On March 22, GM announced plans to lessen its operations’ water intensity. In other words, the automaker intends to minimize the amount of water it withdraws per each financial output or product unit. This is just one of the latest goals created by the automaker in order to become a greener company.
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How will GM decrease its water intensity?
GM specifically wants to have a 35 percent reduction in water intensity by 2035, as compared to its 2010 water usage. With this reduction, GM would save roughly 4,254 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water.
The automaker also signed the UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate, which addresses issues related to water security. By doing so, the automaker is showing its commitment to improving its water stewardship practices in regard to community engagement, direct operations, and other key areas.
Photo: General Motors
GM has already been working to reduce its water intensity and use water more responsibly. It has developed a system that reuses stormwater at Detroit’s Factory ZERO plant. The facility also added more stormwater ponds, limiting the stormwater discharge to the city of Detroit and the Detroit River.
At Mexico’s San Luis Potosí Assembly plant, the GM Zero Liquid Discharge system purifies wastewater so that the plant can reuse it. This minimizes the amount of water needed from the local aquifer to complete paint and machining processes. In addition, GM has been conducting regular water treasure hunts at different plants to teach employees how to find water efficiency opportunities.
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Thanks to these practices and more, the automaker earned a spot on the CDP’s 2020 Water A-List. By working to achieve its new water intensity goal, GM may end up on this list again while also benefiting the environment.
Amanda Drago lives in West Chester, Ohio with her wonderful family, which includes her adorable dog, Coco. Amanda recently graduated from Miami University with degrees in both marketing and creative writing. However, if she was ever forced to change career paths, she imagines that she would train dogs for movies. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, and watching Netflix. She also has a special place in her heart for theatre and purchases tickets to as many shows as she can. See more articles by Amanda.