Taking “Green” to the Next Level

What’s your idea of a “green” car? Good fuel economy? Low carbon emissions? Neon green paint job? ;-) Let’s add two more factors to the list: energy usage during a vehicle’s manufacturing and percentage of recyclable parts when it’s time for a car to hit the salvage yard. Kia has continued to raise the bar for years in order to protect the environment as a truly eco-friendly company.

For instance, all Kia factories have been reducing the amount of water used for production by 27 percent over the past seven years. Since 2005, we’ve been recycling heat from the manufacturing process to steadily decrease the amount of greenhouse gases emitted. These innovative green processes have been reinforced by Kia’s commitment to set higher standards on reducing pollutants beyond government requirements.

Our US Georgia plant in particular has a “Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) Environmental Policy Statement,” which was put in place to reaffirm environment-friendliness as a core value. It emphasizes:

•     Compliance with legal and other environmental requirements

•     Continuous improvement of environmental programs and performance

•     Pollution prevention, waste minimization, and resource conservation

•     Reduction of environmental impacts

Figure 1. Kia Georgia Plant

The Georgia plant isn’t alone. Our plant in Zilina, Slovakia has been using advanced technologies for minimal impact on the environment. This factory was recognized in 2008 as an “environmentally-friendly” facility, earning the ISO 14001 International Certificate of Environmental Management.

Figure 2. Kia Zilina Plant

In addition, domestic plants in Sohari and Hwasung South Korea have implemented a “zero landfill waste” policy for the last two years. Last year, the top three Korean plants: Sohari, Hwasung and Gwangju, recycled almost 94 percent of waste from their production.

 

Figure 3. Kia Sohari Plant      Figure 4. Kia Hwasung Plant     Figure 5. Kia Gwangju Plant

Kia has completely transformed to not only providing green cars, but to also consider the impacts on the environment when producing them. Don’t forget that there is more to “green” than just good fuel economy and fewer CO2 emissions.