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There is a groundswell of opinion which says that fuel
consumption and emissions should not be the only factors taken
into account when deciding if a car is ‘green’. The energy
needed to make it, and the number of parts which can be recycled
at the end of its life, should also be considered.
It is a point of view that Kia
wholeheartedly agrees with – because the company has been doing
it for years. From the start of the design phase, all new Kia
models are subject to a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to minimise
their impact on the environment. And Kia suppliers are
encouraged to do the same with their production processes.
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In 2008, Kia launched a socially
responsible management initiative designed to put the environment at the
forefront of all its operations. Among other things, the company set out
to:
- Develop economical vehicles,
including those that run on alternative fuels
- Curb energy consumption and
emissions at factories
- Reduce pollution and waste during
the production cycle
- Improve recycling technologies
- Introduce a green marketing
system, including sales and service outlets
- Be open and honest about the
eco-friendliness of Kia cars
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Kia has received both internal and
external recognition for its efforts. Using an internal environmental
performance indicator, which measures CO2 emissions and the
amount of resources used against sales revenue, Kia made a 40.1%
improvement between 2004 and 2010.
Kia’s plant in Zilina, Slovakia was
certified in 2008 as an ‘environmentally-friendly’ facility, earning an
ISO 14001 International Certificate of Environmental Management. The
plant employs cutting-edge technology to ensure that production and
waste-management have minimal impact on the environment.
It’s not only the plants that are
receiving awards the all new Picanto, Rio, Optima and Sportage have all
been awarded environmental certificates from TUV Nord. The low tailpipe
emissions from all four cars and the advanced processes used in their
production, have resulted in the models being certified according to the
ISO 14040 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
Digital assessments during the design
phase help to minimise the number of changes necessary down the line,
reduce costs and resource consumption and calculate how a car will
dismantle at the end of its life. One benefit of this process is the
development of more efficient dismantling equipment.
Since 2005 Kia has been using a
self-developed chemicals management system to minimise the use of toxic
substances, and in 2010 it began to analysethe composition and weight of
all materials used in the construction of a car to aid recycling. All
newly-developed Kias now meet recyclability and reusability standards in
Korea, Europe and China.
All Kia factories are clean and
efficient. The amount of waste, greenhouse gases and environmental
pollutants they produce is monitored so that improvements can be made,
and the heat they create is recycled.
Waste taken to landfill sites in 2010
was less than 1% of the total generated, and the giant Sohari and
Hwasung plants in Korea have sent absolutely no waste to landfill for
the past two years. In 2010, nearly 94% of the waste created at the
three main Korean plants was recycled.
Kia has also reduced the amount of
water used in the building of each car by 27% in the past seven years,
and has achieved a steady decline in the greenhouse gases resulting from
production since 2005, and company standards on environmental and
atmospheric pollutants are higher than those demanded by the Korean
government.
Kia’s decision to build cars in the
markets where they will be sold, whenever possible, reduces the energy
required for distribution. Kia is also replacing old transporters with
new ones that can carry 20% more, and re-routing cargo through ports
closer to production facilities.
Looking further into the future, Kia is
researching ways of increasing the amount of shredded material from
scrapped cars for recycling from 85% to 95%. The company has also
developed a manual on how to safely dispose of the high-voltage
lithium-ion batteries from the hybrid and electric vehicles that will
soon be used in volume production.
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