Three more Volvo CE facilities reach landfill-free status
Seven of the company’s sites have reached the status through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling
Volvo CE is continuing its sustainability efforts, and is reporting that three more of the company's facilities have been designated as landfill-free, for a total of seven. The company's continued efforts mean there is also currently less than one percent landfill waste across all other sites. The sites in Belley, France, and Shanghai and Jinan, in China, are diverting all waste from landfill — through waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. Volvo CE aims for all its sites to achieve landfill-free status by the end of 2025.
In 2013, the company's facility in Braås, southern Sweden — which specializes in the design and manufacturing of articulated haulers — became the first Volvo CE site to become carbon-neutral. The North American Shippensburg facility followed suit in 2020.
This achievement underscores Volvo CE's unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and sustainable business practices, says the company.
"Across our sites, we are continuing to improve and transform our operations making them more efficient, sustainable, and reducing our carbon footprint," says Niklas Nillroth, head of sustainability at Volvo CE. "Our target is to ensure all sites achieve landfill-free status by the end of 2025, addressing the final 0.23 percent of waste still sent to landfill. This milestone exemplifies our dedication to lead by example. We share our progress to inspire others to join us and cultivate innovative solutions for a more sustainable future."
Volvo CE's sites in Shanghai and Belley, which produce crawler excavators and compact excavators respectively, and the Jinan Technology Center join facilities in Changwon in Korea, Pederneiras in Brazil, Shippensburg in the U.S.; and Hallsberg and Braås in Sweden, in reaching this important milestone.
Certification has been awarded following a comprehensive audit by the Volvo Group Environmental Coordination Group. The certificate not only demands that no waste ends up in landfill, but it also requires full management of all material waste streams and emphasizes ongoing improvements in line with the waste hierarchy principles. Achieving zero waste to landfill is a critical step towards the company meeting its goal of net zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 as part of its Science Based Targets initiative.
Data-driven waste management
Each site faces its own unique set of challenges in waste management. Initiatives include collaborating with suppliers to eliminate unnecessary packaging; reusing and repurposing materials, such as converting plant and food waste into organic farming inputs or using waste for heating; and extracting maximum benefit from products before they become waste.
Data plays a crucial role as an enabler for change, providing insights that help refine and enhance waste management practices. Comprehensive waste separation systems at every site ensure that as much waste as possible is recycled. Across Volvo CE, 85 percent of waste is recycled. Waste is separated, sorted, collected, classified, and weighed before being transported to waste contractors for recycling or disposal.
Sustainability in site operation
Volvo management says the key to success across the sites is the active engagement and rewarding of employees, which lays a strong foundation for continuous improvement and innovation. Equally vital is the involvement of suppliers, and by fostering collaborative partnerships, Volvo CE is driving a collective effort towards sustainability that extends beyond its own operations.
