Sustainable Business Development - Automobiles - Essay Example

Sustainable Business Development (Automobiles) 0 Introduction The concept of sustainable development in the automobile industry connects issues of accessibility and transportation to holistic strategies aimed at sustainable economic development. Stillwater (2011: p44) identifies the principles of sustainable mobility as entailing the long term well-being and improvement of the environment, engagement with issues of social justice, and development of regional and local economies. Conley and McLaren (2012: p52), in turn, show that the goals of sustainable mobility integrate accessible and efficient public, private, and pedestrian systems of mobility and technology into the vision of a more equitable and cleaner society. The automobile industry plays a critical role in making sure that their products are created more responsibly, as well as ensuring that more sustainable facilities are used for production. Moreover, the industry also plays a role in ensuring that their product is created for more eco-friendly, efficient, and innovatively imagined options of personal transport that take the burgeoning world population into account. The growing awareness of environmental issues is bound to significantly impact on the automobile industry and, therefore, it is important for the industry to create more sustainable products that satisfy the public (Conley & McLaren, 2012: p52). According to gov.uk (2014: p1), there were close to 35 million licensed vehicles for road use in the UK in 2013, which represented an increase of 1.5% compared to 2012 and the biggest year-on-year increase since the global financial crisis. This represents a trend, in which the number of vehicles in the UK has increased annually since the end of WWII except 1991. Moreover, there are close to 2 million vehicles that reach the end of useful life in the UK and are withdrawn from service (gov.uk, 2014: p1). These facts are the main justification for the selection of the automobile industry in this essay, specifically because of the environmental implications of so many vehicles on the roads, as well as in the waste streams. Whereas the bulk of attention regarding the environmental impacts resulting from automobiles has mainly focused on fuel economy, climate change, and emissions, this essay will approach the automobile as a product across its lifecycle. This paper seeks to investigate the environmental impacts of automobiles across their life cycle, as well as discuss how these impacts can be mitigated. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Sustainable Development The term sustainable development first came into use in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Report of 1980, but remained largely out-of-use until the Gro Harlem Brundtland report in 1987 and, since then, sustainable development has become an accepted concept globally. According to Leman-Stefanovic (2010: p9), the report identified sustainable development as development that satisfies present needs without compromising future generations and their ability to satisfy their needs. The use of the sustainable development concept has generally recognized three perspectives of sustainability. The first perspective is environmental, in which an environmentally sustainable system should avoid non-renewable resource over-exploitation, maintain a stable resource base, and ensure that non-renewable resources are only depleted to the extent that there is adequate investment in substitutes (Vehmas & Lakkala, 2012: p59). The social perspective requires that a socially sustainable system should achieve equity in resource distribution, as well as sufficient provision of social services and political accountability. Finally, the economic perspective holds that a system that is economically sustainable should be able to produce services and goods continuously, while maintaining manageable levels of external and government debt and avoiding extreme sectoral imbalances (Baker, 2012: p50). Simon and Palea (2012: p47) note that public expectations of businesses in the current era about meeting the needs of society are rising, especially as people realize the impact that corporations have on the environment and the world. An increasing number of investors, consumers, communities, employees, and NGOs are now defining the meaning of sustainable business conduct. Corporations, therefore, have to be responsive to the insistence of consumers on cleaner technologies for production and transportation (Simon & Palea, 2012: p48). Kos (2012: p9) notes that corporations are also responding to government environmental protection measures and legislation, prompting the introduction of internal organizational programs aimed at making businesses more environmentally responsible and responsive. Leading organizations today anticipate the coming societal change and act accordingly to take advantage of emerging opportunities. For example, Deželan and Maksuti (2014: p111) note that Tesla has sought out a competitive advantage by shaping the automobile market through the creation of new products that satisfy the increasingly concerned public. 