GM Brand Creates a Sustainability Culture, Wins Award

Each year, The Green Organisation searches Europe to find the greenest companies, councils and communities. GM’s Vauxhall brand in the U.K. was one such company that stood out to the international nonprofit, receiving a Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice.

Vauxhall embodies GM’s sustainability commitment and helps the company move closer to reaching its environmental goals.

What’s the key to Vauxhall’s success?

“Employee awareness and engagement is at the core of our environmental progress,” said Ian Allen, Vauxhall regulatory affairs manager. “We wouldn’t have achieved this level of momentum without their continued interest.”

Employees led a number of recent initiatives:

• To commemorate Climate Week last year, employees at Vauxhall’s headquarters unveiled the Green Room, a quiet corner of the staff restaurant created from recycled materials. It includes tables made from scrap alloy wheels and old engine parts from the Vauxhall Corsa and metal containers from its Luton plant is repurposed as a magazine rack.
• On World Environment Day this year the team launched the “Vauxhall Forest,” an initiative to plant 333 native broadleaf trees in England’s Warwickshire county that will support wildlife habitat and sustainable forestry. In collaboration with a local online retailer, Vauxhall employees, suppliers, clients and family members who purchased items through a shopping portal had a tree planted in their name.
• Facility staff increased signage around the building and removed personal waste bins from under employee desks, which took away the temptation to “bin” everything and encouraged recycling.

Sharing best practices has also been key. factor in Vauxhall’s success. Some of the recycling initiatives underway at Vauxhall’s headquarters draw from lessons learned from successful programs at Vauxhall’s manufacturing plants and Luton Warehouse, which recently went landfill-free.

The Green Apple Awards were launched in 1994 to recognize, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world. Vauxhall earned a second award in the automotive category for the Ampera, making this the third year in a row the extended-range electric vehicle has received Green Apple Awards.

The Green Organisation also named Vauxhall a Green World Ambassador for sharing best practices in its upcoming annual reference guide so other companies can benefit from lessons learned.

Vauxhall isn’t resting on its laurels, though.

“Sustainability is an ongoing commitment and we embrace a culture of continuous improvement,” said Allen. “We’re always looking for ways to improve our processes to reduce our environmental impact.”

Do you have any tips for creating an environmentally conscious workforce? Tell us in the comments below.