‘What influences a car manufacturer’s successful transition towards sustainability in regard to different time frames?'

UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM

MSc Political Science – Political Economy

MASTER THESIS

‘What influences a car manufacturer’s successful transition

towards sustainability in regard to different time frames?’

Jessica Luisa Albert [11234393]

Transnational Politics of Sustainability June 23, 2017

Supervisor: Luc Fransen Second Reader: Robin Pistorius

Table of Content

3.2. Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility………...12

3.3. The Concepts of Transition Theory………13

3.3.1 Approaches to Transition Theory………....13

3.3.2. The Multi-Level Perspective………14

3.3.3. Technological Innovation Systems and Theory………....15

3.4. Inductive and Deductive Approach to the Research………....17

4. Methodological Framework………...19-25 4.1. Case Selection……….…20 4.2. Unit of Analysis………..……20 4.3. Observations………..……21 4.4. Population………..…21 4.5. Data ………...22 4.6. Method……….………..23

4.7. Validity and Reliability………..………...24

4.8. Theoretical and Social Relevance………25

5. Results………...26-48 5.1. General Motors Corporation and CSR Engagement………...26

5.2. General Motors Sustainability Report……….28

5.3. Sustainable Transitions………....31

5.4. History of the Electric Vehicle………..…..32

5.4.1. History of General Motor’s Electric Vehicles……….….37

5.4.2. The EV1……….37

5.4.3. The Chevy Volt / Bolt………38

5.5. Influential Factors………...39

5.5.1. Consumer Analysis………..39

5.5.3. Infrastructure………....…...42

5.5.4. Economic Criteria………...43

5.6. Differences between Time Frames………..46

6. Conclusion & Discussion………...48-51 Acknowledgment……….52 Bibliography……….53

List of Abbreviation

AFV – Alternative Fuel Vehicle BEV – Battery Electric Vehicle CEO – Chief Executive Officer CO2 – Carbon Dioxide

CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility

DRIFT – Dutch Research Institute for Transitions EM – Electric Mobility

EV – Electric Vehicle

FC – Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles GM – General Motors

GMC – General Motors Truck Company HM – Hectare Meter

HEV – Hybrid Electric Vehicle MLP – Multi-Level Perspective

NGO – Non-Governmental Organization

OECD/IEA – Organization for Economic Coordination & Development/International Energy Agency

OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle R&D – Research and Development SUV – Sport Utility Vehicle

USA – United States of America VW – Volkswagen

1. Introduction

The recent Volkswagen (VW) exhaustion scandal has shed light on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices, the exploding emissions, and the general pollution produced within the automotive industry. The growing pressure derived from competition amongst car manufacturers to become more sustainable has shown its real face when the VW company was exposed to be cheating on their diesel emissions. This brought up the general notion of how a company truly engages and portrays the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility in order to act responsibly and be aware of the global and environmental footprint they are leaving. Referring to this notion, already several years ago, car manufacturers started to engage in electric vehicle (EV) production and thus CSR practices. However, this process was aborted and companies only picked up EV production at a later point again: with the beginning of the 21st _{century climate change, global}

warming and other environmental concern became the daily topics on the global agenda. At that point, particularly within the most polluting industry – the automotive industry, car manufacturers became more involved in the topics of sustainability to tackle such issues. (Bakker et al., 2014: 183). Especially after the revealing of the VW scandal in late 2015, which shook up the whole industry, car manufacturers tried to engage in CSR practices and transition towards sustainability to prevent image loss and bad reputation, as VW has suffered. The automotive sector as one of the biggest polluting industries in the world has an enormous impact on global warming. The industry plays an ever increasing and crucial role in the global economy’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. (Zubaryeya et al., 2012: 1662). Through those recent scandals and the world’s changing adjustment to the environment, scholars and politicians, as well as the broader society, become more environmentally aware and engaged in sustainability. So does the automotive industry itself, whilst more and more car manufacturers are being revealed in engaging in “green-frauding”. A transition towards sustainability is seen as necessary and inevitable in order to prevent the destabilization of the ecosystem. Especially amongst corporations transitioning towards sustainability is important to stay competitive and to address changing consumer demands and preferences. Today, this topic has become increasingly significant and academically, societally, as well as environmentally salient. Within the automotive sector, electric mobility (EM) thus has become a top concern as it pertains to transitioning towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production. (Berger et al., 2014: 303). The electric vehicle is considered to be one of the most innovative and “promising contributors to the modernization and decarburization of the transport sector” (Zubaryeya et al., 2012: 1623), in order to address sustainability and environmental concerns. (Sierzchula et al., 2014: 183). Consequently, the following research question is formulated:

“What influences a car manufacturer’s successful transition towards sustainability in regard to different time frames?”

This thesis argues that the crucial influential factor in determining a successful transition towards sustainability in the automotive industry is the consumer’s demand and behavior. If consumers do not adapt to new innovations such as the EV, no transition will happen. Therefore, the thesis tries to make a contribution towards transition theory in stating that transition will not necessarily happen if a niche is detected, as the theory itself suggest, but according to radical disruptive innovation theory, successfully happens if consumer demands change and adapt to the specific niche. Additionally, this aspect is connected and affects other influential factors such as governmental incentives, economic criteria or the influence of sufficient and adequate infrastructure for the adoption of an EV.

The thesis is structured in three parts. The first part consists of the theoretical framework and the methodological approach. Within these chapters, the first part will give a literature review to elaborate on the gap found and further present and define the sub-research questions. The second chapter consists of the theoretical framework, which will elaborate on the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility and the concepts of transition theory, on which the thesis is based. The third chapter is devoted to the methodological approach, introducing and explaining the case selection, its generalizability, the methods and data used and its implications on the thesis’s validity and reliability, as well as its theoretical and social relevance. The second part will be dedicated to the empirical findings. It will be structured in several smaller chapters devoted to answering the different sub-research questions as well as pointing out the influential factors of a car manufacturer’s successful transition. It will commence by introducing the case company General Motors (GM) and explaining how they engage in CSR practices by dissecting their practices as put forth in their sustainability report. Following this section, a general overview of the history of the electric vehicle will be given, which then will be specifically applied to General Motors. In the end, the previously indicated influential factors will be examined within the different time frames and a conclusion will be drawn. The third part of the thesis consists of the overall conclusion, the elaboration of the findings and its implication for further research and literature, as well as a discussion of its contribution and possible limitations of the study.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Automotive Industry

With topics like global warming and environmental issues on the world’s agenda not only academics and politicians are more and more engaged with sustainable transition processes but also the broader society gets more and more involved and interested in the field of sustainability: the food sector is facing problems and concerns with chemically grown foods pressured by society, the clothing industry is confronted with human rights issues and topics of sustainable material usage, as well as the transportation sector is facing problems such as traffic congestion, a rise in the risk of accidents and high levels of emissions concentrated especially in urban areas. (Markard et al., 2012: 955).