2.2 Economic Growth, Consumption, and Sustainability The relationship between resource use, economic development, and sustainability is very broad. Bhattacharyya and Ghoshal (2010: p161) argue that patterns of consumption influence sustainable development with the rate and volume of economic development, and thus consumption, impacting on future availability of resources. Whereas economic development is heavily dependent on the consumption of natural resources for production and manufacturing, how these resources are used today influences their future availability. Shahbaz et al (2013: p115) identify the waste produced by consumption, noting that waste generation and disposal portends various economic and environmental concerns, such as the contamination of soils, water, and air. Health problems as a result of contamination may, in turn, have serious implications for economic development, especially where there is a general reduction in overall health. However, although the consumption of natural resources is mainly driven by economic activity, economic growth may also provide ways in which to address environmental sustainability (Shahbaz et al, 2013: p116). Lorek and Spangenberg (2014: p37) envision economic growth as sustaining more economic growth in form of a reinforcing loop, portending numerous short term benefits like more jobs, business profits, national GDP increase, and quality of life, but also notes that economic growth requires natural resources and emits waste. In this case, other reinforcing loops resulting from unlimited consumption of natural resources that enable economic growth, as well as advancing technology that allows for over-extraction of resources, create a sinkhole that will eventually impact on the environment, economy, and society in the long term (Lorek & Spangenberg, 2014: p38). As world GDP accelerates, fuelled by escalating consumption and increased dependence on economic growth, the production of natural resources is also slowing. Therefore, Speth (2013: p39) concludes, continued emphasis on economic development and growth stands in opposition to sustainability, especially because increasing consumption trends as a result of economic growth could lead to exhaustion of natural resources in the future. 2.3 Efficiency and Sustainability In order to achieve sustainable economic growth, Reay et al (2013: p44) argue that there must be changes in the processes of production, the amount and type of resources utilized for production, and in the manufactured products, which will necessitate the move towards energy and production efficiency. As such, there is an identified need for technologies used in production, manufacturing, and in the products to reflect sustainable development goals. One efficiency pathway for sustainability identified by Bojnec and Papler (2011: p487) is energy efficiency, where he notes that sustainability will depend on how energy technologies evolve as energy efficiency in automobile systems becomes more important. Examples of energy efficiency in the automobile industry aimed at sustainability are integrated urban transit systems, as well as developments in energy propulsion and storage. Another pathway in which efficiency can contribute to sustainability is in public infrastructures, which are critical to efficient functioning of society, as well as society’s ability to attain sustainable development (Bojnec & Papler, 2011: p487). By making water supply and resource systems, roads, bridges, power systems, and transport and communications facilities more efficient, society can develop sustainably. Laird (2014: p276), on the other hand, posits the importance of efficiency in mining and manufacturing as being critical to sustainability, identifying the ability to recycle, re-use, and reduce products and materials as essential in coming up with industrial eco-systems that mimic natural systems. In this case, waste from one system can be used as input for another system and, where this is done efficiently with minimal loss of energy, it may go some way in enhancing sustainability. Finally, the material revolution currently underway is expected to have profound environmental effects, especially for those materials that permit more energy efficient production, as well as production that consume fewer resources during manufacturing (DeSimone & Popoff, 2010: p47). These efficient ways of material production and manufacturing have reduced environmental impact and, thus, enhance sustainability. 2.4 Assessing the Environmental Impact of Products Therivel and Morris (2012: p50) identify the life cycle analysis or assessment as the best tool for determining the environmental impact of processes, products, and services across their production, consumption, and disposal. The life cycle assessment (LCA) refers to a systematic set of steps or procedures involved in the compilation and examination of the outputs and inputs of energy and materials, as well as the associated impact on the environment that can be directly attributed to the product’s functioning across its lifecycle (Therivel & Morris, 2012: p50). Fischer (2014: p29) provides a framework for conducting an LCA, showing that assessment of a product’s potential environmental impact requires a compilation of inventory on all relevant outputs and inputs, evaluation of potential impacts on the environment related to the inputs and outputs, and interpretation of the inventory results and impact phases. The LCA has four interlinked components, which are and goal definition, the aforementioned lifecycle inventory, impact analysis, and improvement analysis (Fischer, 2014: p30). Impact analysis, in this case, involves an assessment of the environmental and human health impacts associated with raw material and energy inputs, as well as environmental releases from the environmental analysis. Improvement analysis, on the other hand, refers to the evaluation of opportunities aimed at reducing material inputs, energy, or environmental impacts at each lifecycle phase (Simonen, 2013: p61). 