Sustainability Report Outlines GM’s Efforts to Strengthen Business, Communities through Mobility

May 11, 2016 12:45 PM ET

Sustainability Report Outlines GM’s Efforts to Strengthen Business, Communities…

“The GM team is looking to lead the transformation of personal mobility and will continue to deliver on our commitment to responsible manufacturing,” said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra in the company’s just-released Sustainability Report.

The 2015 Sustainability Report, Accelerating Ahead, uncovers how GM is sustainably moving the world through connectivity, car-sharing, alternative propulsion and autonomous vehicles.

Here are some highlights:

The road to autonomous
We’re leveraging our 20 years of OnStar connectivity expertise to enable advanced safety technologies and car-sharing, paving the way for autonomous vehicles. We’re also working with stakeholders to create the largest vehicle-to-infrastructure corridor in the U.S. on 120 miles of Metro Detroit freeways.

Urban mobility
We’ve made significant strides in this area in 2016 alone. We launched the Maven car-sharing brand and invested $500 million in a strategic alliance with Lyft and later this year will bring the all-electric Bolt EV to market, with a GM-estimated 200+ miles per charge.

Focus on fuel efficiency
Since 77 percent of GM’s carbon footprint comes from driving, we’re continuing to provide customers with more fuel-efficient models. Nine GM models now get an EPA-estimated 40 mpg highway or better, up from six last year. GM’s electrified vehicles on the road increased by 9 percent.

Carbon reduction
Last year, Barra and 12 other automotive CEOs convened through the World Economic Forum committed to the vision of decarbonizing automotive transport. We’re aggressively pursuing more ways to increase our renewable energy use, and realizing bottom-line savings from energy reduction every day.

Supply chain
We’re working with our dealers and supply chain to further reduce our carbon footprint. To date, 435 dealers joined the company’s Green Dealer program and 77 percent of invited suppliers participate in an environmental efficiency program through CDP.

Responsible manufacturing
We’re on track to meet all of our 2020 global manufacturing commitments. Our 215,000 employees worldwide are helping us minimize our environmental footprint while increasing our positive societal impact.

Experts outside of our industry recognize GM’s progress.

“GM is quickly and appropriately adapting its business to our rapidly changing world, from addressing climate change through public policy advocacy to helping move electric vehicles into the mainstream,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a nonprofit advocating for sustainability leadership.

Discover more about GM’s environmental, social and economic impact by viewing the report at gmsustainability.com. Help us make a difference by planting a tree through the Arbor Day Foundation, donating a Chevrolet One World Play soccer ball to underprivileged youth, and signing the Ceres BICEP Climate Declaration.