By Li Tiezheng
On January 22, Shanghai GM, the sales champion in China's automobile industry in 2007, launched an all-directional green strategy with "Drive to Green" as the theme. Ding Lei, General Manager of Shanghai GM, said that a breakthrough in environmental protection and energy shortage was the prerequisite to auto industry's sustainable development. The "Drive to Green" strategy of Shanghai GM involves three aspects-green product, green system and green responsibility, which will provide China's consumers with green auto type with "better performance, lower energy consumption, less emission" through technological renovation, and play a more active leading role in the industrial chain, thus create a green ecological system in the industry through activating both the upper and the lower reaches.
The green strategy of Shanghai GM sets clear targets for the future development. Cooperating with their world-leading multiple energy R&D center and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co., Ltd., they set a core target based "set-by-step" product map, which includes: In January 2008, all types of their autos should meet the requirements of State V emission standard, all newly launched products should achieve State V standard technological capacity, and release 4 new green products under the multiple brand structure. From 2009 to 2012, 11 high-tech engines with high tech, low fuel consumption and multiple energies will be launched in line with a multiple brand product plan. After 2010, reinforced E-Flex power drive system and fuel battery E-Flex power drive cars will be introduced step by step for achieving the target of "zero fuel consumption, non emission". Recently debuted Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid, a Hybrid Electrical Vehicle, took the first step of Shanghai GM's 2008 green product plan. The said car is China's first mass-produced medium-and-high-class hybrid drive vehicle, over 15 percent decreased in terms of comprehensive fuel consumption. Shanghai GM will launch three all new engines, including the small-emission, high- tech S-TEC1.2L engine. Moreover, Shanghai GM will introduce "2-Mode" Hybrid, a dual-mode hybrid vehicle, which can fully meet the demands of consumers for drive performance, and reduce 50 percent of its fuel consumption.
In implementing the "Drive to Green" strategy, Shanghai GM will adhere to the resource-saving, environment-friendly, technology-innovative development road, consolidate its leading advantage of green manufacture, and actively obtain higher environmental protection level in sectors of production, R&D and project. Shanghai GM takes the recycling rate of automotive parts into consideration as early as the auto design phase. Till 2012, the re-usage rate of automotive parts, cycling utility rate of material, and recycling rate of fuel as energy will account for more than 95 percent of the whole auto quality, reaching the EU standards. Till 2012, the average energy consumption per vehicle of Shanghai GM's three production bases, namely Jinqiao, Dongyue and Beisheng, will be 0.31 ton per vehicle, 35 percent down compared to that of 2007; main pollutant emission will further reduce and wastewater discharge per vehicle will decrease by 21 percent compared to the present number; re-usage rate of intermediate water will be doubled compared to the present number, and the total saved water in 5 years will reach 400 thousand tons; integrative utility of industrial wastes will reach 97 percent, 15 percent higher than the present number, among which100 percent of the chemical packing buckets will be reused so as to ease the contradictions between business economic development and environmental protection to the utmost.
Meanwhile, Shanghai GM will play an active leading role in the industrial chain and facilitate the upstream and downstream businesses to take the green road together so as to build a whole "green system". The "green supply chain" is oriented toward automotive parts suppliers. Shanghai GM will join hands with the non-governmental organization World Environment Center (WEC) to inspect suppliers' workshop and equipments, producing sites and processing, improve the existing equipment and techniques, strictly implement the energy-saving and emission-reductive target, promote the reasonable utility of resources and reduce the consumption of energy and raw material. At present, Shanghai GM has 8 "green suppliers" in the first batch. They can reduce 2500-odd tons of carbon dioxide emission and save over 28 million gallons of water per year with the saved total capital of 254.5 thousand US dollars, It is predicted that Shanghai GM's "green suppliers" will increase to 40 in 2008, and over 450 till 2010. Through vigorously driving the construction of green after service stores and strict environmental protection management, the "green supply chain", along with the 100 percent safe handling, has steadily enhanced the integrative utility of wastes produced in auto preparation, and energetically promoted the adoption of reproductive auto parts, which have the same performance with the new ones, thus saved raw materials and energy greatly.
Shanghai GM's "Drive to Green" strategy not only covers the responsibility of constituting green products and green system, but also emphasized the "green responsibility". Shanghai GM and China Environmental Protection Foundation, a non-profitable organization of State Environmental Protection Administration and the first foundation engaged in environmental protection in China, formed a strategic partnership relation and founded "China Environmental Protection Foundation-Shanghai GM Green Public Welfare Fund" to finance activities and projects related to environmental protection, promote the communications and cooperation in environmental protection field, and drive the national environmental protection career. By collecting green business starting plans throughout the country and give them evaluation and reward, this activity aims at helping those have green ideals and business-starting passions fulfill their dreams and actualize their values, and drive more environmental protection ideas into commercial circumstance.