3.0 Environmental Impact of Automobiles 3.1 Environmental Impact during Production Every product, including an automobile, has a lifecycle that begins during extraction of raw materials from the ground, their refinery, and processing. Automobiles have a long lifecycle that involves provision of fuel, vehicle manufacturing, and vehicle maintenance. Vinodh et al (2012: p336) argue that almost 30% of the total damage caused by automobiles to the environment occurs prior to the cars being sold, estimating that the fabrication of one vehicle leads to at least 1,207 million cubic yards of contaminated air and 29 tons of waste. The extraction of copper, petroleum, bauxite, iron ore, lead, and other raw materials required in processing of rubber, glass, plastics, aluminium, and steel for the production of automobiles uses great energy amounts, consumes limited resources, and has significant negative impact on the environment. For instance, the automobile industry in recent years buys 36% of all produced steel and iron, 46% of available lead for batteries, 41% of available platinum for the control of exhaust fumes, and 23% of manufactured aluminium for vehicle manufacture (Gakenheimer, 2011: p42). Moreover, close to 75% of all power used in car manufacturing is from electricity, ~15% comes from natural gas, and ~8% is from coke and coal with the rest coming from propane, oil, and steam (Nieuwenhuis & Wells, 2013: p22). The automobile assembly plants also portend major negative impacts on the environment. By the year 2010, there were at least thirty six major car assembly plants in the UK, along with hundreds of facilities for metal stamping and over three thousand suppliers (Hawkins et al, 2013: p28). Automobile plants release smokestack emissions and sulphuric acid into the environment, while also being one of the biggest waste producers in the world. The US automobile industry, on the other hand, accounted for close to 3% of all produced hazardous waste in the country, which accounts for 172 kg of waste for every automobile produced (Lucas et al, 2012: p540). Paint shops, for instance, have been widely implicated for their use of solvents in large quantities, which account for a significant proportion of volatile organic compound pollutants. However, coating and painting account for the largest proportion of automobile production’s impact on the environment, where hazardous materials like copper, nickel, and hexavalent chromium are released into the environment (McCarthy, 2013: p44). 3.2 Environmental Impact during Consumption According to Nieuwenhuis and Wells (2013: p42), the average passenger consumes at least 575 gallons of fuels every year, while those using hybrid vehicles consume at least 255 gallons, which leads to the emission of CO2, benzene, carbon monoxide, polycyclic hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. In fact, almost 30% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emission related energy consumption comes from automobiles with CO2 accounting for at least 62% of overall GHG effect (Nieuwenhuis & Wells, 2013: p42). Emissions from the use of automobiles impact on the environment by releasing GHGs that are a major contributor to global warming. Some particulate matter and air pollutants are also deposited on surface waters and soils, entering the food chain and affecting animals’ neurological, immune, respiratory, and reproductive systems. Moreover, sulphur and nitrogen oxides are significant causes of acid rain, which harms organisms that rely on water resources by changing water pH. Tire particles and brake debris also portend toxic effects on the environment by raising toxicity levels in the soil, as well as leading to black carbon formation for tire particles (Nieuwenhuis & Wells, 2013: p43). Both pollutants are implicated lung toxicity, as well as particulate formation in urban areas. The copper used to manufacture brake linings in order to dissipate heat from friction create dust that is high in copper particles, especially as the brake wears, which Gakenheimer (2011: p61) shows to be a harmful environmental contaminant for aquatic animals. Emissions from automobiles also create smog and human health risks, including ozone, which reduces lung function, inflames the lung’s lining, and may scar lung tissue permanently. Automobiles also contain various fluids like windshield-wiper and hydraulic fluids, transmission and brake fluids, air-conditioning-refrigerants, gasoline, antifreeze, and motor oil, which are mostly toxic to humans and pollute waterways if a vehicle is leaking (Gakenheimer, 2011: p61). Most of these fluids are exposed to oxygen and heat, undergoing chemical changes and picking heavy metal residues from the engine as it wears, increasing their toxicity to the environment. In addition, most cars manufactured prior to 1994 utilize CFC-12 as a coolant, which has been implicated to have a detrimental impact on the ozone. 