The automotive sector, referring to personal cars and trucks, accounted for nearly one-fifth of all United States of America (USA) emissions in 2016. The American transportation sector in total, including all kinds of cars, ships, trains, airplanes and so on, accounts for almost 30% of all USA global warming emissions and therefore holds the country’s largest share as an industry. (Union of Concerned Scientist, 2016). In the European Union the transport sector also holds a big share of the total energy consumption with approximately 33% and 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. (Berger et al., 2014: 303). Concerning these enormous impacts produced by the automotive industry, scholars state that doing nothing would certainly lead to a destabilization of the ecosystem as well as impact the environment and the society all over the planet. (Dettmar et al., 2010: 34). Within the automotive sector, changes proceed at an extremely fast pace, whether they concern new vehicles, technology innovation and deployment, new regulations and implementations by the government, or in general industry shifts and changing consumer demands and choices. (An et al., 2011: 2). Therefore, it is important that the automotive sector transitions towards sustainability, not only to fight pollution and exhaustion emissions but also to address problems like traffic congestion and parking issues.

2.2. Sustainability Transitions

The term sustainable transition in general refers to a “change in our basic technologies of production, transport and consumption rather than modifications of existing products and processes”. (Kemp, 1994: 1024). The transition approach is linked with the consolidation and overthrowing of dominant practices. It is associated and consists of the multi-level (MLP) and strategic niche management perspectives. (Meadowcroft et al., 2011: 71). These predict that if a niche is found, innovation will happen and thus a transition process will start. The process of

transition and the main aspects of a transition need to be defined and elaborated to clarify what a transition – in general and specifically within the automotive industry – is, and how transition theory applies to the specific case company in order to answer the research question. Therefore, the following first sub-research question is proposed:

(1) What is a transition?

A transition not only takes a considerable time-span over several years if not decades but also involves a huge range of different actors and according to Markard et al. (2012): “involves far-reaching changes along different dimensions: technological, material, organizational, institutional, political, economic, and social-cultural.” (Markard et al., 2012: 956). Important for a successful and meaningful transition towards sustainability is the role of the government and the formulation of pertinent public policy. Adapting laws and regulations and modifying the framework within which certain economic actors pursue their actions, “and a significant expenditure of social revenue, for example, to accelerate development and deployment of new technologies are essential to encourage sustainability transitions.” (Meadowcraft, 2011: 71). As those are quite far-reaching changes, they can only be engineered, legitimized, and enforced through governmental institutions. (Meadowcraft, 2011: 71). Referring to the case company and the main research question proposed, the thesis will also ask, why it is relevant to look at different time frames within the elaboration. This leads to the second sub-research question:

(2) What is the relevance of different times frames in regard to a transition towards sustainability?

The framework for an approach to move towards sustainability is provided by the topic’s political as well as societal public awareness. Companies already try to engage in CSR practices and try to act sustainably and portray themselves as environmentally cognizant by providing annual sustainability reports. The transition towards sustainability is not easy and not all firms are successful in implementing new approaches and thus trying to complete or even start the transition. In order to answer the main research question, it needs to be defined and elaborated why car manufacturers engage in CSR practices in the first place and what motives they have to transition towards sustainability. Thus the third sub-research question is as following:

(3) Why do car manufacturers engage in CSR practices in the first place and what motives do they have to transition towards sustainability?

Scholars like Zubaryeya et al., 2012; Eppstein et al., 2011 or Shafiei et al., 2012 consider electric vehicles as one of the most innovative and “promising contributors to the modernization and decarburization of the transport sector” (Zubaryeya et al., 2012: 1623), in order to address

sustainability and environmental concerns. (Sierzchula et al., 2014: 183). However, as many literature exists on transitions (Rotmans et al., 2009; Cohen, 2012; Berger et al., 2014; Wells et al., 2012), “EV adoption is seen as being very limited without stimulation from external factors such as stringent emissions regulations, rising fuel prices, or financial incentives. […] Consumer subsidies are specifically identified as being necessary for EVs to reach a mass market.” (Sierzchula et al., 2014: 183). When further going into detail with the process of transitioning towards sustainability in the automotive industry, the electric vehicles technological innovation system is most promising and important for the future of the automotive industry. Although there ought to be other options for engaging in sustainability practices, as for example car sharing or hybrid vehicles, this thesis will focus only on EVs, as the EV is considered to be the most relevant alternative fuel train (AFT) to analyze for this thesis. (Wells et al., 2012: 1683). Consequently, this predicts a radical change, which will be challenging to foster for the industry. Thus, it should be clarified and elaborated why the focus is on the electric vehicle when examining transition processes towards sustainability in the automotive industry, and furthermore to look at what other alternatives or practices car manufacturers pursue to act sustainably and environmentally aware. Consequently, the fourth sub-research question is as following:

(4) Why is the electric vehicle at the center of the transition towards sustainability in the automotive industry?

Sustainability transition studies are a highly researched field of great societal relevance given the magnitude of the persistent environmental problems that are becoming more and more apparent and the sustainability challenges society is facing in today’s world. (Rotmans et al., 2009: 183; Markard et al., 2012: 965). The literature review reveals that most scholars deal with the transition process in general but not specifically within the automotive industry. Literature in the automotive industry regarding sustainability issues is mainly provided by the car manufacturers themselves through their sustainability reports or through secondary literature such as online journals or magazine articles (see General Motors Sustainability Report, WIRED.com, Autobild.de). Thus authors mainly deal with the transition process in a global and general context. There is a gap in the literature connecting the theory of transition with the automotive industry. Furthermore, literature fails to explain why the theory assumes that transition will happen if a niche is detected, but why this did not necessarily always apply when looking at the earlier stages of electric vehicle development but then is seen to happen at a later point. The literature thus lacks of providing a solid explanation of what actually influences a transition towards sustainability and what factors and circumstances play a role in determining a successful sustainable transition as proposed by niche management. Therefore, the following research question is formulated:

“What influences a car manufacturer’s successful transition towards sustainability in regard to different time frames?”

