Thriving, Sustainably - Q&A With GM's Mary Barra and Dane Parker

Insights from Dane Parker, GM's new (and first) Chief Sustainability Officer
Jan 21, 2020 8:00 AM ET

Thriving, Sustainably

Our vision at General Motors is to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. We know it won’t happen overnight, but given the upside of that future, we are pursuing our vision as aggressively as we can.

The automotive industry helped transform the world – reshaping our physical world and fundamentally changing the way many people lead their lives. However, with mass mobility also came crashes, environmental impact and time wasted due to congestion. 

Tackling these issues is our responsibility. If not us, who? If not now, when? 

GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra shares a LinkedIn Pulse post with insights from Dane Parker, the company's new (and first) Chief Sustainability Officer:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/thriving-sustainably-mary-barra/

The Q&A discusses how GM thinks about sustainability in its strategy, core operations, and daily life. Here's a quick excerpt from the conversation:

Mary Barra: You talk about our transition to electric vehicles, which is important because we also believe the future is all-electric. In this role, you will be responsible for leading the design and implementation of infrastructure for EVs at GM facilities – tell me more about this. 

Dane Parker: We know most EV drivers want to charge primarily at home or at work. That is why it’s imperative we expand our campus charging infrastructure to help our own team members make this transition with confidence. At the same time, we are being thoughtful in our approach, as there is the challenge of simultaneously supporting our utility company partners in reducing their peak loads to create a “greener” grid. Ultimately, we need both EVs and a greener grid on which to charge them to enable a zero emissions future.

Success will be reflected in meeting not only our sustainability goals, but also having a thriving business – and both are absolutely possible. In fact, that is what true sustainability means.

–Dane Parker

Access Mary Barra's LinkedIn Influencer page for the full Q&A.

Visit www.gmsustainability.com for more informaiton.