3.3 Environmental Impact of End-of-life Automobiles According to Lucas et al (2012: p542), materials from cars continue to impact the environment even after their consumption life is over, especially as nickel, lead, and other toxic materials used in batteries and car parts leak into the soil with extended stay in landfills and junkyards. Used motor oil may also contaminate water sources if improperly disposed, particularly by drivers who personally change their oil. Used anti-freeze, which contains high amounts of ethylene glycol, may be harmful to the environment, especially to animals and plants, if it leaks into the soil and water sources. In addition, used tires that have to be replaced when their treads wear out, and when they are stockpiled, they create an environmental eyesore, while accidental fire may cause them to release acrid smoke that pollutes the air and the environment. Moreover, junk cars that are disposed in landfills or junkyards contain metals like copper, aluminium, and steel, as well as plastic bumpers, which are not bio-degradable and, therefore, continue to linger in the environment harming soils and ground water (Lucas et al, 2012: p542). As junk cars are stripped for elements that are economically recoverable and shredded, they leave behind auto shredder residue, which contains plastic, foam, rubber, and cloth that may be contaminated with phthalates, polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, chrome, mercury, cadmium, lead, and other toxic materials (Lucas et al, 2012: p543). These materials have a negative impact on the environment by poisoning ground water, air, and the soil. In addition, mercury, which is used in convenience light switches in the bonnet and the boot, high intensity discharge lamps, anti-lock braking systems, and navigational and entertainment systems, is highly toxic even in minute amounts. Failure to remove this mercury by automobile dismantlers could lead to its release into the environment, specifically when the automobile is finally scrapped and its hulk crushed, shredded, and melted in order to manufacture new steel. Indeed, Vinodh et al (2012: p339) estimate that the seven hundred thousand end-of-life automobiles that are shredded annually for scrap metal in California contain 0.75-1.5 tons of the toxic mercury, most of which goes into the environment during disposal in waste landfills or during processing. 4.0 Mitigating the Environmental Impact of Automobiles 4.1 Stakeholders in Mitigating Environmental Impact of Automobiles Warburton (2012: p61) argues that no single route exists for the achievement of sustainable development in the automotive industry, and that perceptions of sustainable development are different, necessitating that participants are involved in the negotiations process for achieving sustainability. Each sector involved in the automobile industry has a different vision and focus of sustainability and sustainable development, where some are more interested in social development, economic development, or environmental protection or preservation. Some of the actors that could be involved in reducing the environmental impact of automobiles include the government, NGOs and civil society, mass media, formal educational institutions, consumers, and automobile businesses or corporations. Businesses are expected to be at the centre of reducing these environmental impacts and ensuring sustainable development of the automotive industry. This, according to Muthuri (2012: p38), is because businesses conduct majority of the economic activity involved in the industry, while they also determine the resource intensity of automobile production and the choice of technologies to a large extent. Consumers also have a significant role to play in reducing the environmental impact of automobiles, especially with their daily life actions and their purchasing behaviour. Warburton (2012: p62) states that consumer awareness of automobile impact on the environment should see automobile companies behave more responsibly, particularly if the consumers are a collective happening. Moreover, consumers can participate in reducing environmental impacts of cars by buying “green” cars with low emissions and alternative fuels, taking care of their vehicles, and driving less (Smillie et al, 2013: p51). Governments also play a critical role by collecting data on emissions to help identify opportunities for increased efficiency and reducing emissions, using legislation and regulation to reduce emissions across the lifecycle of automobiles, and conducting economy-wide analysis to understand economic effectiveness and impacts of regulations on environmental degradation (Smillie et al, 2013: p51). On the other hand, NGOs also play a critical role in pushing for reduced environmental emissions and sustainability internationally, specifically by helping to focus attention on environmental and social business activity externalities. Mass media, on its part, has a strategic role in guaranteeing that communications from the government and NGOs on reducing the impact of automobiles on the environment reach the public. Mass media can also help to set the agenda for environmental protection and sustainable development (Smith, 2010: p33). Finally, educational institutions also have a role to play in providing the foundation for a global shift away from energy and resource-intensive automobiles towards sustainable automobile production, use, and disposal. 