Company Profile - General Motors (GM)
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In the past decade General Motors has had a mixed record on global warming. The obvious fault of mass producing large cars that spew carbon dioxide into the air puts them at a disadvantage. They continue to have several of the worst emitting cars on the road as part of their fleet (the Hummer and other SUVs). As well, they are actively campaigning against stricter emissions standards. GM supports the national standard, but it remains much less onerous than many of the state-led standards that are being adopted. They maintain that having to adhere to this mix of regulations would take resources away from developing new and cleaner technologies. There may be a bit of truth to this, but it is certainly hard to swallow as they haven't shown big cut backs on development to their bigger cars.
That being said, GM has made some positive strides to reduce their carbon footprint. The carbon emissions from their operations has decreased by 16% over the past five years, and they first started working to improve energy efficiency in 1996 - before it became nearly as popular as it is today. In 2007 they announced that they would reduce carbon emissions by an impressive 40% by 2010 from their 2000 levels. But notice that their baseline year was a time when the economy was very strong and their production levels would have been high.
On the technology front, GM is inovled in several aspects that make using cars cleaner. They continue to improve the internal combustion engine, although this technology will always produce significant emissions. GM is also committed to hydrogen fuel cells that emit only clean water as a by-product, with the hope that they will eventually replace tradition car engines. Project Driveway is currently underway, and has 100 test cars on the roads now.
GM has 8 hybrid vehicles in their current fleet and plan on introducing over a dozen new models that use their first hybrid-electric powertrains. The goal is to sell over a million hybrids in the next several years (that is, unfortunately, as specific as they are prepared to be on this). GM has been a strong supporter of biofuel and has sold over 2.5 million E-85 capable vehicles. While their intentions may have been good in this area, recent research now shows that biofuels have a worse impact on global warming than regular gasoline.
Currently, GM is making much hype over the Chevy Volt, their new electrically powered vehicle. The Volt uses a new technology called the E-flex Drive System, and can be hooked up to the mains and will last up to 40 miles. When that runs out the car will switch to its regular engine to recharge the battery and keep running. On long drives, the Volt will get upwards of 50 mpg, making it one of the most efficient cars on the market. However, how clean the Volt really is will depend on the source of the electricity used to charge it.
In January 2008, GM was awarded the Earth Angel award at the 2008 International Car of the Year Awards. Many of the largest auto makers were included in the competition, including Toyota, Honda, BMW, and Ford.
So how do they stack up?
Business Strategy: 2.5/5 - Their big cars and biofuels more than offset the gains made by their hybrid fleet. Depending on the success of the Volt, this could improve in the next few years.
Products & Services: 3/5 - While GM has a strong fuel efficient component in their fleet, they have an equally strong gas guzzling component as well.
Leading By Example: 3/5 - GM has taken on some impressive targets for their own carbon emissions reductions, but this is only for their operations, and does not cover the emissions from their products once sold to the consumer
Overall: 2.8/5
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