Environmental management systems are the tools for addressing and managing the specific environmental impact for each organization within the Volvo Group.
In 1995 the first systems were certified in accordance with EMAS and soon after employees in Volvo production units were working in an ISO-certified organization.
ISO 14001 is a set of environmental management standards aimed at helping organizations minimise the negative impact of their operations while complying with applicable laws and regulations.
Strategic challenge
Group-wide environmental objectives are part of the annual strategic challenge that the CEO of the Volvo Group gives the business areas. These objectives and the necessary actions are then to be implemented in the business plans. The objectives are based on the focused environmental agenda that was decided in March 2007. The areas in the focused agenda are:
- Energy efficiency
- Climate change
- Alternative fuels
- Communication
The areas to be covered by objectives and actions are products, industrial/facilities infrastructure, transport systems and market and society.
Decentralised organization – central coordination
The Volvo Group has a decentralized environmental organization, because the responsibility for the environmental performance and legal compliance of the business operations follows the ordinary business responsibility.
However, each business area and unit has a centrally placed environmental manager that coordinates the environmental strategies within the unit.
The coordination of Group environmental strategies and follow-up is centrally placed at Environmental Affairs at the Volvo Group Headquarters. An environmental council, chaired by a member of the Group Executive Committee, is the advising body for Group decisions.
Playing fair
The Volvo Group supports the demands made by the world’s politicians that require us to fulfil environmental requirements, because we know that we can meet those demands. However, since we are a global company, those demands need to be the same throughout the entire world so that we can contribute as effectively as possible to a better environment.