Volvo’s China Site Is Now 100 Percent Green

Following in the tracks of its other large Chinese manufacturing facility, Volvo Cars’ plant in Daqing, China is now also fully generated by 100 percent climate neutral electricity.

Taking account of their new plant in Daqing, in entirety, Volvo Cars’ global manufacturing network now fully operates with up to about 90 percent climate neutral electricity.

This recent development brings Volvo closer to their goal of making its manufacturing operations climate neutral by 2025.

Estimating to bring down the site’s annual CO2 emissions by around 34,000 tonnes, the Daqing facility will get its power through electricity generated from combined sources of 83 percent biomass and 17 percent wind power.

Volvo Cars’ senior vice president for industrial operations and quality Javier Varela said, “For us at Volvo Cars, sustainability is as important as safety. To achieve our ambitious climate targets, tackling emissions from our manufacturing network is crucial and I am very pleased that Daqing is now powered by 100 percent climate neutral electricity.”

Other than that, the company has also made progress in emission reduction around its other China plants. With positive response, they have been encouraging their local suppliers to switch to 100 percent climate neutral power.

“We can only achieve our climate action targets by working together with our suppliers. We are encouraged by the support we have received so far in China and aim to be a benchmark of sustainability for its manufacturing industry,” he added.

It is perceived to be one of the most ambitious strategies from a company in the automotive industry. The drive for Volvo’s overall climate neutral manufacturing effort is their ambition to be a fully electric brand come 2030, by only producing pure electric cars in its line-up.

It does not just stop with the vehicle productions, the plan goes beyond that through an all-out electrification, in which it seeks to tackle carbon emissions in the company’s wider operations, through the supply chain and also the recycling and reuse of materials.

Overall, by 2040, Volvo Cars aims to be a fully climate neutral company. With these recent moves and other steps taken, the company is currently progressing in reducing the life cycle carbon footprint for each vehicle by 40 percent between 2018 and 2025.