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coastal
03-14-2003, 12:06 PM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Volvo Launches New Environmental Product Declaration Website

Swedish auto manufacturer&#39;s holistic approach to providing environmental-impact information goes high-tech
Irvine, CA (March 7, 2003) - Is it possible for the World Wide Web to have an impact on the environment? Volvo Car Corporation thinks so, and its new Environmental Product Declaration website launched today is yet another first in its holistic approach to informing its customers about the impact its products have on the environment.

Previously offered only in written form that covered a few models, 2003 marks the first use of the Internet as a tool to communicate Volvo&#39;s environmental declarations across its entire line of vehicles. The new website, http://www.epd.volvocars.se/us/, allows users to view Volvo&#39;s holistic, cradle-to-grave, approach of caring for the environment. A few clicks of the mouse takes visitors on a tour of the many ways a car impacts the environment, and what Volvo is doing to minimize these factors. Important environmental concerns such as chemical solvent emissions during the manufacturing process are addressed. Did you know that since the 1970s solvent emissions have been reduced by 90 percent from the company&#39;s manufacturing plant in Torslanda, Sweden? Perhaps the visitor would like to know exactly how many pounds of the compact V40 wagon is produced from nonmetallic recycled materials (50 lbs.), or the amount of materials utilized within the XC90 (97.7 percent, meaning that just 2.3 percent is considered waste product). No problem, it&#39;s all within a few clicks of the easily navigated website.

Volvo was the first manufacturer to offer such a declaration, and now the first to offer its entire model lineup for review on the Internet. Verification of the data is validated by Lloyd&#39;s Register Quality Assurance Limited (LRQA), and is based upon the rigid International Standards Organization (ISO) requirements.

First conceived in November 1998, the product declarations of Volvo&#39;s vehicles provide car buyers with adequate and meaningful information, in order to allow them to compare different makes and models objectively in environmental terms. Using a system of life-cycle assessment called EPS (Environmental Priority Strategies), Volvo focuses its efforts on three important environmental issues: protecting human health, lowering resource utilization and reducing ecological consequences. To accomplish these goals the declaration is divided into four areas: Environmental Management, Production, Useful Life and Recycling.
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http://www.epd.volvocars.se/us/

wiz
03-14-2003, 01:06 PM
I think it&#39;s great that Volvo provides this information, but you do wonder what percentage of the car buying public, at least in the U.S., gives a hoot about the environmental impact of cars. (If they did, would there be so many SUVs on the road?)

Was it Nixon&#39;s vice-president Spiro Agnew who once memorably uttered the phrase &quot;pointy-headed intellectuals and Volvo drivers&quot;? OK, OK, I&#39;ll stop being a &quot;nattering nabob of negativism&quot;. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif

Art
03-15-2003, 01:20 AM
Wiz raises a valid point. Here in the province of Alberta, oil,gas and farm related industries are the dominant forces that drive the economy, and SUV&#39;s and HD pickups are right up there as being the most visible vehicles on the prairie landscape. We walk a very fine line when faced with a choice of either maintaining a thriving economy or determining just what kind of value we place on our health and the environment. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

Volvo&#39;s green approach was, in fact, just one of the many reasons which led to our decision in purchasing the XC. I guess you could call it our small contribution to help the cause. http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Jcurrie
04-03-2003, 10:39 PM
I think both Art and Wiz are entirely right, until we North Americans really start to see the consequences of climate change and the skyrocketing of fuel prices we will probably continue to place the environmental impact of a car at the bottom of the list for what qualitites we want in our cars and trucks.

I live in Ontario and a few weeks ago premium gas was selling for about &#036;0.82 per litre. While this would dismay me from filling up my parents cars it certainly didn&#39;t dismay my parents (from what they told me) or our neighbours and friends with their Suburbans, ML430&#39;s and Navigators.

I think it&#39;s wonderful that Volvo puts such emphasis on environmental awareness and responsibilty. They truly are an industry leader in environmental stewardship but I think they have to promote this more than they currently do. At this time, you cannot find the EPD on the Volvo Canada (or other nations) website (at least, I couldn&#39;t find it&#33http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif. Although, there is a little bit of information about Volvo&#39;s committment to the environment in the &quot;Why Volvo&quot; section.

I have to say that my parents were really &quot;gung-ho&quot; about getting either an ML320 or Yukon Denali until I showed them the horrible environmental impact those trucks have on the environment. Through the use of Volvo&#39;s old EPD website and the EPA&#39;s fueleconomy.com website I was easily able to persuade them into buying a much more fuel effecient and &quot;environmental friendly&quot; (I&#39;m using that in relative terms) Volvo V70 XC&#33;&#33;&#33;

Thank you very much Coastal for putting the new Volvo EPD link on this website&#33;&#33;&#33; http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif