Vehicle life-cycle analysis
U.K. automakers considered the production cycle of a typical auto and found that they had, overall, reduced emissions and consumed fewer resources.
From 2001 to 2005, automakers in the U.K. cut in half their overall energy use, waste, CO2 emissions, and water use per manufactured vehicle, according to the trade association the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ltd.
In its seventh report, Towards Sustainability 2006 [1.2MB PDF], published online on September 18, the industry has updated its analysis to reflect the life cycle of vehicles from production to disposal. The report shows that the industry’s average energy use per vehicle has gone from 4.3 to 2.3 megawatt-hours, CO2 emissions from 1.3 to 0.6 metric tons, waste sent to landfills from 66.4 to 14.5 kilograms, and water use from 6.2 to 3.2 cubic meters.
Road transport accounts for about 21% of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the U.K., second only to the energy industry, which contributes about 37%, according to the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
