Czech automaker Skoda has announced a new sustainability strategy called GreenFuture aimed at making its cars more fuel-efficient and improving water and energy economy in its manufacturing plants.
The company says GreenFuture rests on three main pillars; GreenProduct, GreenFactory and GreenRetail.
GreenProduct deals with Skoda’s efforts to lower the average greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of all vehicle models by developing energy-efficiency technologies. Skoda says it currently offers 48 fuel-efficient models, including the electric Octavia Green E Line and the Citigo, the world’s first natural gas-powered vehicle.
Improving the carbon footprints of Skoda vehicle production facilities makes up the company’s GreenFactory strategy. By focusing on energy and water consumption and waste generation, Skoda hopes to decrease both factory GHG emissions and volatile organic compounds generated during the manufacturing process by 25 percent.
Rounding out the third pillar is GreenRetail, which focuses on dealership and repair workshop sustainability. Skoda says it views environmental protection and sustainability as management issues and will establish “steering teams” to conduct regular audits to verify compliance with environmental standards and report directly to the company board.
“GreenFuture is a clear, measurable commitment by the company and its employees toward environmental protection,” said Winfried Vahland, Skoda’s Chairman of the Board. “It is part of our growth strategy to become the leading environmentally friendly automobile manufacturer in the world by 2018.”
Skoda has an ongoing policy of planting a tree for each car sold in the Czech Republic and claims to have planted 363,000 trees to date. Since 1990, the company says it has invested more than €410 million in sustainable manufacturing processes, energy-saving facilities and increased fuel efficiency.
Last week, General Motors announced plans to reduce the weight of future vehicles up to 15 percent in hopes of saving nearly 12 billion gallons of fuel over the life of the vehicles; and Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW are developing CO2 technology as a more climate-friendly refrigerant for their automotive air-conditioning systems.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Mar 19, 2013 3am EDT / 12am PDT / 7am GMT / 8am CET