Volvo Sustainability Commitments

Living Seawall Initiative

Over the last 200 years, more than half of the vibrant marine habitats in Sydney Harbour has been replaced with flat man-made seawalls, which support lower biodiversity and drives creatures from their natural habitats. The "Living Seawall" initiative saw Volvo partner with the Sydney Institute of Marine Science to create one of the world's largest Living Seawalls, which saw the return of 91 distinct species and has transformed the previously bare seawalls into a flourishing habitat that will help clean our oceans for decades to come.

Globally, all models available in an electrified version

The end of diesel for Volvo in Australia

As part of an ongoing ambition towards being fully electric by 2026 in Australia, we decided that diesel engines have no place in our future as a sustainable company.

Our first electric only vehicle

C40 Recharge – the first Volvo designed as pure electric only

Volvo issues world's first EV battery passport

Volvo Cars is launching the world's first EV battery passport recording the origins of raw materials, components, recycled content and carbon footprint for its flagship EX90 SUV. This is several years ahead of the industry as European regulations will make this mandatory in 2027 for all automakers.

50% sales to be pure electric models

Tailpipe emissions account for a significant part of our carbon footprint. That is why every new Volvo car launched from 2019 onwards has an electric motor. Our aim is that 50 per cent of our annual car sales should be all-electric by 2025, with the remainder consisting of hybrids.

Reducing emissions

Reducing emissions in our supply chain is critical to reaching our climate target. We are encouraging our top suppliers to use 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 and to develop a more circular approach to materials.

Climate-neutral manufacturing

We aim to have climate-neutral manufacturing operations by 2025. Already today our global plants are powered by over 80 per cent climate-neutral electricity. Since 2008, all our European plants have been running on hydro-electric power.

Recycled materials in all cars

One of our circular economy ambitions is to significantly increase the share of sustainable recycled and bio-based materials in our cars by 2025. Our ambitions for our materials in 2025 include 25% recycled or bio-based plastics, 40% recycled aluminium, and 25% recycled steel.

Reduce the lifecycle carbon footprint per vehicle by 40 per cent between 2018 and 2025

As an interim step towards our climate neutral by 2040 target, we’re aiming to reduce the lifecycle carbon footprint per vehicle by 40 per cent between 2018 and 2025. This will include a 50% reduction in tailpipe emissions, a 25% reduction in supply chain emissions, and a 25% reduction in operational emissions (incl. logistics), for a 40% total reduction per vehicle.

100% sustainability-linked financing

In recognition of the fact that finance plays a critical role in advancing sustainable development, we're aiming to achieve 100% green debt or sustainability-linked financing of assets by 2025.

Fully electrified fleet globally by 2030

Plan: every new Volvo model to be either a fully electric or a plug-in hybrid vehicle by 2030 globally.

Be a climate-neutral company by 2040

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)* has approved our ambitious plan to become a climate-neutral company by 2040. According to SBTi, our emissions reduction targets are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. We’re committed to reducing our impact on the planet and we know it’ll take a global effort. So it’s important to collaborate with other like-minded companies, suppliers and organisations, to drive our own sustainability performance and change within our industry. *SBTi is a collaboration between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040

At Volvo, we now aim to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. This expands upon our previous ambitions of being climate-neutral by 2040 and clarifies the company’s intention to use carbon removals only to mitigate any unavoidable emissions.