The thesis’ objective is to determine the influential factors that made transition fail at the one point back in the 1990s – where the case company’s first electric vehicle was taken off the roads again – and thus to find an alternative explanation for this specific phenomenon, and furthermore to compare it with the findings of what influenced the more recent transition that is happening within the automotive sector today. The outcome should be able to clarify transition theory and especially the aspect of niche management it proposes, to be able to adjust it to both time frames and thus find a general or alternative explanation for successful sustainable transitions.

3. Theoretical Framework

3.1. Corporate Social Responsibility

Regarding a transition towards sustainability within businesses, the process most certainly involves a company’s engagement in concepts of CSR. Therefore, this section will discuss several strands of CSR that relate to the later understanding of the reasons companies engage in CSR practices and their motives to transition towards sustainability. Over the past decades, the concept of CSR has gained a lot of attention, legitimacy and popularity, amongst businesses, governments and the society. (Gjølberg, 2010: 203). Thus, CSR “has a long and varied history”. (Caroll, 1999: 268). Despite the ever increasing interest and research in the field of CSR no commonly accepted definition of the concept yet exists. (Jackson et al., 2010: 372). Originally, CSR is seen as a business’s voluntary contribution and responsibility to social and environmental goals beyond the company’s technical or economic interest and beyond its compliance with laws and regulations by the government. (Caroll, 1999: 271; Gjølberg, 2010: 203). More recently, CSR has mainly been accepted as a mixture of implementing social, ethical and environmental concerns into a corporation’s business conduct. Although generally the concept is relatively open and adopted “without clear boundaries or meanings”. (Wickert et al., 2015: 2). “Wood (1991) suggested that ‘the basic idea of corporate social responsibility is that business and society are interwoven rather than distinct entities; therefore, society has certain expectations for appropriate business behavior and outcomes’.” (Jackson et al., 2010: 372). This definition implies a certain relationship between society and businesses and can assume many meanings and consequently leaves room for one’s further interpretations and approaches. The concept therefore cannot be defined by one approach but is rather seen as a mixture of ideas and techniques that can be varied and combined in different ways. (Wickert et al., 2015: 7). Consequently, today’s field of CSR has developed a wide range of approaches, theories and terminologies. (Garriga et al., 2004: 51). Especially within businesses, CSR

has become a pervasive topic. “CSR is praised as a much needed way to enlist the resources of business to supplement welfare state services.” (Gjølberg, 2010: 203). Companies now actively try to pursue “responsible practices to enhance risk and reputation management, improve brand value, customer loyalty, employee relations, etc.” and thus try to promote sustainable development and human rights, but also economic growth and competitiveness. (Gjølberg, 2010: 206;209). Thousands of companies, including many of the largest ones, now regularly report environmental and social information. (Spence, 2007: 856). Nevertheless, it still highly differs amongst these companies for what reasons they adopt CSR practices or how they implement them.

3.2. Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility

A sustainable transition requires a business to adopt a certain CSR approach. Thus, when talking about transition theory, there are four approaches to consider for an argumentation for CSR. The two main approaches that gain particular relevance in this thesis are the business side and the moral side. The reason for this focus is because they seem to be the most promising in order to answer the research sub-question why companies within the automotive industry engage in CSR practices. The other two approaches consist of political and integrative motives. Within political reasons a company is seen to have a certain power and thus a responsibility to cooperate and participate with the political arena and furthermore accept social duties and rights. The integrative approach goes beyond this and reflects a corporation’s integration of social demands. (Garriga et al., 2004: 52). Scholars like Dauvergne et al. (2013) position themselves clearly on the business argument side for CSR: “Taking over the idea of sustainability and turning it into a tool of business control and growth that projects an image of corporate social responsibility – is proving to be a powerful strategy for corporations in a rapidly globalizing economy marked by financial turmoil and a need for continual strategic repositioning.” These authors are in favor of the idea that companies engage in sustainability of big businesses rather than in sustainability of the people or the planet. (Dauvergne et al., 2013: 2). This approach to CSR is what scholars define as instrumentalist – an instrument to maximize profits and the creation of wealth. (Garriga et al., 2004: 51). Companies that follow this approach engage in CSR of favorable economic reasons and not for a pro-active, protective environmental cause. “So any supposed social activity is accepted if, and only if, it is consistent with wealth creation.” (Garriga et al., 2004: 52). Besides the perception of their main motive being profit maximization, companies that follow the business side for CSR engagement use the concept also for reputation reasons. While portraying a business that is regarded as socially responsible might attract more foreign investment and certainly higher customer satisfaction, an irresponsible business might have to fear the loss of those things or might even be confronted with boycotts or ‘naming and shaming’, which in the long run can significantly hurt a corporation.

(Crane et al., 2005: 41). “In order to improve their reputation, firms have been accused of providing more extensive social and environmental information on areas that may positively influence their external image, without tangible reporting of what they still have to do in order to provide real social and environmental impacts.” (De Chiara et al., 2016: 7). From this theoretical framework of CSR, the proposition can be formulated that engaging in an instrumentalist, business side of CSR will not foster a successful sustainable transition. However, in addition to the business side of adopting CSR there is also the moral side to it, namely the ethical approach. This argumentation considers corporations to indulge in sustainability because of a responsibility to which they are aligned and to internalize their part of the production of social costs to prevent any further arising social problems, such as emissions. Furthermore, engaging in ethical CSR practices can be seen as a company’s mission to handle resources and their power responsibly within society, treat their employees accordingly and to take all involved parties’ interests and goals into account.

3.3. The Concepts of Transition Theory

The field of transition studies represents a fast-growing international community of scholars (Markard et al., 2012: 956). When examining those areas of study, many consider sustainability transition theory to explain how new sustainable practices and technologies are integrated into the system and the society. The Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) positions that “transitions are [a] long-term process of radical and structural change at the level of societal systems (e.g. sector, city, region).” (DRIFT, 2017). Furthermore, in order to examine whether a transition is successful or not, the inclusion of economic, cultural and political perspectives is essential, especially when focusing on social challenges of transitions towards sustainability. (DRIFT, 2017). Within this context, sustainable transitions can be referred to as a “radical transformation towards a sustainable society, [and] […] a response to a number of persistent problems confronting contemporary modern sociceties.” (DRIFT, 2017). Despite this high magnitude, research on transitions towards sustainability is still lacking of attention in regard to some domains as for example in the automotive sector. (Markard et al., 2012: 961).