4.2 Measures to reduce Environmental Impact of Automobiles Environmental impacts of automobiles during production can be reduced in several ways. Mikhail et al (2013: p123) identify increased efficiency of the manufacturing process to reduce the required amount of raw materials and substitution of other processes and materials with processes and materials that are more environmentally friendly, such as using plastics to build automobile appliances, instead of metal. Moreover, environmental sustainability in car production may also be enhanced by using recycled materials in place of mined materials and improving the environmental performance in mines to produce less toxic chemicals and waste. Car manufacturers may also try to make their automobiles more fuel-efficient, because cars that use less fuel will emit less CO2 (Mikhail et al, 2013: p123). Moreover, they can also develop lighter and smaller vehicles, as well as implement advanced technologies in their engines by using modern and high-performance materials in the engine and the body of the automobiles, which requires less energy and produces less waste in the manufacturing process. In addition, plastics and other modern materials like fibre glass would also provide the car manufacturer with the freedom to design vehicles that are more aerodynamic, enhancing fuel-savings. Finally, production of electric or hybrid cars also improves their performance environmentally, especially for electric automobiles that do not produce any emissions (Mikhail et al, 2013: p124). The environmental impact of automobiles can also be reduced in their consumption stage. For example, Leduc et al (2010: p417) propose that car drivers should limit short trips and squeeze in as much necessary travel as possible into one day so that the engine is already warm and does not produce a lot of emissions as it does when it is cold. Moreover, car drivers should also avoid driving above the speed limit, since speeding results in more fuel use, while also reducing constant breaking that releases tire particles and brake debris, which have a negative environmental impact as discussed above. Car users are also advised to only drive when necessary and to take mass transit systems when possible, in order to reduce emissions from personal vehicles, although carpooling with co-workers may also work to reduce emissions and pollutions released by single-user automobiles (Leduc et al, 2010: p417). Automobile maintenance is also important in reducing their environmental impact, specifically by checking the air filter to ensure maximum combustion ability and avoid particulate matter formation. The car user should also ensure that they lighten the load on their car in order to avoid making the car heavier and increasing drag, which makes the automobile consume more fuel. In addition, automobile users may also purchase electric or hybrid cars that consume less fuel and emit less, although this could be too expensive for most drivers (Leduc et al, 2010: p418). Finally, the impact of end-of-life vehicles on the environment can also be reduced through several strategies that encourage sustainable waste management. Mayyas et al (2012: p1859) propose that national governments should take the lead in encouraging car manufacturers to recycle and reuse suitable components, recover the components that are not re-usable, and ensuring that they give preference to recycling if the process is environmentally viable. Waste prevention, recycling, reusing, and recycling of end-of-life vehicle constituents should be encouraged to reduce auto shredder residue. More importantly, Lee (2012: p90) states that the vehicle manufacturer must take a lead role in linking suppliers and dismantlers, collectors, and shredders to ensure that all parts that can be recovered are reused to avoid environmental consequences. Moreover, car manufacturers should also ensure that their automobiles are easy to dismantle, suitable for recycling and reuse, and have less toxic materials, which will improve the collaboration across the producer-supplier chain. The dismantler’s role in this process should include removal of environmentally harmful automobile constituents like batteries, draining of all liquids, and destruction of waste resulting from pollutant removal, which facilitates hulk shredding and reduces auto shredder residue from the shredding process (Lee, 2012: p91). 4.3 Role of Technological Innovation in Sustainability According to Cohen (2012: p44), almost every reduction in automobile emissions has been as a result of technology-based standards of emissions imposed across the developed world and, in fact, it was government regulation that enhanced the development of new technologies aimed at rates of emission from new cars. For example, the inclusion of fuel injectors, which was only used in a few cars during the 70s, was hastened by the introduction of emissions-control systems that need precise fuel distribution to the car’s engine. Technological improvements have also led to the development of vehicle propulsion technologies, which reduce fossil fuel use by switching to renewable sources of fuel or improving the fuel economy, in turn enhancing the industry’s sustainability (Cohen, 2012: p45). Research is also underway to install fuel cells in place of internal combustion engines. However, although technological change has the capability to drive sustainable development in the automotive sector, it is up to governments to take required steps to force the adoption of radical technological innovations if they are to be successful in ensuring sustainability. 