In the face of fierce global competition, shrinking market share, and mass layoffs, General Motors is emerging as a leader among automotive companies in the pursuit to achieve sustainability, according to a recent report on GreenBiz.com.
And that commitment is having a direct effect on the company's competitiveness and bottom line. Consider General Motors’ Warren Transmission plant, near Detroit, which recently installed a new water treatment system that tripled the efficiency of its water use and reduced annual water needs by 1.2 million gallons. The move also cut costs at the plant by $2,200 a year.
General Motors actually cut overall water use at its Michigan facilities by more than 15 percent from 2000 to 2003, according to company records. The Pontiac Assembly plant, for example, slashed the amount of water purchased and sent back to the wastewater treatment plant by 52,000 gallons per year. The Orion Assembly plant dialed its water demand back 12 percent. And the Saginaw Metal Casting Operation began reusing more than 20 million gallons of treated wastewater every day, a change that also limited discharges to the Saginaw River.
“If you’re producing waste,” said Susan Kelsey, GM’s manager of environmental services in southeast Michigan, “you’re losing money.”