3.3.1. Approaches to Transition Theory

Transition theory in regard to sustainability is goal-oriented, meaning to address current, persistent environmental as well as social problems. (Geels, 2011: 25). Consequently, transition theory will be the main approach to this study. The transition approach is associated with the process of overthrowing dominant socio-technical practices and consists of transition management, the multi-level perspective and the strategic niche management perspective. (Meadowcraft, 2011: 71). Transition management deals with the creation of space for niches and empowering them. Other

concepts include the regime and landscapes of the multi-level-perspective, which serves as a productive framework to examine historical transitions and furthermore organize and identify socio-technical processes. (Markard et al., 2012: 963). Niche management often has a pivotal role and thus can be seen as the central concept of sustainable transition research. “A niche is a new structure, a small core of agents, that emerges within the system and that aligns itself with a new configuration”. (Rotmans et al., 2009: 189). The creation and support of such niches triggers and supports regime shifts and thus indicates transition. The focus within transition management is put on frontrunners as they ought to have the capacity to influence and generate emergent structures and practices, by having specific qualities and competencies to foster innovation, and furthermore the ability to detect niches. (Rotmans et al., 2009: 189). Notably within the automotive industry, frontrunners and niches are regarded as the emergence of novel technologies: companies that are frontrunners mainly are better equipped or have higher skilled people and thus are more prone to innovate and detect niches because of their advanced position and knowledge compared to other companies within the industry. Thus they are the main aspect to analyze in regard to a sustainable transition towards electric mobility. (Markard et al., 2012: 957).

3.3.2. The Multi-Level Perspective

The multi-level perspective on transition theory provides an important framework to identify sustainability pathways on socio-technical transitions and, through the interaction of the three levels that can be seen in Figure 1, determines a transition’s characteristics (Cohen, 2012: 379; Smith et al., 2010: 443). However, the MLP is criticized for its causality since there ought not to be one single driver or cause that initiates transition. (Geels, 2011: 29). Additionally, the MLP is not clear on when exactly a transition happens. With its different levels it provides multiple propositions about the emergence and evolution of transition and how they interact with each other, but this also leads to a certain disorder and ambiguity when trying to connect those levels with each other. The MLP can be seen as “a middle-range theory that conceptualizes overall dynamic patterns in socio-technical transitions.” (Geels, 2011: 26). Within the MLP, “transitions are crucially dependent upon activities within niches”. (Smith et al., 2010: 440). Beside the concept of niches, there are two other levels that the MLP takes into account: the regimes and the landscape, as to be seen below in Figure 1: at the level of landscapes, regimes can be pressured in order to build “opportunities for niches to break through and contribute to fundamental changes, or shifts, in socio-technical regimes.” (Markard et al., 2012: 958). Transition theory suggests here that in general, if a niche is detected, transition will happen because factors like the landscape and the regime will adjust, pressure and finally foster transition. The concept of regimes in transition theory interlinks the cultural norms of practices and behavior with the physical investment and thus the accumulation

and stability of a regime. (Wells et al., 2012: 1683). The landscape level is positioned at the highest level of a socio-technical system and thus is characterized as the slowest to adopt and foster changes and transitions. The hierarchical order of those three concepts is the reason why the focus mainly persists on the micro-level of niches. The lowest level is the easiest way to approach and foster transitions when entering through niches and then making the way up to meso-level regimes and macro-level landscapes. (Cohen, 2012: 379). Smith et al. (2010) confirm that revolutionary change originates within the niches-level; referring to them as ‘protective spaces’ for radical alternatives and thus the creator of transitions. (Smith et al., 2010: 440). As mentioned above, the theory here lacks of exact guidance of what will happen if not all levels are addressed when trying to transition, but only individual levels are considered. Figure 1 illustrates the three levels of the MLP and what actions are taken within each level:

Figure 1: The multi-level perspective. Reprinted from Geels (2006: 1006).

3.3.3. Technological Innovation Systems and Theory

Recently, a fourth framework of transition theory has emerged: the technological innovation system, which is closely related to innovation theory. This approach concerns “the emergence of novel technologies and the institutional and organizational changes that have to go hand in hand

with technology development.” (Markard et al., 2012: 959). Thus, it is important to take the technological innovation theory into account when examining niche development, which in most cases is related to innovation and thus results in a transition. When innovation happens, it most likely comes with certain negative effects such as emissions or pollution, e.g. from producing a certain new product in a factory. This makes it important to equalize those negative effects. Sustainable transitions therefore pose a possible solution to equalize any negative effects coming from innovation. For example, by turning the production process into a more sustainable one in order to limit emissions or pollution. This process refers to a sustainable transition.

Regarding innovation theory in this context, there is a need to distinguish between two kinds of innovations in technology: sustaining and disruptive technologies. Sustaining technologies refer to already established products and their performance improvement that are valued by the mass market and its customers. Disruptive technologies are innovations that largely differ from the existing mainstream market segment and thus are connected to niches; e.g. new products. The first introduction of disruptive innovations into a market are most likely to only appeal to a small number of consumers – the first adopters. “With further technological development and greater information, mainstream consumers change their preferences and the conventional products that once were the most satisfying ones become less attractive.” (Zapata et al., 2010: 15). In essence, the longer a product is on the market, the further and better it will be developed and the more information and knowledge will be available about this product. A related factor is that new technologies have not yet been tested by consumers on a large scale when they first enter the market. Actual large-scale use will lead to redesigning and new, unforeseen design specifications” in order to optimize them. (Kemp et al., 2007: 177). Furthermore, it will lead to aspects of economies of scale: reducing costs in the long-run because of increased size of production. (BusinessDictionary, 2017). In order for this to occur, new entities and thus competition within that market segment are crucial. At that point, the first adopters are crucial since they ‘present’ and test the product on the market, visibly for everyone else to see. Consequently, this could lead to a change in consumer demands, since people who might have rejected a certain product in the beginning then can see and learn more about it, and actually find the new product more attractive than the old one. This leads to the assumption that lacking consumer changes and adoptions, especially in the early phase of an innovation, are the main reason for transition failure. To make this distinction between sustaining and disruptive technological innovation is crucial, since this will later determine at which point transition fails and when it actually is successful. The concept of disruptiveness is necessarily connected to changing consumer demands – adapting the new product instead of an existing one – as otherwise the transition will not happen. The government can hereby

take the lead in technological innovation by introducing new laws and regulations such as tightening emission standards, and thus forcing firms to adapt new technologies in order to comply with legislation. (Zapata et al., 2010: 15). Consequently, this difference draws a clear line between the inductive and the deductive part of the thesis.

Another concept of innovation theory is radical innovation which defines the investment in technology, production techniques, skills and design in anomalous strategies than the firm’s existing ones. Meaning that radical innovation of a firm addresses a previously undiscovered consumer demand, e.g. a market niche, which in a successful innovation then turns into a new market infrastructure. “Radical innovations present both macro level innovativeness characteristics as the product is new to the world, the market and the industry, and micro level characteristics, as it is novel to the firm and to the consumers.” (Zapata et al., 2010: 15).

