Page 269 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Transportation Industries 245

GM’s Global By-Products Management Strategy, aimed at establish-
ing a single global process to leverage all manufacturing by-product
materials, maximize values, and reduce the environmental footprint
of GM. By-products are defined as any manufacturing output materi-
als that are not part of the intended product shipped to commerce. The
new strategy was implemented in 2007, leveraging a Resource Man-
agement system that had been in place for ten years.
In the past, GM had multiple systems in its plants with several
responsible entities managing by-products. The new program estab-
lishes a single point of contact within each facility whose specific mis-
sion is to manage all by-products. This entity has to interface with all
stakeholder business groups, such as Manufacturing, Purchasing,
Product and Materials Engineering, and others. This allows manufac-
turing personnel to focus on their core mission instead of managing
scrap by-products. With extensive knowledge of environmental and
other related regulations, as well as an understanding of end use mar-
kets, the dedicated by-product managers are able to maximize prod-
uct disposition efficiencies and revenues.
Thanks to this strategy, GM was able to announce a commitment
to make half of its major global manufacturing operations landfill-
free by the end of 2010. Already, 33 of GM’s global operations have
reached landfill-free status, meaning that all waste has been con-
verted to by-products. Gary Cowger, GM group vice president of
global manufacturing and labor, comments: “As we develop new
solutions in vehicle propulsion, GM is also making significant prog-
ress in reducing the impact that our worldwide facilities have on the
environment.”
At GM’s landfill-free plants, over 96% of waste materials are
recycled or reused, and about 3% is converted to energy at waste-to-
energy facilities. As a result of the company’s global recycling efforts,
approximately $1 billion in revenue will be generated annually from
recycled metal scrap sales. Additionally, in North America alone, GM
will generate about $16 million in revenue from the sale of recycled
cardboard, metal, wood, oil, plastic, and other recycled materials.
Part of the challenge in reaching landfill-free status is finding uses
for recyclable materials. At GM’s landfill-free plants, even the smallest
piece of waste is put to a good use. Waste aluminum generated at GM
facilities is sent to GM foundries to be reused to produce engine and
transmission components. Steel, alloy metals, and paper are sent to
recyclers to be made into a variety of products. Used oil is recondi-
tioned for reuse in GM facilities. Wood pallets are reused, rebuilt
ground into landscape chips, or sent to waste-to-energy facilities.
Empty drums, totes, and containers are refurbished and reused again
and again. Cardboard is collected, compacted, and sold for making
new cardboard materials.
In the aggregate, over 3 million tons of waste materials were re -
cycled or reused at General Motors plants worldwide in 2008. An