Sustainability Newsletter – May 2025

Polestar has long been a leading manufacturer for sustainability and following its latest Sustainability Report it seems to be heading further in the right direction. Back in 2021 Polestar launched the Polestar 0 project which aims to create a car with a zero-carbon footprint by 2030 and to reach climate neutrality by 2040. While targets like this seem ambitious, last month Polestar announced it has already managed to cut the emissions per car sold by 25 per cent since 2020. It cites several factors which have helped to achieve this including using low-carbon aluminium in all models, making its logistics more efficient, using biofuels on some of its shipping routes, improvements in battery manufacture, and sourcing 100 per cent of the energy used in manufacturing from renewables. Polestar says it has also identified the potential to reduce the carbon footprint of the Polestar 2 between the initial resource extraction to the point it leaves the factory by 10 tonnes compared to the start of the Polestar 0 project.

Yet, Polestar is not alone in its emission cutting plans. Another example is Stellantis, the owner of brands like Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat, which also has big plans with its aim to become carbon net zero by 2038. While it caveats that since setting out its strategy in 2022 the external landscape has become more challenging, it is pushing ahead with creating a more circular economy. This looks to remanufacture, repair, reuse and recycle parts and materials to reduce the environmental impact. Speaking on Autotrader’s Women in the Driving Seat podcast, Alison Jones, Global Chief Parts and Services Officer for Stellantis explains “It’s about using less material, using it for longer and then when you can’t use it any longer you recycle it.” Stellantis has had a dedicated circular economy hub at its Mirafiori plant in Turin Since 2023 which remanufactures engines, gearboxes and electric car batteries. In the podcast Alison highlights how rebuilding old parts uses up to 80 per cent less raw materials than creating new ones and has an energy saving of up to 50 per cent.

Cutting emissions is one thing, but consumers want to know the move towards more sustainable transport is an ethical choice too. This brings us back to Polestar which has recently signed up to the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) joining other manufacturers such as BMW, Renault Group, Ford, Tesla and Volkswagen Group. The IRMA audits mines which produce the minerals required for batteries in electric vehicles and assesses standards on a range of environmental and social responsibilities such as waste management, health and safety, and fair labour. When many of the critical minerals used in batteries come from politically unstable countries, increasing transparency in the supply chain is key.
As we look to the future of transport, motorsport is often where we see new innovations first. For example, the gearbox in the Renault Captur we are currently living with on long-term test was inspired by the technology previously used in hybrid Formula One cars. This makes it particularly fitting to see a sports sustainability firm, Enovation Consulting, received the King’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade. This award recognises the growth in overseas earnings relative to the size of the business. Enovation Consulting uses data to help sports companies be more sustainable with a long list of clients include Formula E, Williams Racing, and the World Rally Championship. Describing the company’s work in more detail founder and former F1 engineer, Dr. Christina Pace explained “We work with sports organisations to address sustainability in a robust, impactful, innovative and data-driven way that results in meaningful change.”

It’s not all good news for with wider transport sector, though, and commercial vehicles have additional challenges to overcome. As it stands commercial vehicles account for more than one third of all road transport carbon dioxide emissions. According to the SMMT, switching to zero emission commercial vehicles could shrink the UK’s carbon footprint by 35.7 megatonnes which equates to more than the total emissions of Sweden. However, it also says truck and van operators could be waiting 15 years for depot charging connections to be made to the grid. It is understandable businesses won’t invest in zero emission vehicles if they are unable to charge them at depots and when accessing the public charging network can also be challenging. There is still a need for infrastructure to be expanding into more convenient locations with larger charging bays to accommodate commercial vehicles. Speaking on a Greenfleet podcast at the 2025 Commercial Vehicles Show Autotrader’s Tom Roberts described electric van drivers as having “a raw deal at the moment” as they “don’t want to travel to a motorway services to charge, they want to be able to charge on location”. With this in mind, the SMMT is calling on the government fast-track grid connections for transport depots in order for the adoption of zero emission HGVs and vans to have any chance of taking off.

• Sustainability newsletter – April 2025 | Car brands fined for hiding data on recyclable material in their vehicles and a potential upside to American tariffs
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