The framework of competitive advantage is closely related to the concepts of innovation theory. “Competitive advantage is a function of either providing comparable buyer value more efficiently than competitors […], or performing activities at comparable cost but in unique ways that create more buyer value than competitors and, hence, command a premium price […].” (The Economist, 2017). In essence this means that one either can be cheaper as competitors or that they differentiate themselves from them. The concept of competitive advantage makes it easy for companies to follow and engage in an innovation or trend, as they can basically just copy their competitor’s strategies to start off with and then at a later point most likely try to capture a leading position by differentiating themselves from them again. Consequently, the competitive advantage within the process of innovation can lead to a transition: if one actor starts the process, others will engage as well in order to stay competitive and spur a transition.

In general, transition theory suggests that if a niche is detected, transition will happen but as to be seen in the following, this does not apply to the first time frame of the case company because it rather is assigned to a radical disruptive innovation. A radical disruptive innovation also detects a niche, but fails to transition due to the lack of changing consumer demands. Therefore, the inductive part will be assigned to this phenomenon, while the deductive part will be confirmed by transition theory and its predictions about niche management.

3.4. Inductive and Deductive Approach to the Research

As previously mentioned, the thesis will make use of a partly inductive as well as deductive approach. In order to understand and follow which concepts and theories serve which approach,

this section will shortly elaborate on this issue. Transition theory will serve the deductive part of this thesis. As the concept of niche management within transition theory assumes, if a niche is detected, transition will happen. This deductive approach will be applied to the general assumption of the automotive industry transitioning towards sustainability with the invention – filling the niche – of the electric vehicle. This proposition of transitioning when a niche is detected, proposed by transition theory does however not apply to General Motor’s case within the first time frame where they introduced their first electric vehicle the EV1 (1996) in the 1990s. Although GM tried to fill the then present niche of electric mobility with the invention of the EV1, they later took the car back off the road as no transition happened. Whilst within the second time frame in the 21st

century, GM filled the same niche with the introduction of their EV Volt (2008) and Bolt (2016). At this point in time, transition actually happened to confirm transition theory’s assumptions about niches. But within the first time frame, the phenomenon of the failure of transitioning towards sustainability with the EV1, although the niche has been present, proofs transition theory and in particular its niche management wrong. Therefore, the inductive approach to the thesis will serve to explain this phenomenon and failure of transition theory and will provide an alternative theory to assign it to. This inductive part of the thesis can be drawn from radical disruptive innovation theory. This theory also proposes the existence of a niche but explains that transition will only happen if the broad consumer demand changes and adapts accordingly. It furthermore suggests that in the beginning of an innovation only a small number of first adopters will exists, who are willing to try the new product. In the case of the EV1 this assumption proves to be right, since people leased all the available EV1 cars and thus were interested in this innovation, although the broad consumer adoption failed to appear. Consequently, this fact provides reasons for the case of not transitioning: consumer demands. If the broad consumer demands are not adapting nor changing, transition will not happen. Therefore, the phenomenon of the first time frame within the case of GM can inductively be lead to the theory of radical disruptive innovation. Figure 2 illustrates which theory will serve the inductive and the deductive part of the thesis and to which time frame they are assigned to:

Figure 2: Inductive and Deductive Approach to the Research.

4. Methodological Framework

This thesis will make use of a combination of a deductive and an inductive qualitative analysis. A deductive approach tries to test the validity of an existing explanation for a certain phenomenon, while an inductive approach attempts to make sense of several observations and detect patterns and regularities as well as differences in order to build a theory. Inductive case studies are very descriptive and mostly assume interconnections between different paths and factors of a case since they lack a specific theoretical framework. While deductive case studies or theory guided case studies consist of a well-developed conceptual framework that puts attention to explicit theoretical aspects which either can be confirmed or falsified throughout the study. (Levy, 2008: 4). The latter provides clearer understandings of key aspects of a case within its theoretical framework and its underlying analytical assumptions and other than an inductive approach does not aim to generalize its results but to interpret a specific single case and thus either validate or invalidate it empirically. (Levy, 2008: 4;5). In this thesis, starting off with deductive research will help to examine why transition theory has failed in the earlier stage of the case although niche management predicted a transition to happen. This approach will specifically be appointed to the second time frame of the case company, where transition happened, and furthermore can invalidate transition theory in regard to the first time frame. The inductive approach is consequently assigned to the first time frame and will aim to research influential factors on sustainable transitions in order to explain the phenomenon and failure of transition theory within this time frame. Going inductive at that later stage will help to examine to which outcome or explanation the observations made will lead. This approach provides a multi-angle view to gain differing patterns and findings by leaving room for

observations that can lead to unexpected outcomes and explanations of the underlying phenomenon. Qualitative research was chosen because it can adopt interpretive approaches to data and examine ‘cases’ within different contexts and considerations.

4.1. Case Selection

The automotive industry was chosen because it is the industry, including the transport sector, which accounts for approximately 22% of the world’s Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions and is therefore amongst the biggest polluting industries on the planet. (Bakker et al., 2014: 183). General Motors has started quite early with the introduction of its first electric vehicle which has failed back then. For this reason, this specific case can give valuable insights in regard to analyzing the diachronic aspect of the transition process towards sustainability in the automotive industry in order to answer the main research question. Additionally, the specific case of General Motors was chosen because the company has a distinct role in this sector. Being a frontrunner in terms of developing new technologies and innovating before others do is important when analyzing the success and process of their transition towards sustainability, since it limits the feasibility that the company is not sufficiently equipped or educated in regard to their level of innovation. Rotmans et al. (2009) claim that being a frontrunner in terms of having peculiar qualities and competencies is a key aspect of transition management: “In complex system terms, frontrunners are agents with the capacity to generate emergent structures and operate within these deviant structures. They can only do that without being (directly) dependent on the structure, culture, and practices of the regime.” (Rotmans et al., 2009: 189). Furthermore, the company is well-known which will be relevant in the later analysis of surveys in regard to the societal circumstances, to exclude potential non adoption because of lacking publicity to the consumer. Also, for this specific case, there is various literature available which is important for the process of gathering data, to make sure all aspects of the thesis can actually be researched and to not run the risk of lacking information. In general, this case illustrates how sustainable transitions in the automotive sector are handled and can happen, and therefore can be used to examine the specific aspect of niche management in regard to what influences their successful implementation.

