Analysis of General Motor's Environmental Commitment Policy

An exploration of the Environmental Commitment section of the Corporate Responsibility web pages at the www.gm.com website would lead the casual investigator to conclude that the General Motors Corporation is duly concerned with preserving the environment. GM has outlined six different environmental principles they follow towards their being a responsible corporate citizen including commitments to: restore and preserve the environment, reduce waste, education the public on conservation, develop less polluting technologies, work with the government to develop environmental laws, and to also continually assess and improve the environmental impact of their processes and products, (GM Environmental Principles, n.d.). GM maintains on their web site a commitment to producing environmentally friendlier vehicles by increasing the fuel economy of vehicles and developing vehicles that use alternative fuel sources, utilizing recycled materials in the manufacture of vehicles, and decreasing emissions from manufacturing facilities.
Although GM introduced the catalytic converter in 1975 that is used on most automobiles, which allows them to fun cleaner on less fuel, since this development the company had been relatively resistant to government imposed emission standards. This changed in 2007 when GM became the first automobile manufacturer to join the U.S Climate Action Partnership, an advocacy group that is seeking legislation to cap total emissions from burning fuel in vehicles, additionally they voluntarily agreed to an increase in fuel economy of 40% by 2020, (an action that was expected thwart a more stringent requirement mandated by Congress), (Stoffer, 2008).
In March of 2010 General Motors was ranked 22nd by the Political Economy Research Institute, PERI, on their list of the top 100 air polluters in the United States with 6.9 million pounds of toxic air releases, (PERI, 2010). When PERI first published their list in 2004, using 2002 data, General Motors was ranked 20th with 12.77 million pounds , in their 2008 report based upon 2005 data they were ranked at 18th with 8.37 million pounds, so over the past decade GM has decreased their manufacturing emissions by one half. Despite this, their ranking on the list remains relatively unchanged, so we are in essence witnessing the same response from other corporations. Additionally it is noteworthy to consider in this argument that GM was fined $568,116.00 in March of 2006 for inappropriate disposal of chemicals into landfills, (ALJ rules, 2007). Subsequent to this and other rulings GM introduced landfill-free manufacturing facilities where 96% of waste is reused or recycled and 3% of waste is converted to energy, (Johnson, 2008). Through these and other leveraged commitments GM should truly be able to reduce their environmental impact.
Producing environmentally conscious products is ethically responsible and something that consumers and governments are beginning to demand. Corporations are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of environmental issues to consumers, additionally they have become aware of the importance of environmental issues to their shareholders as disregarding these issues may expose the company to risk. In a recent survey of the Global Fortune 250 executives, KPMG notes that over two-thirds of corporations now report on environmental considerations to their shareholders, and that this trend is expected to continue, (2008). The KPMG survey notes that the most important driver for corporate reporting responsibility are environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, issues, termed “ethical considerations” at 69%, while in their 2005 survey the most important driver for corporate reporting responsibility were economic considerations at 74%, (KPMG, p. 18). Strategically, in order to protect shareholder value, GM must become a more socially responsible company to maintain sales by appealing to consumers who require increased environmental consciousness from corporations; additionally they must protect the corporation from increased accountability levied upon them by governments.

References:

ALJ rules automotive paint purge solvents are RCRA solid waste. (2007). Hazardous Waste Consultant, 25(1), p. 3.1-3.4. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.
GM Environmental Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility/environment/principles/index.jsp
Johnson, J. (2008, September 15). GM aims for landfill-free status. Waste News, 14(10), p. 1,25. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.
KPMG Global Sustainability Services. (2008, October). KPMG international survey of corporate responsibility reporting 2008. [Survey Report]. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: KPMG International. Retrieved from http://www.kpmg.com/CN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/Corporate-responsibility-survey-200810-o.pdf
PERI, Political Economy Research Institute. (2010, March). The Toxic 100: top corporate air polluters in the United States. [Survey Report]. Amherst, MA: the University of Massachusetts. Retrieved from http://www.peri.umass.edu/toxic_index/
Stoffer, H. (2008, September 15). GM fought safety, emissions rules - but then invented ways to comply. Automotive News, 83(6325A), 208. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Business Source Complete.