Volvo will be the world’s first vehicle manufacturer to join respected environmental charity, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as part of its ‘Climate Savers Program’.
As a WWF partner, Volvo Group’s truck subsidiaries undertake to reduce the CO2-emissions from vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2014 by a sizeable 13 million tons compared with 2008 models, with independent technical experts to oversee the results. As part of the program, the manufacturer has to agree to meet a target larger and more ambitious than what the company has planned before.
The WWF Climate Savers Program is designed to mobilise multinational companies to cut their emissions of CO2. The ‘Climate Savers’ companies promise to reduce their CO2-emissions in accordance with an agreement between the WWF, the company and independent technical experts.
As part of the agreement Volvo will produce a truck prototype with 20 per cent lower fuel consumption than the equivalent 2008 model. The manufacturer has also agreed that it will offer trucks in the commercial market that run on renewable gas before 2014 and will also reduce CO2-emissions from its production plants by 0.5 million tons (12 per cent) before 2014, compared with 2008 levels.
“The partnership with WWF means that we are raising our already ambitious goals in relation to cutting the CO2-emissions of our products,” says Volvo’s CEO Leif Johansson. “Our shared vision is that future transport will be CO2-neutral. It won’t be easy, but if anyone can do it – Volvo can.”
“This is the first time we’ve engaged an outside party – in this case, the world’s largest environmental organisation – to oversee that we deliver what we’ve promised. That is unique for a global vehicle manufacturer,” says Leif Johansson.
Volvo is known for its industry innovation in reducing energy use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2007 the Volvo Group presented the world’s first CO2-neutral vehicle plant in Ghent, Belgium with wind-generated electricity. Its long-term ambition is that all its plants will be CO2-neutral.
