Chevrolet roll out ambitious CSR program to focus on carbon reduction

A new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program by Chevrolet looks to tackle carbon reduction. By definition the automotive industry along with the food industry is at the heart of a large ratio of global carbon emissions but that shouldn’t make efforts participate in the challenge to reduce carbon emissions any less worthy. It’s taken longer than I would have liked but Chevrolet along with many other leading automakers are now taking greater steps in increasing fuel efficiency and providing investment toward alternate fuel vehicles for the marketplace. Chevrolet have also introduced a new multi-year commitment that will invest $40 million with the goal of preventing 8,000,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering our atmosphere.

I feel it’s important to be realistic about automakers, the public and commercial demand for gasoline powered vehicles is not going to change overnight nor is the technology in place to change fuel efficiency as rapidly as would be ideal. With that understood I think that an automaker such a Chevrolet investing in programs that reduce overall emissions is not only a natural fit for their CSR program but also perhaps should be mandated.

The first step by Chevrolet in this new initiative involves partnering with the Maine State Housing Authority in supporting a plan that will weatherize more than 5,000 low income homes. These changes will be part of the verifiable carbon reduction plan in association with the Housing Authority. At present the carmaker is actively soliciting investment proposals from around the nation in conjunction with an independent body – Bonneville Environmental Foundation. With the assistance of Bonneville different programs will be selected throughout the country to maximize the investment toward carbon reduction. Rick Scheidt is an executive director of Chevrolet marketing and adds:

“We’ve moved rapidly to get the carbon reduction investment process underway and we’ve selected an important energy efficiency project we can help make a reality. Chevy is committed to reducing its environmental impact, and what better way to do that than to connect with customers and communities on carbon-reducing projects that directly benefit them? We are reviewing other programs like this that could positively influence change in cities across the nation,”

The initial program in Maine features a variety of home improvements focusing on upgrading insulation, sealing chimneys and improving of heating systems. The goal is to significantly reduce the use of energy in the homes which will lower expenses for the residents in addition to improvements in air quality. The expectation is that the avoidance over 40,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as a result of this first partnership. In addition Chevy will be providing cash to purchase the associated carbon savings from Maine Housing.

Chevrolet will continue to partner with NGOs and environmental experts via the Climate Business Network to make the best use of its community investments. Here’s a statistic I found most encouraging from the report; the four your investment is expected to lower emissions by the equivalent amount that driving the nearly 2 million vehicles expects to sell this year would be adding to the atmosphere. I hope that other automakers can invest in similar programs in the very near future.

You can find out much more about this program at the Chevy carbon reduction website which is linked here.

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