Volvo’s EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) was launched back in 2001 in connection with the launch of the company’s new FH and FM trucks. The EPD service has been steadily developed ever since. Recently, lifecycle analysis of the FE and FL models was also concluded so now there is an environmental product declaration for the full range of Volvo’s trucks.
“After almost ten years, we are still the only vehicle manufacturer in the world to offer customers this type of information,” says Lars Mårtensson.
Companies that care about land usage, water quality and mankind’s need for clean air will win in the long term. This is the firm belief of researcher Oskar Villani, President of SDI-Research (Sustainable Development Research Institute) in Vienna, who conducts market, trend and future-scenario analyses for corporate clients.
He relates that the first seeds of the environmental trend were sown as long ago as 1972 when scientist Dennis Meadows and several colleagues published a report entitled “The Limits to Growth”. This was the first time the Earth’s limited resources and the need to reduce environmental destruction were spotlighted.
“It often takes 30 to 40 years for a trend to establish itself on a broad front among the general public, among legislators and in industry. Now we can finally see that something is starting to happen with the environmental issue,” says Oskar Villani.
For the past decade or so, increasing amounts of environmental legislation has been introduced in Europe, the USA and Japan. In 2004, for instance, the EU adopted an environmental responsibility directive that now compels companies within the Union to clean up polluted soil, polluted water and other environmental parameters that have become hazardous to human beings and/or animal life as a result of corporate operations.
Oskar Villani cannot see any end to the environmental trend even though he notes that some companies are moving their polluting operations to countries with more or less non-existent eco-legislation.
Source: http://www.volvotrucks.com/trucks/global/en-gb/newsmedia/pressreleases/Pages/pressreleases.aspx?pubId=9187