4 Ways Honda Is Championing Sustainability

4 Ways Honda Is Championing Sustainability

Sustainability and environmentalism have always been pillars in which Honda has abided by throughout the years. There is a roadmap to sustainability in which Honda is planning; the company plans to electrify its mainstream models in Europe by 2022, and plans to only sell zero-emissions vehicles globally by 2040. By 2050, the company and all its products will be carbon neutral. 

It’s a big challenge, but Honda is more than capable of stepping up to the plate. Honda’s long tradition of environmentalism started back in 1999 with the world’s first globally available Hybrid car, the Honda Insight, and they have stepped up further since. In 2014, the company became the first car manufacturer to openly disclose the CO2 emissions caused by its vehicles. 

It is these small steps that will help Honda reach its bigger targets down the road. Here are 5ways in which Honda is setting the standard in sustainability as it strides towards the “zero environmental impact” goal. 

1. Electric batteries with second life

As the automotive market pushes ahead to electrify their vehicles, Honda is anticipating 4 in 10 of their cars in most of their major markets will be electric; either battery-electric or fuel cell electric vehicles. 

EVs are seen to be an important part of meeting the global goals on climate changes, with EVs being the present and future of this environmental push. 

And at the forefront of it all, recycling carbon-neutral electric cars plays a crucial part in maintaining the environmental benefits. While most parts of an EV can be recycled the same way standard vehicles are able to, the lithium-ion batteries require a different approach. Honda’s approach is to give these batteries a second life by using these batteries for renewable energy storage. Using the parts harvested from a used battery, they can also create new batteries, including the valuable materials such as cobalt and lithium extracted using complex chemistry to add to production. 

This helps immensely in keeping EVs environmentally friendly. 

2. Using the best transport method

Whether it’s using the highways to the waterways, Honda is determined to use the best transport method for the job, which helps them build its cars in a greener way. In Europe, Honda was especially creative in transporting materials needed to build its cars, using the canals of Belgium, and barges for transportation instead of trucks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the road. This move has saved more than 14 tons of CO2 since June 2019, and is praised by sustainability experts around the world. 

3. Halving life-cycle emissions

Transparency around emissions is nothing new to Honda. Back in 2012, it became the first in the industry to disclose estimated CO2 emissions from product use. Since then, climate change has intensified the need to reduce emissions.

Honda has set an ambitious target to significantly reduce emissions, as part of its wider response to climate change. The goal? By 2050, it aims to halve total product life cycle CO2 emissions (compared with 2000 levels) – equivalent to reducing tailpipe emissions by 80-90%.

Another way Honda has responded has been to commit to an electric future. A recent study by Cambridge University found electric cars have up to 70% lower average lifetime emissions than petrol cars, in countries where most of the energy comes from renewable and nuclear sources, such as France and Sweden.

Such is Honda’s commitment to electric vehicles that by 2040, 100% of vehicles will be electric.

4. Planting trees

Honda is committed to conservation and biodiversity, which simply means the plants and animals in a part of the world. Trees are hugely important to biodiversity because so much life is dependent on them. In the 1960s, Honda started planting trees in its native Japan. It followed this up in the mid-1970s with its Community Forest Programme.

By 2011, Honda underlined its commitment by launching its own biodiversity guidelines. These recognised “that biodiversity conservation initiatives are an essential part of our commitment to the preservation of the global environment.”

From planting trees to pioneering second-life use of electric car batteries, Honda’s commitment to the environment goes way beyond its electric cars. The future, and the environment will be better for it. 

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