ENVIRONMENT 2005
Environmental care has been on Volvo Cars´agenda for the last thirty years or so. With environmental care as a core value is our aim to become a leader in environmental care in the premium car segment of the automotive industry. Our environmental programmes embrace the car’s complete life cycle, technical development, efficient utilisation of resources and reduced emissions.
Volvo Car Corporation is dedicated to developing cars that combine high safety with a low environmental impact. Volvo builds cars with care for both the interiour and the external environment.
SOME EXAMPLES OF VOLVO SOLUTIONS FOR A BETTER ENVIRONMENT:
The entire car has been developed to allow 85 per cent of its weight to be recycled, further reducing the impact on the environment.
A sophisticated interior air quality system makes the air inside the car cleaner than the outside air in heavy city traffic.
Textiles and leather upholstery meet Oeko-Tex Standard 100, the world's leading eco-labelling norm for fabrics and leather.
Treatment of the exhaust gases from our petrol engines eliminates 95-99 per cent of the carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon emissions. All of our engines meet strict emission control standards.
Volvo cars are among the most economical in their class in terms of fuel consumption. Together with other European car manufacturers, we have a collective agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from sold cars in Europe by 25 per cent until 2008 compared with 1995.
The Volvo V70 and S60 also come with a Bi-Fuel engine, which runs on methane (biogas or natural gas) with petrol as reserve fuel. A Bi-Fuel car running on biogas makes a negligible net contribution to the green house effect.
Bi-Fuel is at present available in Europe.
Volvo FlexiFuel is run on renewable ethanol and is since 2006 available in nine markets. FlexFuel is available in Volvo S40/V50 and C30.
All Volvo models come with an EPI (Environmental Product Information, see related information), something that Volvo Car Corporation was the first car manufacturer in the world to introduce in 1998. It gives the car buyer an overview of the car’s environmental impact throughout its lifetime and thus makes it easier to compare the eco-performance of Volvo’s various models and engine alternatives.
Education is a vital prerequisite for a better environment. Accordingly, those who work for Volvo Cars and its suppliers receive training in environmental issues.
Volvo Cars is also engaged in a number of envirionmental projects, ranging from the Volvo Environment Prize to Volvo Adventure, an environmental educational programme for schools around the world (www.volvoadventure.org) conducted in collaboration with UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).
Volvo Cars became one of the first carmakers in the world to be awarded global certification under the international environmental standard, ISO 14001, ensuring that we are continually reducing the environmental impact of our cars and operations.
ENVIRONMENTAL TRADITION
1945 Volvo introduces remanufactured spare parts – on exchange system in use
1972 Global environmental conference in Stockholm: Volvo raises critical role of the car in society
1974 Oxidising catalytic converter – forerunner of today’s units
1976 Three-way catalytic converter with Lambda sensor removes up to 90% of noxious exhaust gases
1982 Torslanda plant begins to use waste heat from local oil refinery
1987 Torslanda water treatment plant removes 90% of harmful effluents
1989 Volvo adopts new, proactive environmental policy
1989 Volvo introduces Life-cycle assessment using EPS (Environmental Priority Strategies in product design)
1989 Volvo demonstrates technology for alcohol power: the cleanest car tested to date
1989 Volvo introduces internal environmental audits
1989 Plastic materials in Volvo cars marked to facilitate recycling
1990 First award of Volvo Environment Prize
1991 Volvo first to introuduce a car free from ozone-depleting CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons)
1991 Paintshop at Torslanda plant is world’s cleanest
1992 Asbestos eliminated from car production
1992 Volvo ECC (Environmental Concept Car) unveiled – a trendsetter for environmental cars of the future
1993 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) deleted from the air conditioning systems of new Volvo cars
1994ECRIS, a new research facility for environmentally optimised dismantling
1995 Volvo Bi-Fuel, the first generation of Volvo’s cars built to run on methane gas
1995 Introduction of standards to improve dealers’ environmental activities
1995 Volvo launches Car & Eco Care, a range of car-care products with a low ecological impact
1996 Volvo’s Dialogue on the environment course provides training for all employees in environmental issues
1996 Volvo introduces environmental requirements for suppliers
1998 Volvo introduced PremAir® – a radiator coating which converts harmful ground-level ozone into pure oxygen
1998 Volvo Cars is world’s first carmaker to introduce
Environmental Product Information (EPI) for cars. (Previously called EPD)
1999 Introduction of new interior air quality system (IAQS)
2000 ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicle) tail pipe technology available worldwide
2001 New generation of Bi-Fuel cars introduced
2002 Volvo Adventure educational programme for young people (previously Volvo Young Environmentalist Award)
2002 PZEV (Partial Zero Emission Vehicle) engine introduced in California
2002 New Volvo cars are designed for 85% recoverability
2003 Volvo Cars achieves global ISO 14001 certification
2004 Introduction of particulate filters for diesel engines
2004 Volvo Cars first V8 engine is the first V8 in the world to fulfil ULEV II
2004 Volvo 3CC – a sustainable mobility concept for the future
2004 Volvo S40 1.6D first Volvo with less than 5 litre / 100 km fuel consumption
2005 Volvo S40/V50 FlexiFuel is launched on the Swedish market, an engine run on renewable ethanol
2006Clean Zone Interior Package (CZIP) for asthma and allergy sufferers recommended by Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association
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