Can a Car Brand Really Call Itself Sustainable?
It’s a word that’s everywhere — slapped across adverts, whispered in boardrooms, and dropped into press releases like fairy dust. “Sustainable.” But in the car industry, is it a claim we can genuinely make, or just clever brand marketing in a green wrapper?
Let’s Get Real About Car Manufacturing
Making any car, whether it’s a diesel workhorse (an old Mercedes C-Class estate would be my choice) or the latest EV, is anything but clean. Manufacturing involves heavy industrial processes, energy intensive logistics, and a cocktail of raw materials mined and shipped across the globe. From steel to silicon and plastics (Still?), the environmental toll starts long before the car is even being built let alone hits the road.
EVs Aren’t The Silver Bullet
Yes, electric vehicles emit less while driving, especially in countries powered by greener grids. (unfortunately the UK is not a country up to that, we can’t even get a health service to work after spending £160 billion last year let alone make a green energy network. That aside EV’s come with their own problems. Battery production is carbon-heavy, reliant on materials like lithium and cobalt which is extreamely damaging to the countries it is mined in and damaging to the local eco system and people. Then It can take tens of thousands of miles just to break even on the EV carbon footprint compared to an internal combustion engine. Then there is the question of what we are going to do with all the waste after the batteries are depleted? Now that’s a post in it’s self!
True Sustainability Is Lifecycle Deep
If a car brand wants to claim sustainability, they need to do more than build a battery-powered car and buy some green points from some rain forest to make the green premier league look good. We’re talking full lifecycle thinking: ethical sourcing, renewable powered factories, recyclable materials, longer-lasting vehicles, and a circular economy approach to parts and batteries. Brands like Polestar are trying, publishing transparent climate impact reports but even they admit they’re not there yet.
Marketing vs. Meaning
Buzzwords like “zero-emissions future” and “carbon neutral by 2039” might sound good in the media and on the advertising boards, but they’re future promises, not present truths. Until brands pivot from chasing pure volume to reducing real impact per vehicle (which is unlikely, the “sustainable” label feels more like a sales tool rather than a badge of honour.
Regulators Are Watching
Increasingly, watchdogs like the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority are pushing back on vague environmental claims. A brand might get away with saying it’s working toward sustainability — but saying it is sustainable? That’s going to need receipts. Expect scrutiny and, rightly, some blowback.
Final Gear Change: Ask Better Questions
the only way we can change this is if we ask the right questions, so next time your brand calls itself sustainable or anyone for that matter, don’t just nod along. Ask: Compared to what? or Based on what data? Real progress doesn’t hide behind slogans, it shows up in manufacturing stats, supply chain ethics, and what happens after the car leaves the forecourt.
Because in this game, true sustainability isn’t who shouts the loudest. It’s whose car will drive the most miles in it’s life time without driving us all off a cliff.
And don’t forget, leave a comment, get involved. It’s good to Torque as someone once said!
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