Building a More Sustainable Car

Building a More Sustainable Car, From Headlamp to
Tailpipe

Vehicle makers shy away from traditional materials that are hard to recycle, like leather and plastics, and look to repurpose alternatives that still convey quality

The Audi RS E-tron GT. The automaker intends to achieve carbon neutrality across its
entire network by 2050.Credit...Audi

In the 1970s, Chrysler’s TV commercials played up its vehicles’ “rich Corinthian leather.” That meaningless phrase, dreamed up by marketers and cooed by the actor Ricardo Montalbán, became emblematic of what defined a luxury vehicle.

Fifty years later, those words have been replaced by elements that are creating a new concept of automotive luxury: recycled PET bottles, coffee grounds and tree fiber.

“The definition of a premium automobile is changing,” said Rüdiger Recknagel, Audi’s chief environmental officer. “It’s now who’s using the best materials with the least environmental impact.”

As companies around the world turn their attention to reducing the effect their products have on the environment, carmakers are turning away from traditional materials that are hard to recycle, such as leather and plastics, and looking to alternatives that continue to convey quality. In manufacturing as well, they have moved to recycled components in an effort to use fewer resources and cut down on emissions.

Recycled materials make up 29 percent of a BMW vehicle, said Patrick Hudde, BMW’s vice president for sustainability supply chain. The company obtains 20 percent of its plastics from recycled materials, as well as 50 percent of its aluminum and 25 percent of its steel.

At Audi, the Mission: Zero program hopes to achieve a 30 percent reduction of vehicle-specific carbon dioxide emissions by 2025 compared with 2015, and to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire network by 2050; that includes suppliers, manufacturing, logistics and dealer operations.

And Volvo, the Swedish manufacturer, predicts that by 2025, 25 percent of its plastics will be bio-based or from recycled materials. In addition, it’s looking to reduce its carbon footprint by 40 percent in four years, compared with 2018, and to achieve climate-neutral manufacturing at that time.

“We’ve had to switch suppliers when they can’t meet our recycling standards,” said Anders Karrberg, Volvo’s head of global sustainability.