General Motors Corporate Responsibility Newsletter - March 2014
General Motors Corporate Responsibility Newsletter
March 2014
HEADLINE
Chevy Buys Carbon Credits from U.S. Colleges Going Green
Chevrolet is investing in clean energy efficiency initiatives of U.S. colleges and universities through its voluntary carbon-reduction initiative. The brand helped develop a formula where campuses can earn money for certain upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
WASTE REDUCTION
GM Adds Two Midwest Facilities to Landfill-Free List
Old Man Winter may be covering the Midwest with snow and record-low temperatures, but two of GM’s facilities aren’t covering landfills with any waste. The company’s distribution centers in Chicago and Hudson, Wis., are the latest facilities to achieve landfill-free status, meaning all daily waste is reused, recycled or converted to energy.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Ball State Benefits from New Chevrolet Initiative
Robert J. Koester, Professor of Architecture and Chair, Ball State University Council on the Environment, shares how Chevrolet is helping the university fully realize their energy and climate goals.
GM’s Al Hildreth: ‘We’re Collecting Data and Sharing Best Practices’
The Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) has formed a new advisory group to represent the automotive industry’s expertise in environmental sustainability. Al Hildreth, global energy manager for General Motors, explains how the group will monitor environmental sustainability issues that impact the industry as well as encourage the development of common definitions, metrics, and benchmarking.
GM’s VP of Sustainability Tells It Like It Is
Mike Robinson, GM vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs, explains the company's take on sustainability and how future employees will help shape the automaker's environmental perspective.
GREENER VEHICLES
2015 Silverado HDs Run Cleaner, Save Money on CNG
Chevrolet’s expanded availability of bi-fuel versions of the new 2015 Silverado 2500HD and 3500HD trucks give customers and fleet managers more choices for cleaner-burning compressed natural gas-powered models – and savings at the pump.
California Teen Makes Deal to Pay for Gas if Dad Buys New Car, Now Drives Gas Free with Spark EV
Seventeen-year-old Alex Prell made a deal with his dad that he would pay for gas if his dad bought him a car, so Alex picked the new all electric Chevrolet Spark EV.
Chevrolet Volt Kicks the Early Adopter Bug
Cristi Landy, marketing director, Chevrolet Small Cars, shares insight on adopting new technology and the Chevrolet Volt’s latest high scores in the J.D Power 2014 Vehicle Dependability Study.
Chevrolet Dealer in Arkansas Embraces Community’s Spirit of Sustainability
George Nunnally Chevrolet, a fixture in the town of Bentonville, Ark., for more than 25 years, is one of the local companies helping Bentonville become an environmental model for which many communities in America could stand to mimic. And they are looking to General Motors for inspiration.
Opel Van Named Most ‘Environmentally Friendly’
The European environmental institute Ökotrend and the trade magazine Auto Test recently named the Opel Zafira Tourer the “Most Environmentally Friendly Van 2014.”
DIVERSITY
Buick and Samaritan’s Feet Celebrate Black History Month
Celebrating Black History Month, Buick and Samaritan’s Feet hosted a foot-washing event at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. In addition to the foot washing at the world’s largest African-American museum, Buick and Samaritan’s feet provided shoes to more than 290 schoolchildren from the Detroit area.
GM Executives Give and Take Top Honors at Black Engineer of the Year Award STEM Conference
General Motors North America Manufacturing Vice President Gerald Johnson received the Black Engineer of the Year Award at the organization’s science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, conference.
PHILANTHROPY
GM Foundation Donates $1 Million to Detroit Charities in Honor of Former GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson
The General Motors Foundation is donating $1 million among three Detroit charities in honor of GM’s former Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson and his wife Karin. The donations to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity Detroit and the Coalition On Temporary Shelter, or COTS, further the GM Foundation’s and the Akersons’ commitment to making a difference in GM’s headquarters city.
Where Can A STEM Major Take You? Around the World, According to Buick Achiever Carmen Gil
In 2012, Carmen Gil was awarded a Buick Achievers Scholarship, which is funded by the General Motors Foundation. As one of the largest scholarship programs in the nation, Buick Achievers places a strong focus on recognizing female, minority and other students who excel in the classroom and give back to their communities. Read on to learn how the Buick Achievers Scholarship changed one STEM student’s life.
