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Volvo looks beyond the bus in sustainability push

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For years, Volvo Bus Australia has been keeping the environment in mind when building its chassis. It’s now building on the principle that sustainability extends well beyond a zero-emissions bus hitting the road.

For Volvo Bus Australia, sustainability isn’t only about producing a new fleet of zero-emissions buses. In Volvo’s latest eco-friendly strategy, it is considering a range of methods it can use to lead the way in Australia when it comes to sustainability.

The proof of this sustainable focus is the new Volvo BZL Electric chassis. The chassis is 90 per cent recyclable and features a range of other eco-friendly credentials.

Volvo Bus Australia general manager Mitch Peden says his company has put plenty of thought into going the extra mile when it comes to sustainability.

“We’ve been excited to start the conversation on sustainability being far wider than just the physical zero-emission bus (ZEB) driving past,” Peden told ABC. “With this BZL Electric chassis, we’re just scratching the surface of what this means.”

Peden says Volvo Bus Australia is looking further than the chassis when it considers how it can be more sustainable as a company. As an example, Volvo’s bus factory in Borås, Sweden, where the BZL is produced, has been completely powered by renewable energy such as hydropower and biofuel sources for numerous years.

The Volvo Group is currently in the process of auditing its entire manufacturing supply chain to ensure all materials and inputs into Volvo products are sourced in a sustainable way while remaining ethical so that the company doesn’t expose itself to non-sustainable labour practices such as child or slave labour. Peden says Volvo is moving to ensure it stays above board and aligned with the United Nations’ sustainability goals.

“A lot of thought is going into what we present to the market,” Peden says.

“We are incrementally putting steps in place to have a long-term sustainable business model that can be relied upon to enhance the social licence of operators and partners using our products.

“If Australian state governments are spending money on our products, we want to be sure it’s leading the way when it comes to sustainability. Volvo has a long history of being known for safety, and we also will present as a safe partner to work with in terms of sustainability around our electric products like the Volvo BZL.”


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Volvo Group’s supply chain audit is currently focusing on the procurement stage to ensure raw critical materials are sourced ethically and also free from irresponsible mining practices. Peden says the audits will be especially important when it comes to mining for materials to build the BZL Electric batteries, which include lithium and cobalt.

Peden says the Volvo Group has also partnered with steel production company SSAB on the development and
commercialisation of fossil-free steel that it plans to integrate into its bus products in future.

“We don’t necessarily benchmark ourselves against other electric buses on offer in Australia – we do believe though that procurement teams should ask these questions around sustainability and the environmental and social impacts of how the products have been produced when looking to buy,” Peden says. “The partnership with SSAB will be in both the truck and bus division.

“Down the road we will be able to offer steel in the Volvo BZL for Australia that is fossil-free produced for chassis and rails, which will be fantastic.”

When it comes to electric batteries, Volvo Bus Australia is also making sustainability plans. Peden says Volvo Group has been holding discussions with second-life battery organisations to find ways to recycle electric bus batteries in future. First life electric bus batteries are expected to operate for around eight years or more. While the challenge is not short term, Volvo has set up a new division called Volvo Energy that will be globally responsible for understanding how to best re-purpose batteries for a second life in the hope of eventually responsibly recycle batteries.

Peden says Volvo Bus Australia understands that it will be unable to ship used batteries back to Europe, so Volvo has begun partnering with local organisations like the CSIRO to understand what future partnerships will look like. It’s Peden’s goal for Volvo to be a leader in the responsible disposal of electric batteries.

As Volvo Bus Australia embraces circularity in its BZL Electric chassis, it is also strengthening its cyber and data security to promote sustainability. Peden says this sustainability mission is part of Volvo Group’s core value of environmental care that the company has focused on for more than 50 years.

“Sustainability for Volvo goes back to 1972 during the first UN Conference discussing environmental care when the company first outlined that our industry was part of the environmental problem,” Peden says.

“Since then, we’ve actively set the course to be part of the solution.

“It kicked off in the 1970s for us when conversations around being eco-friendly first began. It’s always front of mind since and we believe there’s a much wider scope than just talking about zero-emissions vehicles hitting the road.”

By 2025, Peden says Volvo Group is expecting to have completed the audit of the supply chain. In the meantime, it will continue moving forward as a member of the Global Battery Alliance, which is committed to sustainable battery supply chains.

Volvo Bus Australia will use its membership in the alliance to partner with fellow participants and showcase its commitment to long-term sustainable business models. Through these commitments, the Volvo Group as a whole wants to show it can continue evolving sustainable practices for many decades to come.

Peden says sustainability has been important to the entire Volvo company over the past 50 years. This recent shift to looking beyond the vehicle is particularly exciting, as it allows Volvo Bus Australia to showcase its wider sustainability legitimacy while also protecting the future of the planet.

“We believe there’s a much wider scope to discuss than just the vehicles hitting the road,” Peden says.

“We’re keen to show there’s more than just the product – there’s social and ethical responsibilities around building and sourcing materials. It’s a much bigger ecosystem to consider when looking to buy an electric or zero-emissions bus.

“We think we’re a safe pair of hands and can be a trusted and leading member of the industry going forward when it comes to sustainability.”

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