4.4 Increasing Efficiency of Automobiles and the Rebound Effect There are several ways in which an automobile can be made more efficient, including through the use aerodynamics in car manufacturing to increase fuel efficiency, which allows the car to reduce resistance as it drives, thus using less amounts of fuel to overcome air resistance (Gillingham et al, 2013: p475). Moreover, efficiency of automobiles can be increased by using suitable engine types, such as diesel engines that are more efficient than engines that run on gasoline. In addition, a four cylinder engine is widely considered more efficient than a V8 or V6 engine. Other ways in which automobiles can be made more efficient is by reducing the weight and size of the car, which reduces the amount of power and energy required to run it, as well as reducing the axle ratio that allows the engine to run for a prolonged standard speed at a lower intensity. However, increasing the efficiency of automobiles could lead to the rebound effect, in which the introduction of more efficient technologies results in systemic or behavioural responses that offset the initial benefits of the technologies (Gillingham et al, 2013: p476). However, thinking of more efficient cars as an energy productivity improvement, rather than an energy consumption reduction measure, it is expected that there will be rebounds in energy demand. Improving energy resource productivity means that the car is able to get more energy service than before from the fuel resources. This will make energy more valuable, in turn increasing the need to produce more of this efficient fuels and technologies. Therefore, the rebound effect is highly unlikely in this case. 4.5 Regulatory Measures and Sustainability in the Automobile Industry While there are several regulatory policy options available to the government in managing the environmental impact of automobiles on the environment, there are some issues that are central in designing these regulations for them to be successful. To begin with, market-based regulation policies to reduce the impact have been suggested for years but are yet to be implemented because of the difficulty of assessing individual emissions, the sheer magnitude of automobiles in service, and the multiple effects of automobile use that make some of these regulatory policies too expensive or infeasible. However, Anderson et al (2011: p93) note that regulation in Europe to levy higher taxes on high-sulphur fuels than on cleaner; lower-sulphur fuel has proven revenue neutral and efficient. A problem that continues to plague regulatory efforts is on whether to regulate the consumption or production of automobiles. Since it is difficult to environmental pollution at the source in the automobile industry because of the number of vehicles and the cost involved, government regulations have mainly targeted upstream sources of environmental degradation. Therefore, regulating upstream pollutants by targeting car manufacturers to maintain pollution equipment across the lifecycle of the automobile has proven more feasible (Anderson et al, 2011: p93). However, such regulations would reduce incentives for car owners to maintain their emission systems. 4.6 Reducing Consumption of Automobiles There are numerous advantages to reducing the use of automobiles, including reduced emissions, improved health, improved local environment, prevention of urban sprawl and improved accessibility, reduced infrastructural extension costs, and increased public transport support. Indeed, Poumanyvong et al (2012: p272) state that reduced automobile use makes a significant difference because it reduces the distance travelled using private transport, thus consuming less fuel, reducing emissions of GHGs, and costing more money. Reducing the use of automobiles also lessens the environmental, social, and economic costs associated with high automobile use levels. Thus, reducing the use of automobiles has significant positive impacts on the environment and enhances sustainability. There are several alternative options to make this possible, including carpooling and using public transportation like trains, trams, or buses. Moreover, car users may also decide to walk or cycle, instead of using their cars for short trips. Finally, urban areas could also introduce bike-share systems, in which bicycles are availed for shared use on a short term basis (Poumanyvong et al, 2012: p272). 5.0 Conclusion In conclusion, automobiles have implications for the environment both during production and destruction. Automobiles consume huge amounts of energy prior to making it to the road with their production impacting on the environment because materials must be created before the automobile is ready for use. Similarly, failure to recycle or properly dispose of automobiles may lead to significant environmental implications. Automobiles also have an impact on the environment during their consumption, especially with regards to consumption of fuel. The extraction of the fuels used by automobiles is an energy-intensive process, which has been shown to damage the environment and local ecosystems. In addition, the shipping of fuels from their point of extraction to the point of consumption also uses a lot of energy, while it also carries the risk of environmental disasters, for example an oil spill. Finally, the consumption of automobiles also has an impact on the quality of air in the environment and has been implicated in the production of at least 30% of all air pollution in the world. The carbon monoxide, smog, and other toxins portend a particularly troubling impact on the environment because living animals breathe them directly into their lungs, creating health concerns. There is clear evidence that automobiles impact on the environment across their entire lifecycle, including their production, consumption, and disposal/destruction. 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