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This morning General Motors (GM) released its 2012 Sustainability Report. Unlike many sustainability and CSR reports that are either a laborious read or cause eyes to roll upward, GM’s latest sustainability report engaged and captured my attention right away. Considering the automobile industry’s history, it was also jarring. Titled “Charging Ahead,” it came across as a report from Tesla at first glance, not one from the company that is home to GMC, Chevy and Buick (and of course, Hummer).
What is fascinating about this report is how it demonstrates the transition automakers like GM and its competitors, foreign and domestic, are currently undergoing. Gasoline will never be under two bucks a gallon again, so consumers want more fuel efficient cars; more young adults are eschewing cars and delay scoring a driver’s license; and the Big 3 are not only automobile manufacturers, but technology and lifestyle companies. And the evidence suggests all the talk about electrification is not just another teaser EV1 moment of the late 1990s, a shameful episode in GM’s history. The road ahead for electric vehicles will be bumpy and full of (range) anxiety for a while, but change is occurring—just as GM insists in this latest report.
So what are GM’s latest accomplishments?
For more of GM’s sustainability report, click here.
[Image credit: GM]
Based in Fresno, California, Leon Kaye is the editor of GreenGoPost.com and frequently writes about business sustainability strategy. Leon also contributes to Guardian Sustainable Business; his work has also appeared on Sustainable Brands, Inhabitat and Earth911. You can follow Leon and ask him questions on Twitter or Instagram (greengopost).
Leon Kaye has written for 3p since 2010 and become executive editor in 2018. His previous work includes writing for the Guardian as well as other online and print publications. In addition, he's worked in sales executive roles within technology and financial research companies, as well as for a public relations firm, for which he consulted with one of the globe’s leading sustainability initiatives. Currently living in Central California, he’s traveled to 70-plus countries and has lived and worked in South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.
Leon’s an alum of Fresno State, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Southern California's Marshall Business School. He enjoys traveling abroad as well as exploring California’s Central Coast and the Sierra Nevadas.