“Let’s Fix It Now!”: Efficient Auto Manufacturing

Lets Fix It Now!

2nd of 3 posts- Focus: Auto Manufacturing

In the first of three in the “Fix it now!” series, we at Work-Bench.Org provided an overview of the relatively inexpensive and rather straightforward things a modern airport can do to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions.

In this second post,  we focus on some encouraging environmental improvements in the auto sector. We are not focusing on advanced batteries, fuel cells or highlighting a new 100 MPG car (although in future we may!) Instead, we are examining closely the production of those autos - looking at efforts to reduce the resources and energy it takes to make a car, ship its component parts, and transport that car to the consumer.

It seems fitting that we start with the largest domestic carmaker, one which recently flirted with disaster yet kept its focus on sustainable auto production for the long term.

GM recently added its 100th landfill-free facility. In 2011, it recycled or reused 2.6 million metric tons at its facilities worldwide—equivalent to more than 38 million trash bags, or more than a month’s worth of trash for every resident in New York City- GM began tracking its waste 15 years ago, and, armed with this insight, improves its recycling each year.  Worldwide GM production facilities and controlled affiliates recycle or reuse more than 90% of the waste generated.

Ford Motor has also doubled down on Auto plant efficiency:

Green Roof- Ford’s Rouge plant

Ford has reduced the amount of energy required to produce each vehicle in its manufacturing facilities by 22% in the last six years- The amount of electricity used to produce each Ford vehicle had been reduced by some 800 kilowatt-hours by 2011.

The company also announced plans to reduce energy use another 25% on a per-vehicle basis by 2016. Other successful initiatives include reductions in water use, waste-to-landfill and CO2 emissions as well as improvements in vehicle fuel economy and safety.

(There is a short video featuring Ford’s very efficient Rouge Plant on view here.)

Not to be outdone, in Chattanooga,  Volkswagen has recently built the first LEED Platinum automotive  manufacturing facility in the world. Not simply first in the US, first in the world!  This facility makes clear the manufacturing efficiencies possible in the US,. Additionally, the advanced plant design and its high performance also speaks to the capability of architects, contractors and  construction workforce to build very large manufacturing  facilities to the highest sustainability standards.

Side view VW’s LEED Platinum Car Plant in Chattanooga, TN

VW’s press release cited above highlights some of the plant’s innovative features which include:

• Certification of the paint shop facility. Previous assembly plants have excluded their paint shop in the LEED certification process due to the complexity of the manufacturing process and the challenge of getting them certified. VW’s sustainably designed paint shop will save more than 50 million gallons of water a year.

  The construction team salvaged or recycled nearly 78 percent (4,602 tons) of construction and demolition waste.

• 48 percent of total building materials were manufactured using recycled materials.

• Through low-flow water closets and urinals, the plant achieves a 58 percent reduction in potable water used for sewage conveyance. Additionally, the plant harvests rainwater from its roof that is collected for use in the sanitary waste system. Together, these strategies save 1.7 million gallons of potable water each year. Low-flow showers, lavatory and kitchen faucets further decrease potable water usage, resulting in total savings of more than 3 million gallons of potable water each year.

• A white, reflective roofing material was installed on 100 percent of the roof area of the building, which reflects heat, lowering cooling costs and saving energy.All exterior lights at the facility provide only the minimum lighting required for safety to ensure that light does not spill into the night sky, adversely affecting the surrounding nocturnal environments through excessive glare.

• Measures to promote environmentally friendly commutes include the provision of bike racks for visitors and employees, availability of showers and lockers for employee use and preferred parking for those driving low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles and for those who carpool to the site.

LEED Platinum is a very high standard to meet. Certainly not all manufacturers/car makers can justify some of the more arcane LEED requirements. However, that has not kept three the following three automakers from making significant moves toward energy efficient manufacturing. Additionally, each  of the three has made a solid dent in air and solid waste pollution:

Honda and Nissan each have ongoing waste reduction and energy efficiency initiatives, and Subaru of America is committed to a net-zero waste from its Indiana facility. :

… at one time that people would say, ‘Oh it costs too much to be environmentally friendly. Those tree huggers cost us too much money. We can’t do that.’ I think now, people are finally realizing that it really costs too much money for people to not be environmentally friendly. That waste is money. That whenever you’re throwing something out, you’re spending money…

Sustainable manufacturing examples seem to abound these days- We’d chosen to focus on Autos specifically because so much of the manufacturing economy is represented by this one iconic industry.

The emissions savings don’t stop with the manufacturers, and  as the automakers become more energy efficient and waste conscious, so too do the other parts of  the auto supply chain:

Consider the shipment of cars via train- Railroads are using ever more advanced, less polluting locomotives. Today’s average train has an efficiency of ~400+ ton-miles per gallon Still more advances are coming for the railroad industry which should move that figure toward 450-500 ton miles per gallon. Hybrid Locomotives are soon to be introduced which will push transport efficiency (and reduce emissions) even further. Some advanced locomotives, such as the Hybrid GE Evolution,  will save about 440,000 gallons of fuel over a 20-year useful life. The GE hybrid will use a sodium-metal battery built at GE’s new $100 million battery plant in Schenectady, N.Y.

Federal Express is soon to exceed it’s 20% renewable goal. Pictured here- FedEx’s test short haul electric delivery vehicle.

Also, the shipment of parts should see emissions improvements, as both long haul trucking companies and large international shippers are each becoming much more energy efficient. One shipper, Fed Ex, is becoming more energy efficient  ahead of its already aggressive schedule.

Acknowledging the importance of great logistics to any comprehensive energy saving strategy, the EPA has created and sponsored the Smartway program – an effort to increase fuel efficiency in the freight industry. Important efficiency improvements such as idle reduction, engine retrofits, and better aerodynamics are tested, evaluated, and promoted through Smartway.

Interestingly, should the shipping industry not be moving fast enough toward sustainability, an auto company can choose to design it’s own ship to save energy and represent a new corporate philosophy.

Nissan Designed it’s own Aerodynamic Car Carrying Cargo Ship

Our previous post made the point that when it comes to air travel,  significant CO2 reduction and energy savings can be found long before the flight itself.

We’ve made a similar case clear in this post.

Though improved Fuel Economy is indeed vital,  a good deal of Carbon Dioxide reduction and Energy savings can be found by addressing how a car is made, in what way it’s parts arrive at the factory, and how the final product gets to the consumer.

While it is true that transportation technology requires further  improvement to address growing levels of CO2 emissions, it is also increasingly clear that major automakers, suppliers, and freight carriers have each made strong progress this decade toward the goals of sustainable sourcing, logistics and manufacture.