GM’s Long Green Record
How long has GM been environmentally conscious? Longer than you might think. Back in 1963, GM introduced the PCV valve, the industry’s first emissions control device, and made it standard on all U.S. -built GM cars.
In 1970, the year of the first Earth Day, GM became the first automaker to offer cars that run on unleaded gasoline, a major breakthrough in reducing vehicle exhaust emissions.
Four years later, GM introduced the catalytic converter, a technology it had begun developing in the 1960s. GM made the technology available to the rest of the auto industry at no cost, and all cars sold by all competitors in North America and Europe are still equipped with it today. The list goes on and on.
An environmental conscience extends to the way vehicles are built. For example, GM manufacturing facilities in North America have reduced non-recycled waste by more than 67 percent over the past ten years by either eliminating the amount of waste generated in manufacturing operations and increasing the amount of waste recycled. Globally, the recycling rate for GM facilities is 89 percent.
The goal today is to remove the automobile itself from the environmental equation, with vehicles that emit zero emissions into the earth’s atmosphere. Progress is accelerating in several areas, including: hybrid transit buses that yield up to 60 percent greater fuel economy and 90 percent fewer emissions than traditional bus propulsion systems; Project Driveway, the largest and most meaningful real-world test of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles ever; a fleet of more than 2.5 million FlexFuel cars and trucks on the road in the U.S.; and the revolutionary E-Flex technology unveiled with the Chevrolet Volt concept, with a plug-in version of the Volt now under development for the U.S.
Yes, GM has been environmentally conscious a long time, and the future is going to be even better.
Tag Cloud
 |
English |