Volvo Cars has dramatically improved the environmental performance of its plants since the 1960s, for example by installing several kinds of cleaning technology and substantially reducing emissions to air and water. However, these technologies do not solve all of the problems since they consume energy. Lower energy consumption is one of Volvo Cars current main environmental objectives for its plants.

Solvent emissions
Solvent emissions from car production have attracted much attention in the last 30 years. Inhalation of high concentrations of solvents can affect human health. Solvents also contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. Reduction of these solvents is a highly prioritized area in our plants. Solvent emissions from the Torslanda plant have been reduced by 30 kg/car in 1977 to 1.4 kg/car in 2003.

Use of chemicals
In 1991, Volvo Cars established a database containing detailed information on more than 5,000 chemical products. Since its introduction, the number of chemical products used in production has been reduced and a large number of substances have been eliminated from production operations.
Volvo Cars has been using standards for chemical substances since the beginning of the 1990s. These standards are actually tougher than the relevant legislation, and substances such as CFCs and asbestos were phased out before the legislation came into force.

Energy consumption
Significant amounts of energy are used in car manufacturing and Volvo Cars is working continually to reduce energy consumption in its plants. However, the environmental impact of the operation is a function of the energy used. Volvo plants mainly use natural gas, which is a preferable alternative from the environmental point of view. The Torslanda plant also uses residual heat from a nearby oil refinery for heating.

Water consumption
Closed water cycles are used to reduce the consumption of fresh water and all Volvo plants are equipped with advanced water treatment facilities. Residual products are treated in an environmentally compatible manner. The introduction of water treatment has significantly reduced emissions of substances such as phosphorus, iron, chromium, nickel and zinc.

Waste and recycling
Volvo Cars has introduced waste management systems to minimize residual products and improve material utilization. In addition, it is important to continually increase the proportion of recycled and reused materials. The implementation of recycling and waste management procedures has yielded very successful results.

A higher level of recycling is an important method of reducing the consumption of finite resources. All Volvo cars are designed to take account of their recyclability at the end of their useful life. This is a matter of specifying the correct materials and developing solutions which will facilitate dismantling. To simplify recycling, we mark plastic components, avoid mixed materials and reduce the number of fasteners. This allows 85% of a new Volvo to be recycled and the aim is to increase this to 95%. Procedures for scrapping cars differ from market to market. However, your Volvo dealer will assist you in finding a suitable take-back station.

Volvo cars also include components made of recycled materials, while certain components are reused through the Volvo Cars exchange system for remanufactured parts. This system, in which used parts are collected from dealers and remanufactured to the same quality as new parts, is a good example of reuse. This enables the amount of resources and energy used in component manufacture to be reduced significantly. Over 2,000 different components, from gearboxes to consoles, are remanufactured in this manner. And the only difference between remanufactured and all-new parts is that we use them more than once — naturally with a full warranty.