Innovation & Technology

Automobili Lamborghini Pledges 40% CO2 Reduction Across Its Value Chain by 2030

The luxury Italian carmaker extends its decarbonization program to its entire value chain, with the aim of reducing total enterprise emissions by 40% per car by 2030.

Published 10 months ago | About a 7 minute read

Image: Lamborghini debuted the Revuelto, the first High-Performance Electrified Vehicle (HPEV) hybrid super sports car, in 2023. | Automobili Lamborghini

Automobili Lamborghini has announced an ambitious, new target on its path to decarbonization — supported by the biggest investment in the history of the company.

Pacing peers including Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover and Porsche in continually updating their sustainability commitments, this latest step in Lamborghini’s “Direzione Cor Tauri” (“Heart of the Bull” in Latin) strategy, which involves electrification of the model range and decarbonization of the production site, extends its commitment to emissions reductions across the entire value chain.

The luxury automaker says Direzione Cor Tauri offers a pact to future generations — inspiring and serving as a model for innovation and sustainable progress on the path to total carbon neutrality for Automobili Lamborghini by 2050.

Chairman & CEO Stephan Winkelmann shared the results to date and announced the company’s new ambition to achieve a 40 percent reduction in CO2 emissions per car across the whole value chain by 2030 (vs 2021). To achieve this, the strategy encompasses the entire enterprise — from production to the supply chain and logistics, to product-use phase — covering the entire product life cycle and involving the whole company in a collective commitment to achieve the target of reducing emissions by 40 percent per car.

“Direzione Cor Tauri is our roadmap to electrification of the Lamborghini range and the path to decarbonization, not only of our Sant’Agata Bolognese facility, but of the entire value chain: It is a holistic approach to our global environmental sustainability strategy,”* Winkelmann said. “Within a context of major transformation, everyone needs to contribute to achieving the objectives: This commitment extends not just to every individual and every company, but also to institutions and governments responsible for infrastructures and the transition toward renewables. Our mission, as a globally recognized brand, is to inspire and encourage others to tackle these modern-day challenges. Automobili Lamborghini is proof that a sustainable vision is possible.”

Launched in 2021, Direzione Cor Tauri kicked off in-depth and continuous research on the opportunities and challenges posed by electrification, which resulted in the start of the hybridization phase in 2023 with the launch of the Revuelto — the first HPEV (High-Performance Electrified Vehicle) hybrid super sports car. In 2024, the electrification process will extend to the launch of the first hybrid version of the Urus Super SUV and the second HPEV in the range, replacing the Huracán. The launch of the first fully electric model — preceded by the Lanzador concept car — is planned for 2028, followed by Lamborghini’s first full electric Super SUV in 2029. This strategy will result in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared with 2021 for the fleet in circulation, with the aim of a 50 percent reduction by 2025 and 80 percent by 2030.

Global greenhouse gas emissions comprise around 59 gigatons of CO2 equivalent; and, only counting direct exhaust emissions, the transport sector contributes around 15 percent of this. To date, Automobili Lamborghini’s inventory is around 700,000 tons of CO2 equivalent, which includes the entire life cycle of the vehicles produced in 2021-2022 (value chain emissions inventory certified according to the ISO 14064 standard).

Even though production activities at Sant’Agata Bolognese represent only 0.001 percent of global CO2 emissions, the responsibility that the company has to the community and the planet is greater than the environmental impact alone.

“We aspire to be the super sports car company with the most enduring and genuine commitment to sustainability, through an overall vision of ESG issues,” says Strategy Director Stefano Rutigliano. “We have a dedicated, interdepartmental team working toward the implementation of the Direzione Cor Tauri program.”

Production and surrounding environment

Lamborghini’s sustainability leadership started in 2015 — when it achieved carbon neutrality of the Sant’Agata Bolognese production site and sustained this over subsequent years, despite doubling in size. Since then, many actions have been implemented across the facility that have led to further, continuous decarbonization of the site, Chief Manufacturing Officer Ranieri Niccoli explains: “A number of sustainability measures have been adopted in recent years, from the establishment of the largest photovoltaic system in the* Emilia-Romagna region in 2009 to the high energy-efficiency certification of our new buildings. Our activities are ongoing and are aimed at reducing energy consumption through trigeneration and district heating plants, culminating in the unveiling of a new concept for our paint shop that minimizes water use and emissions. In 2022, these initiatives led to a 36 percent reduction in energy consumption per vehicle compared with 2010.”

Another initiative aimed at reducing the environmental impact relates to water resource management, with a 34 percent reduction in specific water consumption per vehicle in 2022 compared with 2010.

The company also works to enhance the surrounding environment, as shown by the opening of Lamborghini Park — a green haven near the plant, where 10,000 oak trees have been planted, providing a natural habitat for wild fauna and a recreational space for locals and staff — in 2011; research projects with several Italian and European universities that include biomonitoring of pollutants through studying bees and the absorption of CO2 and carbon in the oak trees and soil of the park; and a land redevelopment project with two forestation initiatives to offset the impact of the factory on the surrounding area.

Supply chain and logistics

“Starting from 2019, we implemented a sustainability rating system (S-Rating), which assesses our suppliers’ level of compliance with environmental, social and governance standards,” explains Chief Procurement Officer Silvano Micheli. “A positive S-Rating is a basic requirement to becoming an Automobili Lamborghini supplier.”

The transport of vehicles and spare parts to and from Sant’Agata Bolognese and the various markets also falls within this process. Part of this involves switching to transport with a lower environmental impact — in the last five years, Lamborghini has increased rail transport from 4 percent to 35 percent, while reducing air transport from 18 percent to 1 percent for the transfer of finished vehicles — contributing to reducing the carbon footprint of suppliers.

The driving experience

Lamborghini says one of the most complex challenges in electrifying its portfolio is adapting to regulations in the various markets it operates in; but the company sees the transition to electric motors not as a limitation, but rather an opportunity to launch the super sports car into a new era.

“The electric motor opens up new horizons in terms of dynamics and driving experience,” asserts Chief Technical Officer Rouven Mohr. “It is the dawn of a new era for super sports cars, in which we are redefining the concept of sportiness, enjoyment and driving dynamics in sustainable terms. Our DNA will always be based on the concept of emotional performance.”

R&D is focusing its attention on these new driving possibilities, with the aim of taking the “feel like a pilot” experience to a new level through the continuous development of the six key pillars required to best tackle the challenges posed by electric vehicles:

a Human-Machine Interface on versatile models such as the Urus;
the use of carbon fiber to reduce the overall weight;
an electric powertrain;
an advanced frame;
smart aerodynamics that allow even higher performance to be achieved compared with current models;
and integrated control that offers a driving sensation similar to a pilot.

Employee engagement

Direzione Cor Tauri is supported by the largest investment plan in the 60-year history of the company. Its success will be driven by the commitment and active participation — and care — of the entire Automobili Lamborghini team. This ‘People’ aspect will be addressed by three main directions of development:

The first is the creation of new jobs, with the goal of hiring at least 500 new workers by 2026.
The second is related to its workforce’s holistic wellbeing, which will be realized through its Feelosophy program, launched in 2021.
Third is continuous learning, and fostering individual responsibility in the growth of skills by providing more opportunities and content for training and change-management programs with a view to the personal and professional growth of people.

“Our aim with Direzione Cor Tauri is to take another significant step forward in the company’s growth, further improving our profitability and continuing to be best in class in the reference market,” explains CFO Paolo Poma. “It is a tangible demonstration of our commitment through important innovations in this period of profound transformation that is affecting the whole automotive industry.”