4.2. Unit of Analysis

The study focuses on the transition process towards sustainability in the automotive industry and more specifically among car manufacturers. Therefore, the unit of analysis is a car manufacturer that acts and produces internationally. Specifically, as the study will be concentrating on a single

case, the sample of the American corporation of the General Motors company will be analyzed. Analyzing only a single case makes it possible to study a case’s complexity.

4.3. Observations

The observations are the transition of the chosen case in regard to sustainability, and therefore, its engagement in electric mobility. In the automotive industry transitions can be seen as innovating new technologies or changing production behavior. The observations made will be analyzed diachronically in regard to two different time frames to elaborate the different approaches of transition as well as its circumstances and what influenced the transition, and finally the level of successful adoption. The different time frames will be set in the 1990s and the 21st _{century, since}

these are the main time frames where sustainable transition – referring to the introduction of the electric vehicle by General Motors – was introduced and later on widely and actively pursued. In the case of General Motors, transition occurs with the introduction of the company’s first electric vehicle and their adoption of the EV into their portfolio. The company overthrows its usual technologies and innovates with new technologies for electric vehicles (such as new batteries), and therefore find itself in the process of a transition. Additionally, a manager of GM states that they “set aggressive goals for our facilities for energy, water and waste reduction and we have very impressive performance in those areas over the last decade. We set public targets for energy reduction, waste reduction and water reduction and we've been able to drive to those goals and exceed those goals.” (Vasilash, 2006: 60). All those aspects can be referred to as [the attempt to] transitioning towards a more sustainable corporation. Furthermore, observations in this case can include the corporation’s internal management, sustainability reports and various policy documents, the governmental standards for the automotive industry, like incentives or regulations, and changing consumer demands and identities, as well as the influence of certain lobbies or international organizations, to name a few. Especially observations of new modes of governance will be conducted, since those ought to be the most important to direct a transition, in terms of dealing with arising uncertainties, complexities and all actors and interests involved. (Loorbach et al., 2010: 136).

4.4. Population

The population of this study aims to cover the automotive industry and specifically its biggest international corporations. Thus, General Motors as one of the biggest automotive companies, and one that acts internationally, was chosen in order to eventually draw conclusions to the rest of the automotive industry. This would be more difficult to do when examining a rather smaller and local

company, since this would limit the potential generalization of the outcome. (Encyclopaedia Britannia, 2012). Although one also needs to distinguish here between the distinct markets, as a generalization onto the Chinese or European market might differ from the American market, since the debate about sustainability and global warming still has “sharp political divergence between countries”. (Pinkse et al., 2009: 10). Consequently, the population generally aims to cover the American automotive industry.

4.5. Data

In order to answer the research question mainly secondary literature will be used. The particular focus here will be on transition literature from previous scholars such as Rotmans et al., 2009; Wells et al.,2012; Zubaryeya et al., 2012; Eppstein et al., 2011 or Geel, 2011. To analyze the transition in the automotive industry, general information in regard to sustainability topics will be gained from governmental documents and policy documents, respectively the sustainability reports of the selected case company. In addition, several online journals and articles, such as WIRED, PBS, AUTO BILD or NPR, will be consulted in order to gain a broader perspective and also a view which neither consists from the governmental side nor from the manufacturer itself to serve triangulation. Conducting journalism and online articles can assist to elaborate the topic within the whole automotive industry and thus takes competitors and outsider views into account which helps to further study the outcomes and their potential generalization. Furthermore, journalism and online magazines should provide insights into how automotive companies actually implement CSR practices and how they make a progress in transitioning regarding competitors and their frontrunner role. Additionally, it can serve as input for the further conduction and analysis of data, such as surveys. Supplementary data about the automotive industry in general and concerning its CSR practices and engagement will be collected through various secondary literature. This will help to build a solid ground for further studying the transitions towards sustainability and to compare if actual gains can be seen or trace changes within a company and its approach to CSR.

A particular focus will be laid on existing surveys and evaluations, for example about user profiles, the popularity of EVs and their potential adoption. The fact that there exist a lot of surveys on electric mobility and thereupon information about what influences consumers to buy an electric vehicle provides important and useful data and helps to answer the research question. Furthermore, it helps to examine when and why transition happens, not only in regard to consumer preferences and demands but also in regard to other influential aspects like infrastructure, governmental incentive, or a business’s reputational intentions. Existing surveys on these topics make it unnecessary for the researcher to distribute and elaborate her own survey. Consequently, surveys

will be conducted from Tran et al. (2013), who analyze consumer preferences, buying behavior and thus the likelihood of adopting an EV; from Frenzel et al. (2015) who focus on profiles of prime users; and several other surveys and studies in this field from e.g. the McKinsey & Company (2014) or Deloitte (2014). The latter concentrating specifically on American consumers.

4.6. Method

The method used to analyze the transition towards sustainability in regard to different time frames is a single case study of the American car manufacturer General Motors. The case will be analyzed diachronically since this seems to provide the most promising results in explaining why the case of the transition of General Motors has failed at one point but has succeeded at another, although in both cases a niche was detected. Furthermore, this case should provide information on what factors influenced this outcome. In combination with the historical comparative logics the case implies, the analysis will also be conducted through process-tracing which enables to reveal different steps taken and measuring different influences in the transition process towards sustainability. This should also help to examine the causal processes of the case to determine its differing outcomes. George and Bennett (2005) argue that “process-tracing is particularly useful for obtaining an explanation for deviant cases, those that have outcomes not predicted or explained adequately by existing theories”, referring to transition theory. (George et al., 2005: 215). Process-tracing thus especially serves the inductive part of the research as it will aim to look for different explanations rather than testing a theory. This leaves space for unexpected outcomes and results. Additionally, “process-tracing in a single case, for example, has the capacity for disproving claims that a single variable is necessary or sufficient for an outcome. […] [It] can even exclude all explanations but one, if that explanation makes a process-tracing prediction that all other theories predict would be unlikely or even impossible.” (George et al., 2005 220). Combining process-tracing with the qualitative comparative character of the case is particularly useful when dealing with “hypotheses positing necessary or sufficient conditions.” (George et al., 2005: 216). In regard to the research question, these methods help to examine and identify those conditions and influences, which make a successful transition happen or not, and furthermore explain the context of different time frames. In consequence, this method can try to make a projection of the case’s outcome/explanation into a broader generalization within the population of the automotive industry. (George et al., 2005: 216).

Since the automotive industry is a sector which transforms and innovates constantly (Berger et al. 2014: 304), scholars like Harry Eckstein and Arend Lijphart note that single case studies are a useful method in the formation, development and testing of theories at different stages. (George et al.,

2005: 213). More specifically: “A deviant case study [as the GM one implies] is a research design […] for the purpose of refining or replacing an existing theory or hypothesis, and thus serves the objective of hypothesis generation.” (Levy, 2008: 3). This aspect will help to serve the inductive approach of the thesis. The research will elaborate all different aspects of transition theory as well as niche management to provide the most promising answer to the research question.

General Motors sustainability reports and documents from several environmental as well as governmental agencies (e.g. California Center for Sustainable Energy; Clean Energy Ministerial) will be used for the policy document analysis through qualitative process tracing. The thesis will apply process tracing and will analyze existing industry surveys and evaluations. The secondary literature on which this thesis is based will be evaluated qualitatively and examined diachronically serving the purpose to test and support the results gained from the surveys and policy document analysis.

4.7. Validity and Reliability

Every choice and interpretation the researcher makes has effects on reliability and validity. Like other studies, this thesis has its limitations. In order to increase the validity and reliability in terms of the methodological choices, the combination of deductive and inductive qualitative approach fits the aim of the research to gain insights into what influences a successful transition towards sustainability in the automotive industry. The choice of the combined usage of process tracing and comparative logics are in line with the theoretical approach and increase the thesis’ internal validity. Consequently, the methods used are very suitable for the aim of this research and therefore reflect a high validity, and furthermore guarantee triangulation. Some political scientists argue that a single case study has limited validity and cannot identify causal linkages or build a theory since a comparing case is missing and therefore cannot be compared to other observations. (George et al., 2005: 220). Therefore, a single case study decreases external validity since it limits the potential generalization of the findings to a larger population. Despite this fact, it is not the main aim of this thesis to generalize its outcomes but to provide knowledge about different influences that lead to these specific outcomes.

A possible validity as well as reliability threat could be portrayed by the data used. Not all the conducted surveys will solely be on American user profiles or the American automotive industry and thus decrease validity and reliability when trying to connect their outcomes to the case company, while enabling a broader generalization at the same time. Furthermore, it will be a challenge to examine surveys from the different time frames proposed by the diachronic analysis

of the case. It will not be possible to conduct surveys from exactly the time frame when the EV was first introduced by GM and at the later stage when it came back to life, respectively from 1996 and from around the year 2008. Consequently, the surveys – although they fulfill the main aim of the research – lack of sufficient quality to proof the findings regarding the exact time frames. Validity threats can also be proposed by policy documents such as the company’s CSR reports, since they might not be objective. The same can apply to journals and online magazine articles. Those documents are written by one or more authors and thus also face validity and reliability threats in regard to the author’s choices and interpretations of certain aspects and meanings, his or her subject to reporting and their data selection process and tendency, which furthermore also decrease this data’s reliability and validity in this thesis. To address this concern, the thesis will make use of triangulation and thus the combined usage of various data and literature, to not solely rely on one source or perspective. All documents used in the thesis are public documents and open to access for everyone to trace back. Additionally, to address the reliability threats proposed, the thesis aims to find and examine alternative ways of explaining a particular phenomenon. Making the conclusions and the steps taken, as well as the criteria for analyzing, as transparent as possible will help increase validity as well as reliability.

4.8. Theoretical and Social Relevance

The theoretical contribution of this research aims to show that transition theory does not apply to every case, in regard to what it proposes on niche markets within its multi-level-perspective, and in addition provide information and an alternative explanation for the reasons of this assumption. Furthermore, contributions will be made in regard to what circumstances and variables play a role in the transition towards sustainability in the automotive industry to explain why the strategic niche management approach did not apply the first time when General Motors invented the EV1 but now is considered to fill the same niche after more than 20 years’ time. This research also seeks to fill the gap in regard to analyzing transition theory in a diachronic framework. Scholars have mainly examined transition theory in general but little is said about transition in different time frames, particularly within the automotive industry. In addition, this thesis aims to catch a broad society; showing the advantages of electric vehicles specifically, and becoming more sustainably and environmentally aware in general. The transport sector is the biggest contributor of the global CO2 emissions and therefore society plays a big role in order to react to global warming and to transition their travel and transport behaviors to more sustainable ones. Thus the societal relevance of this thesis tries to contribute towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly mind of the people to address one of the most polluting global industries.

5. Results

5.1. General Motors Corporation and CSR Engagement

This section will elaborate on the company General Motors in general and will answer the sub-research question of why car manufacturers engage in CSR practices and what motives they have to transition towards sustainability. The thesis will only elaborate data from GM North America, since it is an analysis of the American automotive industry and thus taking GM Europe or South America into account would falsify results, especially when examining consumer preferences and behavior at a later stage in the thesis.

General Motors is an American multinational company that designs, builds and sells all kinds of automobiles and automobile parts and distributes them in 34 countries. It is the biggest car manufacturer in the USA and until recently was the biggest automobile manufacturer worldwide. The General Motors company was reorganized and officially established in 2009, after the General Motors corporation went bankrupt during the economic crisis in 2008. GM had a history of over 100 years of operating under different holding companies and differing names. As most American automobile corporations, GM is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan; the center of the American automotive industry. They are operating through various networks such as GM North America, GM Europe or GM Financial, to name a few, with over 170 manufacturing facilities spread all over the world and with more than 215.000 employees. GM brands include, amongst others, Chevrolet, Holden, Opel, Cadillac, Hummer and GMC. (Bloomberg, 2017; CSRHub, 2017; GM, Strategic and Operational Overview, 2016).

As already mentioned, the concepts of CSR had a very long and changing history. (Carrol, 1999: 268). As have the minds of the people and corporations concerning topics of sustainability: it seems to appear that most recently both are becoming more and more environmentally friendly and actually are concerned with issues of global warming. (Markard et al., 2012: 956; Jørgensen, 2007: 1071). People are more aware of what they buy, eat or wear and pay attention to production standards and environmental consequences of their behavior. Thus also GM seems to be more engaged and is doing everything it can, within their capacity, to make the world a better place. (Cruz, 2016). This ‘trend’ towards sustainability has started more or less with the beginning of the 21st _{century. From thereon companies embraced in the habit of annually publishing their}

sustainability reports. As already proposed in an earlier section of this thesis, one sub-research question arises: ‘Why do car manufacturers engage in CSR practices and what motives do they have to transition

towards sustainability?’

international laws and furthermore the compliance with non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) demands, consumers, employees, investors and the environmental advocacy groups and in general the changing system of the world’s economy. “These changes include the rise of global retailing, as well as growing populations and resource scarcities, high and volatile commodity prices, the 2007-2009 global economic downturn and escalating ecological stressors such as climate change.” (Dauvergne et al., 2013: 9). Particularly in the case of GM, the company has thrown over and renewed its business strategy and approach, after their crisis during the 2008 economic downturn. This can be seen as a significant point of change within the company. The minds of the workers changed, as has the leadership and management, towards a more sustainable and environmental friendly one. People started to realize that they would have to adapt to those pressures presented by advocacy groups or consumers. Remarkably, within those years, at the beginning of the 21st

century, more and more companies started to engage in CSR practices and thus the first reason to engage was because others do so as well. The role of competitors always used to be a significant and pivotal factor within the world’s economy and amongst industries. If competitors start to engage or innovate in certain practices, others move along, to not be left behind and thus in order to keep competing, especially if the driving force – as in the CSR case – is the consumer. The thesis will further elaborate on this point of the role of competitors within the section of influential factors at a later stage of the thesis. This change of mind and behavior, leads to the assumption of a corporation being seen as an individual social unit of society, just like an individual human being. Thus it becomes evident that corporations do – or at least should – also have certain responsibilities towards the society they ‘live’ and produce in. This trend rose due to increasing concern about global warming and a rising global economy and thus the process of globalization. “Present stud[ies] confirm[s] the trend towards the increasing environmental and social accountability” in the automotive sector. (De Chiara et al., 2016: 1). So why is it that companies engage in politics of sustainability? There have been a variety of studies on this topic, and views largely differ here. The case of GM implies, as later explained in more detail, that the company first engaged in CSR practices due to governmental pressures and thus only tried to comply with regulations but not to truly transition towards a more environmental and sustainable behavior. Consequently, their first EV was introduced for the same reason, which already implies why it failed. One could therefore confirm what has been previously propositioned in regard to CSR theory; that using CSR practices for providing a greener image of a company or corporation which in fact actually only engages for profit maximization, a good reputation and compliance with certain laws and regulations will not help the firm to transition towards sustainability. Additionally, motives to engage in CSR practices can also be for the attraction of highly motivated and committed employees. Furthermore: “Voluntary committing to social actions and programs may forestall legislation and ensure greater

corporate independence from government [and prevent interventions by the government in the first place or make them less costly in the future].” (Crane et al., 2005: 41). “Despite numerous academic studies, a direct relationship between social responsibility and profitability has been almost impossible to unambiguously ‘prove’.” (Crane et al., 2005: 42).

5.2. General Motors Sustainability Reports

The following section will examine and give a short summary of how specifically the corporation of GM engages in CSR practices and what they commit to in their annual sustainability reports. The most recent available corporation’s sustainability report from 2015, as well as a previous one from 2013, will be conducted. Additionally, a strategic and operational report from 2016 as well as general governmental reports of GM from 2014 and 2016 (US Securities and Exchange Commission) will be conducted in order to cover a broader time period. The purpose of this document analysis is to understand why and how the company engages in CSR practices in order to make a sustainable transition. This section should be able to test which of the previous factors of CSR engagement apply to the company’s profile and furthermore lay the groundwork for the following analysis of the history of the electric vehicle.

Many state that “GM is certainly making an effort to green up in recent years”. (Godelnik, 2011). Against this background, one expects that the automotive industry will “change more in the next five years than it has in the previous 50 years, as the nature of customer interaction evolves, the importance of environmental efficiency increases, technology reshapes the industry, and global growth shifts to new markets.” (GM Sustainability Report, 2015). The company states that sustainability has now arrived at the core of their business, and that they want to become the leader in the auto industry’s transformation by not only making more sustainable cars but also by making the facilities that produce them more sustainable, by constantly working on the reduction of the environmental impact of their facilities and vehicles. They “seek to transform transportation by leveraging mobility, manufacturing and our mindset.” (GM Global Public Policy, 2017).

General Motors maintains an online website to publish and inform the public about their ongoing environmental and sustainable incentives and practices. Besides their engagement in building and innovating with all kinds of hybrids and electric vehicles, GM is also engaging in a number of sustainability initiatives in order to become greener and integrate CSR at its core business strategy. In the following, the most important initiatives are summarized:

- Greener Vehicles. GM is constantly working on the reduction of petroleum and carbon dioxide emissions usage and is building a number of vehicles that are fuel-efficient or even

fully electrified.

- Energy Efficiency. The need to become greener is coming hand in hand with the need to become more energy efficient. GM has already increased its energy efficiency between the years 2005 and 2010 by more than 30 percent. The company is amongst the biggest industrial landfill gas users in the USA.

- Waste Reduction. Amongst all global car manufacturers, GM’s manufacturing facilities recycle and reuse most of its waste. (approximately about 92 percent in 2010). Which makes over half of all GM’s manufacturing facilities almost waste free.

- Resource Preservation. GM has set a goal to preserve all natural resources and ensure that surrounding natural habitats are conserved. The company embraces in 15 different habitat programs around the world to ensure proper treatment of all plants and animals around their facilities.

- Goal of Zero Landfill Waste. GM has set its goal to reuse and recycle as much as possible waste and to convert the rest to energy. With that they want to prohibit any waste to go to landfills, mainly by innovating new ways to repurpose waste. GM’s first US Landfill-Free Assembly plant is in Fort Wayne, which reuses, recycles or converts all the waste that it produces on a daily basis.

- 30 Hectare meter (HM) Plants meet the Environmental Protection Agency Energy

– Reduction Challenge. In 2011, GM has meet the United States Environmental

Protection Agency’s Energy Star Challenge for the Industry by cutting energy usage of 30 North American plants by 25 percent, and thus saved more than $50 million in energy costs.

- Lansing Plant Receives Energy Star Certification from the Environmental

Protection Agency. Also in 2011, GM was certified for its high level of energy efficiency

– GM’s plant was the first one in the USA to be certified.

- EcoCAR Challenge. An initiative by the US Department of Energy. GM has engaged in a challenge with different American universities to reduce environmental impact of cars while maintaining its’ performance and its consumer appeal. GM donates vehicles to have students integrate their technologies and innovations.

- GM Installs the Biggest Rooftop Solar Panels in the World. GM has built the largest solar power station at its car factory in Spain. It covers more than two million square feet and consists of approximately 85,000 lightweight panels. (Lesser, 2012).

The company’s recent sustainability report (2015) is in line with the above initiatives and thus confirms the further development of their CSR practices. Up to now, GM is operating 131 landfill-free facilities and aspires to become a fully zero-waste manufacturer. In 2015 they have cut the use