How do you know if a vehicle is environmentally friendly? Well how about if it has a certificate to tell you?

The new Kia K7 saloon car, which will be exported as the Cadenza, has received a carbon footprint certificate from the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute.

The Kia Cadenza will emit an estimated 29.5tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) throughout its life cycle with 11.8 per cent of those emissions to be produced during the sourcing and refining of raw materials, with 1.8 per cent produced during the vehicle assembly process, and 86.4 per cent produced by vehicle operation. The remaining 0.04 per cent is accounted for during final disposal.

Kia has expanded the life cycle assessment to its full line-up in 2006 to provide an evaluation of the environmental impact of its cars from cradle-to-grave. The certificate allows customers to evaluate one metric of the life cycle assessment before purchase.

As for the Cadenza itself – it benefits from a number of aerodynamic tweaks and engine efficiency improvements. It uses a six-speed automatic transmission as well as low rolling resistance tyres to minimise fuel consumption. The company now aims to create carbon footprint certificates for all of its vehicles.