufacturing,
according to Brodd), with a longer-term goal to be completely carbon neutral
across all operations by 2040.
“The pandemic increased the sense of urgency and put everything into
perspective,” Ellen Broomé, Manager of Polestar’s Global PR and Communications,
told SB. “We’re not moving fast enough as an industry and need to set moonshot
goals.”
“Moonshot
goals”
are likely necessary to combat the auto industry’s contributions to global
climate change but are considerably lofty, as few automakers are anywhere close
to Polestar’s external transparency. Hardly any companies share the impact of
their manufacturing, let alone use cases on the total life cycle of a vehicle.
While other industries
(apparel,
for example) are on board with this thinking, the auto industry largely isn’t.
Beyond that, Polestar is very new as a solo endeavor — spun off as a standalone
brand in 2017 under the Geely group of companies, but still “strategically
partnered with Volvo Cars.” Sales numbers are exceedingly low compared to
Tesla
(reported sales are under 1,000 units compared to Tesla’s six-figure totals), the EV darling of the US.
Getting more consumers to care about the footprint of their vehicles requires
actually getting a certain percentage of those consumers into the Polestar 1, 2
or the brand’s forthcoming “3” SUV to help deliver that message.
Fortunately, Polestar has a slate of compelling current and future vehicles; and
the brand should have a broader platform as it continues to scale up production.
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Geoff is a freelance journalist and copywriter focused on making the world a better place through compelling copy. He covers everything from apparel to travel while helping brands worldwide craft their messaging. In addition to Sustainable Brands, he's currently a contributor at Penta, AskMen.com, Field Mag and many others. You can check out more of his work at geoffnudelman.com.
Published Sep 29, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST